Tesla Model 3 alternatives: Six sleek electric cars you could buy instead
Bored of seeing Tesla Model 3s everywhere? Sickened by Elon Musk’s antics? Here are the best new and used EV alternatives
There’s a good reason the Tesla Model 3 is one of the world’s best-selling cars. It’s competitively priced, offers excellent range and charging figures, is backed up by a widespread network of easy-to-use Tesla Sueprchargers, costs little to run, drives well, is packed with tech and is from one of the first brands that pops into most people’s heads when they’re thinking about buying an electric car.
Ubiquity isn’t for everyone, though. Nor is a car that caters more to those interested in technology than driver appeal. And plenty of you have probably had enough of the behaviour of the company’s CEO, and don’t want a physical manifestation of that on your driveway.
So there are several reasons you might wish to expand your electric vehicle horizons and opt for something else, which is where the cars below come in. We’ve selected three brand-new alternatives to the Model 3, and three used models you might consider if you want even more bang for your buck.
New: BMW i4
- Prices from £51,900
The success of the Model 3 means it’s fair to assume some former BMW customers have jumped ship over time, but the i4’s talents more than justify jumping back. It’s as strong a proposition in the EV world as the 3 Series always has been, and shows that BMW learned a thing or two from its early dabbling in EVs with the i3.
While the shape of the large grille may not attract everyone, the BMW i4 is a generally handsome shape, with a stylish, modern and well built cabin that shades the Tesla’s for quality and ambience. But the fundamentals are good, too, with a range of up to 373 miles in the eDrive40 and strong performance. And while the outright purchase price starts higher, lease deals for the i4 actually make it more affordable on a monthly basis.
New: Hyundai Ioniq 6
- Prices from £47,000
Model 3s are absolutely everywhere; they’re basically the Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Vectra of the 2020s. And just as you might have opted for one of their rivals in the Nineties so you didn’t have to see 50 cars identical to yours on your commute, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is that stand-out alternative today: a model that doesn’t blend into the traffic.
The sleek, sloping design is partly to aid aerodynamics, as the Hyundai is one of the most aero-efficient cars on the road. This helps contribute to a range of 338 miles for the rear-wheel-drive car. It’s attractive inside, and feels high quality, while it’s not short of tech – some models have camera door mirrors, with their screens integrated into either end of the dash.
New: BYD Seal
- Prices from £45,700
One country every bit as capable as Tesla when it comes to filling its cars with whizz-bang technology is China. While the UK doesn’t yet get some of China’s maddest machines, we do get the BYD Seal, which seems to be aimed squarely at the Model 3 – from its attractive fastback styling to its touchscreen-as-centrepiece inside.
The Seal has some (figurative) rough edges, like a saloon-style boot that limits its practicality, a chassis that isn’t as well developed as some other options and high insurance costs… but then all those also apply to the Model 3. The range (up to 354 miles) is competitive and the cabin has an elegant, well-built look and feel. It’s absolutely a worthy alternative.
Used: Porsche Taycan
There used to be a Porsche 911 advertisement that read: “Honestly now, did you spend your youth dreaming about someday owning a Nissan or Mitsubishi?”. Well in this case, you could swap the Japanese brands for Tesla, since used examples of the Porsche Taycan conveniently start around the same price as a new Model 3, and the German car surely still has the more aspirational badge.
The Taycan was one of the best-looking and best-driving EVs on sale when it arrived in 2020 and not much has bettered it since. 4S models with the 93.4kWh Performance Plus battery have a WLTP range of around 288 miles (it’s 301 miles for rear-drive cars). Those figures look a little mean by 2025 standards but they’re hardly unusable, and the Taycan’s performance is still competitive too: 5.4 seconds to 62mph for the RWD cars, 4.0 seconds for the 4S, and handling that justifies the Porsche badge.
Used: Audi e-tron GT
Suppose you don’t want a Model 3, but also want something that flies a little more under-the-radar than a Taycan? Well, the Audi e-tron GT fulfils that role quite neatly, being close cousins with the Porsche but offering different styling and a slightly more relaxed driving experience.
Performance and range are similar to that of the Taycan (read: just about sufficient by 2025 standards) and pricing for 2021 and 2022 cars also begins around the £40,000 mark. The driving experience feels like a Taycan with its sharper corners rounded off; the e-tron GT is a little smoother and more progressive in its responses than the Porsche, but still more precise than the Tesla (aided by four-wheel steering), more involving, yet still more refined.
Used: Ford Mustang Mach-E GT
In the bluster over Ford calling its latest electric SUV the Capri, it’s easy to forget it already has an electric family-mover with a famous badge: the Mustang Mach-E. New, it’s priced just a little above the Model 3, but for similar money again you could buy a range-topping Mach-E GT that’s just a year or two old, with only a few thousand miles on the clock.
For your new Model 3 money you get a 480bhp, boldly-styled SUV with a 3.7-second 0-62mph time. There are Teslas that go quicker than that, of course, but the Mach-E GT also throws in responsive handling and even some driver engagement. It doesn’t want for practicality either, as the cabin is spacious and comfortable, the 402-litre hatchback boot (plus 81-litre frunk) useful, and range is a claimed 310 miles.
Thinking of making the switch to an EV? Read our guide to electric car charging in the UK…
