Despite signing a deal with Tesla that will grant its EV owners access to that company’s vast Supercharger network, Ford remains a rival to the all-electric automaker, and that competition only figures to grow in the coming years as The Blue Oval fills out its lineup with new models. In fact, Ford Authority has spotted FoMoCo benchmarking every model in Tesla’s current lineup over the past few months – the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X. But while the Model Y debuted in 2020 and the S and X just recently received a refresh, the Tesla Model 3 has soldiered on mostly unchanged since its debut way back in 2017. Now, the refreshed Tesla Model 3 has been revealed – albeit just in Europe and the Middle East, for now.
Currently, The Blue Oval doesn’t have a direct rival to the Tesla Model 3 – an all-electric sedan – but it does serve as the basis for the Model Y crossover, which is a Ford Mustang Mach-E competitor and will likely follow with a similar refresh of its own at some point in the near future. Thus, we can consider the changes made to the Model 3 as a bit of a preview in that regard. The first thing most will notice is the Model 3’s new front end design, which looks similar to the existing model but features slimmer headlights and a less bulbous bump up front.
Out back, the automaker’s logo has been replaced with “TESLA” script, and the new Ultra Red paint color seen here replaces red multi-coat in the lineup. Inside the cabin, the refreshed Tesla Model 3 gets a new 8-inch touchscreen for rear passengers, ventilated front seats, more cushioning in the rear seats, a 17-speaker stereo system that’s an upgrade over the outgoing 14-speaker setup, a quieter interior, and faster Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
The revised Tesla Model 3 also gets a bit of a range boost thanks to its more aerodynamic exterior and new wheel cover inserts, with the standard range all-wheel drive model rated at 344 miles on the European WLTP cycle and the long range model rated at 421 miles – improvements of around 12 percent, respectively. It’s worth noting that these numbers will be lower in the U.S. due to less generous EPA testing. Regardless, the refreshed sedan is set to launch in Europe and the Middle East in October, though Tesla has not announced when it will arrive in the U.S. just yet, nor did it debut a new Performance model. Pricing remains the same for the standard range variant, while the long range is $941 more expensive than the outgoing model.
We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is up to soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
Another nail in Furd’s coffin from Elon!
Still fugly and boring
Did this article get lost on the way to the Tesla Authority
Somehow looking at it from the front screams Porsche
Even a child knows Tesla Model 3 is inspired by (copied from) Porsche design.
Glad to see Ford is benchmarking three and six year old designs. That’s a great competitive move, not.