{"id":160576,"date":"2025-11-30T02:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T02:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/160576\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T02:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T02:51:11","slug":"tesla-model-3-is-the-best-passenger-car-of-2025-driven-car-guide-aa-insurance-nz-car-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/160576\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Model 3 is the best Passenger car of 2025: DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ll admit we were a little late getting to the latest Tesla Model 3 sedan<\/a>, aka \u201cHighland\u201d if you\u2019re a brand-obsessive. Because it was more of a 2024 model for Kiwi customers, paving the way for the refreshed\/related Model Y SUV<\/a> (sorry, \u201cJuniper\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"Tesla
\nTESLA MODEL 3:\u00a0POWERTRAIN 64kWh or 82kWh batteries, single-speed transmission, RWD or AWD\u00a0OUTPUT 208kW\/420Nm, 253kW\/450Nm or 461kW\/741Nm\u00a0EFFICIENCY Range 520-750km\u00a0SIZE 4720mm long, 1836-1929kg PRICE $63,900-$84,900.<\/p>\n

A couple of things refocused our attention on the Model 3 this year. First was the launch of that Model Y, because it reintroduced us to so many of the technology and design changes made to the Model 3. Second was Tesla\u2019s new Full Self Driving (Supervised)<\/a> technology, which went live in September.<\/p>\n

The Model 3 stands strong as a passenger car in its own right: it\u2019s good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money \u2013 especially in the entry-level RWD format we reviewed this year.<\/p>\n


\n Read More
\n <\/p>\n

But the introduction of Full Self Driving (Supervised) means the Model 3 and Model Y are also the vehicles for a watershed moment in Kiwi motoring.<\/p>\n


\n
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\n Advertise with NZME.<\/a> \n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Tesla
\nYou do need to sit in here, but FSD (Supervised) can handle the rest.<\/p>\n

FSD (Supervised) is an expensive option, granted: $11,400. But make no mistake, despite the \u201cSupervised\u201d bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it\u2019s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios. If you don\u2019t fancy handing over $11k up front, there\u2019s also a subscription available for $159 per month.<\/p>\n

Runners up: Cupra Leon, Suzuki Swift (2024 winner).<\/p>\n

Check out the other Category Winners here<\/p>\n

And don’t forget the Overall Winner will be announced at 7am on Friday, December 5.<\/p>\n


\n
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\n Advertise with NZME.<\/a> \n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ll admit we were a little late getting to the latest Tesla Model 3 sedan, aka \u201cHighland\u201d if…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160577,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6190,138,104373,104376,104672,104374,18930,28207,111,43,139,69,14734,28209,5536],"class_list":["post-160576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bev","tag-business","tag-car-of-the-year","tag-car-of-the-year-2025","tag-coty","tag-coty-2025","tag-ev","tag-model-3","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-passenger","tag-sedan","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}