Tesla Model 3 beats 14 other rival models to win coveted award
- The Tesla Model 3 has won a coveted award
- It faced off against 14 other EVs
- The judges said the Model 3 was ‘so far ahead of its rivals’
Published on Mar 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on May 15, 2025 at 7:08 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
The Tesla Model 3 was named the winner of a coveted award in Australia, after facing off against 14 other EV makes and models.
The Model 3 was originally launched in 2017 and has been a huge success for Tesla.
It was the world’s best-selling EV for three years, from 2018 to 2020, and was the first all-electric to sell more than one million units.
Now, the Model 3 has won itself an award at the annual Drive Car of the Year awards.
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Judges said the Tesla Model 3 was ‘so far ahead of its rivals’
The Tesla Model 3 scooped the gong for Best Urban Electric Vehicle Under $100K at the Drive Car of the Year awards.
It’s the second consecutive win for the Tesla Model 3 in that category and it seems to be a trend that could continue, with the judges saying the EV was ‘so far ahead of its rivals’.
The judges went on to say that the ‘competition will need to seriously up its game’ if it wants to catch up with the Model 3.
High Praise indeed.
Drive.com.au, which runs the awards, noted that the category was ‘one of the broadest fields’ but that when it came to ‘value, space, performance, comfort, technology, efficiency and charging’ the vote was ‘not a difficult one’.
There were 14 others cars in the running
In total, there were 15 cars in the running, including the Tesla Model 3, the Polestar 4, and the BMW i4 eDrive 35.
However, Drive said the Model 3 was ‘impossible to beat’ in the category and was full of praise for the EV.
Alongside its energy efficiency and charging network, the judges praised its spacious cabin that is crammed full of tech, as well as its handling and ‘full suite of advanced safety systems’.
The Australian judging panel also liked the EV’s price, noting that ‘price cuts throughout 2024 have dropped the entry point into the new Model 3’.
It can currently be picked up in Australia for as little as $54,900AUD (around $34,442) plus on-road costs, while a Long Range is priced at $64,900AUD (around $40,715) plus on-road costs.
Drive said that other EV makes and models had upped their game ‘but the winner proves the king of this segment has a while left to live’.
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With a background in both local and national press in the UK, Claire moved to New Zealand before joining the editorial team at Supercar Blondie in May 2024. As a Senior Content Writer working on New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), Claire was the first writer on the team to make the site’s output a slick 24/7 operation covering the latest in automotive news.
