Tesla Model 3 vs Model Y: which suits you?

Buy the Model 3 if you want the most range and the lowest running costs for your money; buy the Model Y if you need a big boot, more rear headroom or a towbar. At the shared £44,990 price point the Model 3 goes about 125 miles further, and the Model Y carries 241 litres more luggage.

The Model 3 saloon and the Model Y SUV share a platform, a cabin layout and much of their software, and Carwow says they are very hard to tell apart from behind the wheel. They are also close in the sales charts: the Model 3 was the UK’s best-selling electric car in September 2026 with 9,929 registrations, and the Model Y was second (electrive). The choice comes down to range against space, and below we put a number on both.

How much do the Model 3 and Model Y cost?

The Model 3 costs from £37,990 and the Model Y from £44,990 in November 2026. These are the UK cash prices from 1 October 2026 reported by EV Industry News and matched by EV Database, before options.

Trim	Model 3	Model Y
Rear-Wheel Drive	£37,990	£44,990
Premium Long Range RWD	£44,990	£49,990
Premium Long Range AWD	£49,990	£52,990
Performance	£59,990	£61,990

The overlap that matters is at £44,990, where you can have either the entry Model Y RWD or the Model 3 Premium Long Range RWD. Each Model Y trim costs £2,000 to £7,000 more than the Model 3 trim with the same name. Our Tesla UK prices page has the price history, including the £3,000 rise on the entry Model Y in October.

How do the specs compare?

The Model 3 is lower, lighter and more aerodynamic, so it goes further on a similar battery. The Model Y is 180 mm taller, with a hatchback tailgate and a bigger load area. These figures are for the four rear-wheel-drive cars, from EV Database’s pages for the Model 3 RWD, Model 3 Premium RWD, Model Y RWD and Model Y Premium RWD.

	Model 3 RWD	Model 3 Premium LR RWD	Model Y RWD	Model Y Premium LR RWD
List price (Nov 2026)	£37,990	£44,990	£44,990	£49,990
Usable battery	60 kWh	79 kWh	60 kWh	74 kWh
WLTP range	332 miles	429 to 466 miles	309 to 326 miles	375 miles
Real-world range (EV Database)	275 miles	360 miles	235 miles	285 miles
Efficiency	218 Wh/mile	219 Wh/mile	255 Wh/mile	260 Wh/mile
Peak DC charging	175 kW	250 kW	175 kW	250 kW
Boot (seats up)	594 litres	594 litres	835 litres	854 litres
Boot (seats folded)	977 litres	977 litres	2,118 litres	2,138 litres
Front boot	88 litres	88 litres	117 litres	117 litres
Braked towing	1,000 kg	1,000 kg	1,600 kg	1,600 kg
0 to 62 mph	6.2 sec	5.2 sec	7.2 sec	5.6 sec

Where WLTP is shown as a span, the lower figure is for the heaviest specification.

Which gives more range for the money?

The Model 3 does, at every price. To compare fairly we divided each list price by its real-world range.

Method: list price ÷ EV Database real-world range = £ of list price per mile of range.

Trim	List price	Real-world range	£ per mile of range
Model 3 RWD	£37,990	275 miles	£138
Model 3 Premium LR RWD	£44,990	360 miles	£125
Model 3 Premium LR AWD	£49,990	340 miles	£147
Model 3 Performance	£59,990	325 miles	£185
Model Y RWD	£44,990	235 miles	£191
Model Y Premium LR RWD	£49,990	285 miles	£175
Model Y Premium LR AWD	£52,990	295 miles	£180
Model Y Performance	£61,990	285 miles	£218

The two £44,990 cars sit at opposite ends of the table. The Model 3 Premium Long Range RWD is the best value Tesla on this measure at £125 a mile, while the Model Y RWD, with its 60 kWh battery in a heavier, taller body, is the second worst at £191. Even the dearest Model 3, the Performance, beats the entry Model Y. See our guide to which Tesla to buy for every trim side by side.

Which gives more boot space for the money?

The Model Y does, even though it costs more. Here we turned the comparison round and measured luggage space against price.

Method: boot volume with the seats up ÷ list price in thousands of pounds = litres per £1,000.

