Tesla Model 3 Performance: How Did It Do on the Edmunds EV Range Test?

• The Tesla Model 3 Performance has an EPA estimated range of 303 miles.
• We put our long-termer on the Edmunds EV Range Test to verify that number.
• After a full day of testing, the M3P beat its EPA range, one of just two Teslas to do so in our test.

We bought a new Tesla Model 3 Performance with our own money to live with day-to-day for a whole year. We've barely put 2,000 miles on the clock and it has already impressed. The 3.0-second run from 0 to 60 mph we logged in our instrumented test puts it in elite company. While braking and handling did leave a little to be desired, the thornier issue for many buyers will be range. Does all that extra power mean our shiny new M3P can't match its EPA-estimated range figure? We wondered exactly that, so we put our Tesla through the Edmunds EV Range Test to see how it stacks up. 

Edmunds tests every electric vehicle on the same real-world driving route to see just how far it can travel from a full charge down to zero miles remaining. All distances are GPS-verified, and vehicles are then fully charged using a Level 2 station right after so we can measure how much energy was consumed on the route. Tesla's website says the EPA-estimated range of the Model 3 Performance is 303 miles on a full charge. On the morning we unplugged our Model 3 Performance, the in-car display read 100% charged with 296 miles of estimated range.

Conditions for our run in the M3P were as close to ideal as possible — there was no inclement weather and we measured the ambient temperature at an average of 71.4 degrees. After a full day of driving the Model 3 Performance, we managed to travel 307 miles on a single charge, using an electron-sipping 29 kWh/100 miles. That beats the EPA's estimate by 4 miles or just over 1%. While that might not sound like much, Teslas have traditionally had a difficult time meeting their EPA-estimated ranges on our test route in the past. 

If you take a look at our range leaderboard you'll notice that just one of the nine other Teslas we've driven on our range loop has beaten its EPA estimated range. That was our long-term Cybertruck, which managed to do 334 miles on a single charge against the EPA's estimate of just 318 miles. While the Model 3 Performance didn't blow past the EPA estimate the way our Cybertruck did, it's still an impressive feat for an EV that's focused more on acceleration and handling than efficiency.