Tesla Model 3 Standard vs Long Range: which to buy in the UK

Buy the Model 3 Standard if you charge at home and your longest regular trip is under about 250 miles; it does the job for £7,000 less. Pay for the Premium Long Range RWD if you cover lots of motorway miles, because 134 extra WLTP miles and faster charging cut stops, and the cabin is noticeably nicer.

In 2026 the Tesla Model 3 has come in two very different flavours at the cheaper end. The Standard, which Tesla now lists simply as the Rear-Wheel Drive, strips out kit to hit a lower price. The Premium Long Range RWD keeps the full specification and adds a much bigger battery. Here is how they compare, using published figures; EV Compared has not driven either car.

How much do the Model 3 Standard and Long Range cost?

The Model 3 Standard costs £37,990 and the Premium Long Range RWD costs £44,990, list prices on 1 October 2026 according to EV Industry News, which recorded no change to Model 3 prices that month. Carwow shows the same £37,990 starting price. Above them sit the Premium Long Range AWD at £49,990 and the Performance at £59,990. Our Tesla UK price list covers the whole range, including the Model Y.

Neither car gets the Electric Car Grant. The government’s scheme only covers new cars priced at or under £37,000, and the Standard misses that by £990.

	Model 3 Standard (RWD)	Model 3 Premium Long Range RWD
List price (October 2026)	£37,990	£44,990
WLTP range	332 miles	466 miles
Battery	62.5 kWh	84.7 kWh (Auto Express estimate)
Peak DC charging	175 kW	250 kW
0 to 62 mph	6.2 sec	4.9 sec
Insurance group	32	37
Seats	Cloth	Artificial leather, heated front and rear
Rear touchscreen	No	Yes
BIK rate 2026/27	4%	4%

Range, battery and charging figures come from Carwow and Auto Express; acceleration and insurance groups are from Auto Express.

How much more range does the Long Range get?

The Long Range RWD gets 134 more miles of WLTP range than the Standard: 466 miles against 332 miles. Auto Express suggests around 400 miles is realistic for the Long Range in everyday driving, and it recorded 4.4 miles per kWh in the Standard on test, which on a 62.5 kWh battery is about 275 miles.

Both cars lose range on cold motorway runs, so read our guide to how much range EVs lose in winter before deciding how much you need. The point that matters is the gap between charges. Rapid charging normally runs from about 10 to 80 per cent, so on a long trip you use roughly 70 per cent of the battery between stops, and the Long Range covers far more ground in each of those legs.

What does each extra mile of range cost?

Each extra mile of WLTP range on the Long Range costs about £52.

Method: (£44,990 minus £37,990) divided by (466 minus 332 miles) = £7,000 ÷ 134 = £52.24 per extra mile.

The other way to see the £7,000 is as fuel. Charging at home at 8p/kWh on Intelligent Octopus Go, and using the Standard’s 4.4 miles per kWh from Auto Express, a mile costs about 1.8p.

Method: 8p ÷ 4.4 miles per kWh = 1.82p a mile; £7,000 ÷ £0.0182 = about 385,000 miles.

So the price gap would pay for roughly 385,000 miles of off-peak home charging in the Standard. If you charge on the standard price cap rate of 26.32p/kWh, a mile costs about 6p, and at the average public rapid price of 79p/kWh (Zapmap, September 2026) it costs about 18p. Our guide to the cost to charge a Tesla breaks those figures down further, including Supercharger rates. The Long Range only pays back on running costs if its range keeps you off expensive public chargers you would otherwise need.

How fast do they charge?

The Long Range charges faster, peaking at 250 kW against 175 kW for the Standard. Carwow quotes about 30 minutes for 0 to 80 per cent in the Standard. Both cars use Tesla’s Supercharger network with automatic battery preconditioning when you navigate to a charger.

Peak power is only part of it. Because the Long Range starts with more miles in the battery, it often needs fewer stops on a long run, as well as shorter ones.

What do you lose with the Model 3 Standard?

You lose comfort and cabin kit, not core technology. Carwow lists these items as missing from the Standard:

• Artificial leather upholstery, replaced with cloth
• Heated rear seats
• The rear-passenger touchscreen for climate
• Wraparound ambient lighting
• The upgraded stereo
• The sliding cupholder cover and the all-white interior option

A Which? reviewer who swapped their own Premium Model 3 for the Standard for a week also found the ventilated front seats gone, a manual steering column lever instead of electric adjustment, no steering weight settings and no seat-back pockets. Their verdict was that the savings justify the omissions for a sole driver, but a household with several drivers and passengers in the back may miss them.

The Standard keeps the main screen, Supercharger access, the indicator stalk (which Which? notes has returned) and Tesla’s driver assistance features. Auto Express rates it at 6.2 seconds from 0 to 62 mph, which is quick enough for most drivers, and puts it in insurance group 32 against 37 for the Long Range.

Which is better as a company car?

The Standard is cheaper as a company car, by about £9 a month for a 40% taxpayer. Both pay the 4% benefit-in-kind rate in 2026/27, so tax follows list price.

	Standard (£37,990)	Long Range RWD (£44,990)
Taxable benefit (4%)	£1,520	£1,800
20% taxpayer	£304 a year (£25 a month)	£360 a year (£30 a month)
40% taxpayer	£608 a year (£51 a month)	£720 a year (£60 a month)

Method: list price × 4% × your tax rate, ÷ 12 for the monthly figure.

Neither car pays the expensive car supplement, the extra £440 a year in vehicle tax for electric cars listed above £50,000. The Long Range AWD at £49,990 is only £10 under that line. For high-mileage company drivers the Long Range’s extra £56 to £112 a year in tax is small next to the time saved on charging. Our Tesla company car tax guide has the figures for every version.

Who should buy which?

Buy the Model 3 Standard if:

• You charge at home overnight and most days are under 100 miles
• You make a long trip a few times a year and don’t mind an extra stop
• You are the main driver and rarely carry rear passengers
• You want the lowest insurance group and the cheapest way into a new Tesla

Buy the Model 3 Premium Long Range RWD if:

• You regularly drive 200 miles or more in a day, especially on motorways
• You rely on public charging and want fewer, shorter stops
• You want heated rear seats, the rear screen and the better stereo for family use
• You are a company car driver for whom £9 a month buys a lot more car

If neither price suits, a used Model 3 is the cheaper route in; our used Tesla Model 3 buying guide explains what to check. And if you need a bigger boot, compare the saloon with the SUV in our Model 3 vs Model Y guide.