The Automobile 2.0

The first comparison test of the practical electric car.

- Kim Reynolds

Can I see a show of hands for all of the Tesla Model 3 reservation holders? Now drop your hand if you’re put off when I tell you that the one we tested is a big-battery ($9,000), “premium features” ($5,000) Long Range version that stickers for $60,500. Shrugged shoulders? You know how Tesla rolls then. Although the base price on the window sticker is $36,000, we get the loaded one to test. As with any premium automaker, the high-profit versions get delivered first.

Now how about everybody who is serious about plunging into a long-range electric car but doesn’t have the stomach for Tesla’s financial or manufacturing roller coaster? That means you’re picking between two other recent entrants: the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV (last year’s Motor Trend Car of the Year) or the redesigned, 150-mile Nissan Leaf—both of which we’re comparing here to the Model 3. By the way, any of you buying the Chevy or Nissan with profit you made off of Tesla stock? Just kidding. Sort of.

I’ve been covering electric cars for so long that I once pushed a stone-dead General Motors EV1 down a street. There have been plenty of “firsts” in this rapidly evolving segment. But this exclusive comparison—the Model 3, the second-gen Leaf, and the Bolt—matters because it’s a milestone. This is the first time anyone has tested and compared three electric vehicles that really could be your affordable, everyday car. With ranges of 150 to 310 miles and stripper-version base prices from $30,875 to $37,495 before federal and local incentives, they’re full-fledged, meat-of-the-market automobiles. And Tesla’s global Supercharger network is 7,320 (and counting) nails in the coffin of the argument that an EV can’t replace your gas-gulping jalopy as your road trip car of choice.