Trim	Boot (seats up)	List price	Litres per £1,000
Model 3 RWD	594 litres	£37,990	15.6
Model 3 Premium LR RWD	594 litres	£44,990	13.2
Model Y RWD	835 litres	£44,990	18.6
Model Y Premium LR RWD	854 litres	£49,990	17.1

The Model Y RWD gives the most boot space per pound of these four cars, and with the seats folded it takes 2,118 litres, more than twice the Model 3’s 977 litres. The numbers understate the practical gap: the Model 3 is a saloon with a smaller boot opening, while the Model Y has a full hatchback tailgate that Carbuyer says makes loading a pushchair far easier. Carbuyer also notes the Model Y’s 40:20:40 rear seats fold electrically.

Put the two £44,990 cars together and the trade is simple: choosing the Model Y gives up 125 miles of real-world range to gain 241 litres of boot space.

Which is cheaper to run?

The Model 3 is, but the difference is small if you charge at home. Using EV Database’s real-world efficiency figures and our standard energy prices, here is the cost per mile for the two £44,990 cars.

Method: Wh per mile ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh = pence per mile; × 10,000 for a year.

Charging	Model 3 Premium LR RWD	Model Y RWD	Gap over 10,000 miles
Home off-peak, 8p/kWh	1.8p a mile (£175)	2.0p a mile (£204)	£29
Price cap, 26.32p/kWh	5.8p a mile (£576)	6.7p a mile (£671)	£95
Public rapid, 79p/kWh	17.3p a mile (£1,730)	20.1p a mile (£2,015)	£285

The 79p/kWh figure is Zapmap’s September 2026 average for rapid and ultra-rapid chargers. Our guide to the cost of charging a Tesla has the current Supercharger rates.

Charging speed favours the Long Range cars. The Model 3 Premium Long Range RWD peaks at 250 kW and EV Database puts its 10 to 80 per cent time at 28 minutes. The Model Y RWD peaks at 175 kW; its smaller 60 kWh battery takes 24 minutes for the same charge, but each stop adds fewer miles.

Which is better for families?

The Model Y. As well as the bigger boot, its taller roof gives rear passengers more headroom than the Model 3, according to Carbuyer, and Carwow calls its rear seats palatial. Carwow says the Model 3 also has plenty of rear legroom and headroom, so it is not cramped; the Model Y simply has more.

If you tow, the Model Y is the clear choice. EV Database rates it at 1,600 kg braked against 1,000 kg for the Model 3, which rules the saloon out for most caravans.

Which is quicker?

The Model 3 is quicker at each price. The £44,990 Model 3 Premium Long Range RWD does 0 to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds against 7.2 seconds for the £44,990 Model Y RWD, according to EV Database. The Model 3 also sits 180 mm lower (1,441 mm against 1,621 mm), and its lower weight helps its efficiency as well as its pace.

What do they cost as company cars?

The same at the same list price. Both pay 4% benefit-in-kind in 2026/27, rising to 5% in 2027/28 (Carwow).

Method: list price × 4% × your tax rate ÷ 12. For a 40% taxpayer that is about £51 a month for the Model 3 RWD, £60 a month for either £44,990 car, and £67 a month for the Model Y Premium Long Range RWD.

On road tax, electric cars listed above £50,000 pay an extra £440 a year for five years from the second year of tax. The Model 3 Performance, Model Y Premium Long Range AWD and Model Y Performance pay it; the Model Y Premium Long Range RWD sits £10 under the threshold before options. Our Tesla company car tax guide has the figures for every tax band.

Which should you buy?

Buy the Model 3 if:

• You do long motorway trips and want the most range per pound (£125 a mile for the Premium Long Range RWD)
• You want the cheapest Tesla, from £37,990
• You rely on public charging, where its efficiency saves about £285 a year over 10,000 miles
• A 594 litre boot is enough for your household

Buy the Model Y if:

• You carry pushchairs, dogs or bulky kit and want 835 litres or more with a wide tailgate
• You have tall rear passengers
• You need to tow up to 1,600 kg
• You charge mostly at home, where the running cost gap is about £29 a year

If you are choosing a Model Y, the Premium Long Range RWD at £49,990 adds 50 miles of real-world range and 250 kW charging over the RWD for £5,000; our Model Y Standard vs Premium guide weighs that up. If the Model 3 suits you, read our Model 3 Standard vs Long Range comparison to pick between the £37,990 and £44,990 cars.