Audi A3 vs Tesla Model 3

What's the difference?

Can a hatchback still be a fun and fashionable way to get around when the SUV has become such a status trend?

The facelifted Audi A3 certainly makes a case for it.

The refreshed 2025 A3 is, as Audi puts it, more competitive than before when it comes to not only value but also, you might agree, style.

Last year, before the update even arrived, the A3 sold almost as well as its Volkswagen Golf corporate sibling. In fact, it’s Audi’s third most popular model behind the Q3 and Q5 SUVs.

It’s also third in its segment of ‘Small cars under $40,000’, behind only the MG4 electric car and, you guessed it, the VW Golf.

As such, it also outsells its actual closest rivals the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz A-Class, both of which are close to the A3 on price.

Now that it’s been given a bit more razzle dazzle, let’s see if the A3 can keep that momentum going.

It’s been in Australia since 2019 and despite the arrival of a comprehensively upgraded version in late 2023, the Tesla Model 3’s once gargantuan popularity has been declining in recent years.

A seemingly never-ending influx of pure-electric alternatives, primarily from China, has eroded the mid-size sedan’s positioning as the go-to, best-value EV choice. 

But to its credit Tesla has again evolved the Model 3 proposition with the introduction of this Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive grade in October last year, at the time positioning it as “the longest-range EV in Australia”.

Since then, Tesla has adjusted the model grade name to Premium Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive.

Some additional tweaks, made in response to customer feedback, also illustrates the EV pioneer’s determination to step up in the face of increasingly fierce competition.

So, does this latest Model 3 do enough to earn a spot on your electric vehicle shopping list? We spent a week behind the wheel to find out.