The new Tesla Model 3 has picked up four awards, including Car of the Year, in a string of major industry accolades for the new electric model.
Tesla’s smallest and cheapest car was the UK’s third best-selling model in August – the first time an electric vehicle (EV) has made the top 10 best sellers.
The battery-powered saloon is proving to be a critical success for Elon Musk’s company – with the American product scooping prizes for Best Electric Car and Best Company Car, along with the Safety Award and overall Car of the Year top prize at the Parkers New Car Awards 2020.
Experts at Parkers, the UK’s biggest new car buying and advice website, were impressed with the Model 3, calling it ‘capable, likeable and extremely good to drive.’
Keith Adams, Editor of Parkers, said:
“The Tesla Model 3 isn’t just a good electric car. It is a good car full stop.
Not only do attractive leases make it cheaper to run than you would think, it is environmentally-friendly and also very fast and fun to drive.
It is the first time an electric car has been named Parkers’ Car of the Year, but with all the big manufacturers spending billions on developing exciting EVs, it is unlikely to be the last.”
The cheapest Tesla Model 3 costs under £400 per month on finance and range anxiety will soon be a thing of the past – it can drive up to 335 miles on one charge.
According to Parkers’ new miles per pound metric, the entry-level Model 3 will travel 32 miles for every £1 of electricity – three times as far as a petrol or diesel equivalent.
Other big winners at the Parkers New Car Awards 2020 included the Ford Focus, which scooped the Best Small Family Car prize, while the Best Large Family Car was awarded to the Skoda Superb Estate.
The Best First Car was the Renault Clio, while the ‘utterly charming’ Suzuki Jimny beat SUVs costing more than twice its price to the title of Best Off-Roader.
The Volkswagen Touareg picked up the title of Best Tow Car.
Keith Adams added: “The Parkers New Car Awards represent the best cars on sale today – for people in all walks of life, at all budget points.
“We’re obsessive over recommending the best vehicles for the Great British public – and these are the finest cars you can buy in 2020.”
Find out all of the Parkers awards category winners here – www.parkers.co.uk/car-awards
Stephen Brown
The Founder of driveEV. A driving and new technology fan enjoying learning all about the future of motoring. I drive a BMW i3.