Buyers can’t get enough of the Tesla Model 3, but can this updated version stave off the latest competition?

Photography: John Bradshaw

NEW

BYD Seal Design

List price £45,695

Target Price £45,695 Chinese newcomer has a huge battery and an official range of more than 350 miles. Is it a good car in other ways, though?

NEW

BMW i4 eDrive35 M Sport

List price £52,255

Target Price £49,174 The closest thing to an electric 3 Series, and this new entry-level eDrive35 version trades some power and range for a lower price tag

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Tesla Model 3 RWD

List price £39,990 Target Price £39,990 Refreshed version of Tesla’s cheapest car gets updated looks (inside and out), new tech, a longer range and a lower price

What do electric cars and gaming consoles havein common? No, it’s not that they’re eyecatching, expensive and packed with tech, but the fact that their manufacturers are quick to unleash bleeding-edge software to the public while generally taking a long time to make changes to their physical hardware.

Take the Tesla Model 3, for example. It has received several over-the-air updates (or patches, as gamers call them) since it arrived in the UK back in 2019, improving everything from the functionality of the infotainment system to the predictability of the driver assistance systems, but it’s taken until now for it to be given a comprehensive hardware update. Internally referred to at Tesla as the Model 3 Highland, this new model has a freshened-up face and tail, a comprehensively revised interior, a longer list of standard equipment and a longer range (up to 318 miles for this entrylevel rear-wheel-drive model, from 305), courtesy of subtle but impactful aerodynamic efficiency gains. And better yet, instead of charging customers more for these enhancements, the starting price has dropped below £40,000.

On paper, the Model 3 package looks, dare we say it, unbeatable, but Chinese upstart BYD isn’t a company to shirk challenges. It has already seen some success in Europe with the smaller Atto 3 SUV and Dolphin hatchback, and now the brand is gunning for the Model 3 with its new flagship model, the Seal. Like the Model 3, it comes in rear-wheel-drive (RWD) or fourwheel-drive (AWD) guises; we’re testing it in the former, which has a mighty official range of 354 miles and a standard equipment list that looks just as comprehensive as its Californian counterpart’s.

Our third contender is a new entry-level version of the BMW i4, called the eDrive35. We’ve been impressed by the eDrive40 and M50, but they’re very expensive; with a less powerful motor and a smaller battery for a slightly shorter range (officially 288 miles), the eDrive35 is the cheapest i4 by around £8k. If a super-long range isn’t a big concern, this could be the most tempting i4 yet.