I didn't expect to love this car.
I've driven Teslas before, but only in short bursts, like our First Drive earlier this year. A short burst is exactly long enough to be annoyed by one. This time I had the car long enough to get through the annoyance and out the other side.
Sitting in it for the first time is a bit like first contact. Everything is recognisable as a car, and nothing is where your species keeps it.
The car here is the Premium Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive, the Cat B one. One motor at the back, the big battery, 750 km claimed on the WLTP cycle and 5.3 seconds to 100 km/h. At S$222,999 with COE on the September list, it sits S$13,000 above the Cat A Premium 110.
Tech and software
Day one is hard work.
There's no gear lever. You swipe a strip on the edge of the screen: up for Drive, down for Reverse. Every lever I've ever used goes back for Drive, so my hand went the wrong way the first few times.
There is a backup set of P, R, N and D buttons up in the overhead console. It's ungainly, and I don't know a Tesla driver who uses it regularly.
There's one stalk where you expect two, and buttons barely exist. I wanted to move the side mirrors and had to go looking for them in a menu. Same for the steering column. I complained about screen-controlled mirrors in the Volvo EX30, and the Tesla goes further.
Then there's one-pedal driving. Lift off and the car slows, every time, and you can't turn it off. For the first few hours it annoyed me. After that it became second nature.
No Android Auto and no CarPlay annoyed me too. Then Tesla's own interface started to make sense. It's fast, the layout is logical once you've learnt it, and the map is maybe 95 per cent as good as Google Maps. I found I wasn't mad about the missing five.
My scepticism going in was fair. Anyone coming from a conventional car will feel it, and the curve is steep. It does flatten out.
The fun stuff
The Model 3 is as much a smartphone as it is a car, and Tesla has fun with that.
There's Caraoke, which puts the lyrics up on the big screen while the speakers do the rest. There's a games arcade for when you're parked and waiting on someone. You can dress the car's on-screen avatar in a custom wrap, which is why mine spent the loan covered in Doge.
It's silly, and it made me like the car more.
Grok
Grok gets an interesting reputation online. In a Tesla, it's the best in-car AI assistant I've used, and nothing else I've tested comes close.
It sounds natural and it holds a proper conversation. I talked to it about the news. I talked to it about whatever was in my head at the time. It also does the basics, like nudging the aircon up and down or changing the music while you keep talking.
The part I didn't expect: it taught me the car. Every time I couldn't find a setting, I asked, instead of pulling over to Google it. On a car with this learning curve, that matters a lot.
Grok also has an NSFW mode. Do with that what you will.
It's the closest I've come to saying "Computer" on the bridge of the Enterprise and getting a useful answer.
Interior quality
There's almost nothing to look at in here, and what there is feels well made.
The seats are comfortable. The noise insulation is great: Tesla uses acoustic glass all the way round, and you hear the result the first time you shut the door. It also lets the sound system show off, and the sound system is excellent.
Rear passengers get their own 8-inch screen, and the glass roof runs the length of the cabin.
The strangest car I've tested had me checking my own bank balance.
The drive
Once the interface stops being the story, you notice how good the car underneath is.
It's fast, and Tesla's 5.3-second claim feels about right. It's also comfortable, and it drives well. Tesla has done the mechanical basics properly.
It's the first car in a long time that made me rethink what I expect from a good car. There's a reason these are everywhere.
Living with it in Singapore
Tesla claims 750 km on the WLTP cycle with the 18-inch wheels, or 691 km on the 19s. Treat both as lab figures.
On my loan the screen showed 453 km with the battery at roughly 70 per cent. That points to a little over 600 km on a full charge. It's the car's own estimate, so take it as a guide. Even so, that's a fortnight of normal Singapore driving between charges.
Then there's the Supercharger network, which is a big part of why you buy a Tesla. You plug in and walk away. There's no app to open and no card to tap, because the car and the charger already know each other and the bill goes to your Tesla account.
The navigation shows how many stalls are free before you set off, and it warms the battery on the way so you get full speed on arrival. Tesla claims up to 311 km added in 15 minutes.
In Singapore the Supercharger sites sit mostly in mall carparks like Orchard Central and Millenia Walk, running at up to 250 kW and open round the clock. On top of that, the car can still use every public charger everyone else uses.
The boot is big, and there's a big frunk on top of it. Tesla quotes 682 litres for all the storage combined.
What costs extra
My test car had every software option switched on, and they were top notch. The auto parking and Tesla's driving aids were excellent.
Here's my complaint: you pay extra for most of it. Basic Autopilot is standard, and that covers adaptive cruise and lane centring.
Auto parking, Summon, automatic lane changes and on-ramp to off-ramp highway driving sit in Enhanced Autopilot. Full Self-Driving Capability is another tier above that, and Tesla's own site says it's still pending regulatory approval here. Both are bought through the Tesla app after delivery.
With the XPENG G6, the whole driver-assist suite comes in the box, auto parking included. Paying again for parking assist on a S$222,999 car is annoying.
It doesn't change my view of the car.
The verdict
The Model 3 is unique. There's really nothing else like it on sale here. For S$222,999 you get a fast car with serious range, Tesla's charging network and the best assistant in any car I've tested.
Could you save S$13,000 with the Cat A Premium 110? I haven't driven it, so on paper only: it claims 534 km and 8.6 seconds to 100 km/h, against 750 km and 5.3 here. You can line them up in our compare tool.
Stubborn, smart, complete. I went in a bit sceptical. I left wanting to put my own money down.