Toby Hagon’s best electric car of 2025: Tesla Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive
It was tempting to choose the fastest car I’ve ever driven (by far – EV, V8, V12 or whatever is turning the wheels) in the form of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
It’s a ballistic machine that recalibrates your idea of acceleration.
There’s also the Polestar 4 that I loved for its blend of driving enjoyment, tech and space.
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Yet at the risk of being attacked by the anti-Tesla brigade I’m going for the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive.
The updated Model 3 that arrived in 2023 is still an impressive vehicle with great packaging and a comfortable and composed suspension set-up (it’s more convincing than the updated Model Y).
The freshened Long Range – which now adopts the Rear-Wheel Drive moniker – got rid of the front motor to extend the driving range to 750km according to the WLTP cycle.
That’s a lot of kays between charges and made a 1000km road trip through NSW that much easier. The ever-expanding Tesla charging network adds to the road trip ease.
Sure, the deletion of the front motor – reverting the Model 3 to rear-wheel drive – has taken the edge off pace. But with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 5.2 seconds it’s no slug and will comfortably outpunch any rivals powered by petrol.
The price is the clincher. At $61,900 plus on-road costs it’s $3000 cheaper than before (and $30K cheaper than its predecessor was in 2020).
The biggest downside it is now misses out on the premium sound system – and it looks no different to the base car, known simply as Rear-Wheel Drive.
But as an all-round package – heated and ventilated seats, matrix LED headlights, ambient lighting and more – the Model 3 Long Range is solid buying.
Biggest EV surprise of 2025: GAC Aion V
It’s impossible to ignore the Chinese brands when it comes to EV surprises.
The pace of improvement with Chinese marques has been stratospheric (not to mention the sheer volume of new arrivals).
BYD launching Australia’s most affordable EV (the Atto 1 is cheaper than any Toyota or Mazda) is high on the list.
The Kia EV3 deserves a mention for its terrific personality (the price tag edged it off the top of my podium).
And the IM5 by MG Motor (yes it’s a clunky name) is also worth a mention for its potent performance and solid value.
But my winner here is the GAC Aion V.
I knew little about the compact electric SUV but came away from my first stint behind the wheel impressed.
It’s not perfect – please give us more physical buttons!! – but for $42,590 plus on-roads it’s a lot of EV for the money.
The EV I’m most looking forward to in 2026: Kia PV5
There’s a heck of a lot happening in EV land in 2026, much of it from China.
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is also shaping up to build on the awesomeness of its Ioniq 5 N sibling.
But the one I’m most interested in (for now) is the Kia PV5.
That’s in part because it’s a cool looking electric van and people mover.
But also because no one has yet cracked the electric delivery van market.
It’s a decent chunk of new vehicle sales and if the PV5 delivers on value as much as it has the potential to turn heads it could be an interesting gadget.
