2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance review: Flat out in the fastest Tesla ever unleashed on Australian roads

The new 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance is the fastest Tesla ever unleashed in Australia.

While it uses the same body and basics as the regular Tesla Model 3 – including the most popular variant, the Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive – there are subtle design tweaks and a whole lot going on beneath the skin to help separate it from the garden variety models.

The biggest mechanical change to the model is the addition of a new electric motor.

READ MORE: Tesla Model 3, Model Y cheaper that ever, prices from $54,900 plus on-road costs
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about owning a Tesla
READ MORE: Mystery solved: Exactly how much power your Tesla Model 3 and Model Y produces

The Model 3 Performance gets the same 3D3 front motor, which according to Tesla’s documentation can make up to 137kW and 265Nm. It’s the same motor also used in the Model 3 Long Range.

But the new rear motor has a model code 4D2 and is rated at providing up to 265kW and 459Nm.

Tesla’s Aussie website claims the maximum combined output (remembering that the two motors may not be able to produce their maximums at the same time) as 343kW.

However, the regulatory documentation provided to the Australian Department of Transport when certifying the car for sale lists it as having 461kW. Nothing like a bit of Tesla mystery…

Whichever you decided to believe, it’s a heap of power.

2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance price and equipment

And here’s where the new Tesla Model 3 Performance story gets really interesting: the price.

It sells from $80,900 plus on-road costs.

That makes it the most expensive Model 3, but also makes it an outright performance bargain.

It gets the same basic equipment as the Model 3 Long Range, which includes a panoramic sunroof, faux leather, power adjustable front seats and steering wheel, four heated seats, ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, ambient lighting, power-opening boot-lid and all the usual Tesla trinkets such as inbuilt games and remote connectivity.

Plus there’s a crisp 15-inch main display (which incorporates the instrument cluster) and 8-inch rear display to keep the kids content (once they’ve peeled themselves off the seatbacks due to the G-forces).

You can also set your phone as the key.

Plus there are extras reserved for the M3P, including sports seats, alloy pedals with additional bolstering and the Performance logo built into the headrests (they’re at 12-year-old kid height so when you take off quickly their heads can knock it).

There are also 20-inch forged alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tyres.

Bigger brakes help with stopping power and they’re also painted red to stand out against the charcoal-coloured rims.

The Model 3 Performance also gets a unique front bumper with side vents to help cool those brakes, as well as a more aggressive lower splitter.

At the rear there’s a carbon fibre lip spoiler and a different lower diffuser as part of the performance-focussed aerodynamic set-up.

Model 3 Performance has unique software

It’s some of the stuff you can’t see with the M3P that add to its appeal.

There’s a new Insane drive mode, for example, designed to unleash the full fury with zero subtlety. It works, although it’s mundane going back to Chill mode afterwards.

There’s also a Track mode, although it was disabled on the car we drove.

That Track setting also allows you to set customisable drive modes.

You can adjust the level of understeer or oversteer, allowing you to set-up a car that is easier to control by sliding its front wheels or tail-happy in more of a rear-drive performance car vein.

Plus you can switch off the stability control altogether, leaving the sliding all in your hands.

And for those who don’t like the aggressive brake regeneration that can’t be adjusted on a Tesla, the Model 3 Performance allows you to get rid of it altogether, just allowing the car to coast rather than feel as though you’re hitting the brakes. Or you can adjust the brake regen at any level between normal (aggressive) and nothing.

So while the M3P may slink into the Model 3 traffic sea appearing on some parts of our roads, there’s enough differentiation for the enthusiasts to spot it as it blasts past.

2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance: Yep, it is genuinely fast!

Blasting is something the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance does very well.

It’s claimed 0-100km/h time is 3.1 seconds, but we should point out that includes rollout, a drag racing term that allows the car to get off the line.

So against the stopwatch expect it to be a tad slower… but not much.

It is serious ballistic off the line, with crazy, thrust-you-into-your-seat acceleration.

A wet road is enough to get all four wheels momentarily breaking traction, but it’s all contained very swiftly as electronics send 1s and 0s flying through the electrical architecture.

There’s nothing short of $150K that will get close to the Model 3 Performance in off-the-line thrills.

And there are plenty of cars worth a lot more that would be embarrassed by it in the traffic light grand prix.

That enthusiasm translates to effortless overtaking capability, and it doesn’t take long to realise the Model 3 Performance could get you on the wrong side of the law very quickly.

But it’s go-fast talent now stretches well beyond building pace.

The updates to the 2024 Model 3 have also flowed through to the Performance.

The suspension – which is lower and firmer than regular Model 3s – has more progression and compliance, so it’s less jarring over bumps.

In fact, it doesn’t jar at all, with enough suppleness for everyday driving.

You can also firm the dampers slightly through the central screen, something that adds some bite to the dynamics.

But in any mode the Model 3 Performance is an accomplished machine that tucks into corners nicely, hangs on tightly and blasts out the other side.

Yet it’s still lacking some soul that some may yearn for in a performance car.

Yes, it’s clinically (and brutally) quick and it doesn’t do a whole lot wrong, but nor does it tingle the senses as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N does.

2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance: Verdict

Is the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance the ultimate performance car?

Absolutely not. There’s arguably no such thing, and the M3P has the occasional foible.

We’d love to see more done on the software side to leverage the brilliant ability in covering ground quickly, something that would also add to the immense talent.

But it’s ultimately an extremely quick sedan that also doubles as a very liveable daily driver.

In that respect you could argue it’s as significant a game changer as the Nissan GT-R, Subaru WRX, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford Mustang and even the Porsche 911.

It’s the sort of car that has made a mark, in a very Tesla way – but certainly deserves attention.

And it’s set a new performance benchmark in the sub-$100K category.

All of which makes it a compelling fast car.

Score: 4.5/5

2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance specifications
Price: $80,900 plus on-road costs
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 4 doors, sedan, AWD
Range: 528km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 79kWh
Battery warranty: 8 years/192,000km
Energy consumption: 18.2kWh/100km (on test)
Motors: 1 front 137kW/219Nm and 1 rear 265kW/459Nm, 343kW combined maximum output
AC charging: 11kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 250kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 3.1 seconds (claimed, but includes “rollout”)