Tesla Model 3 Long Range: the price and range, explained
The Tesla Model 3 Long Range has a new name for 2026. Here is what it costs now, its real WLTP and real-world range, and whether the extra money is worth it.
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The Tesla Model 3 Long Range still exists, but not under that name — Tesla renamed it "Premium" for 2026. The rear-wheel-drive version now costs £44,990, with an official WLTP range of up to 466 miles. If you are searching for the old name, this is the car you mean. Real-world range sits meaningfully below that figure — applying the same gap the entry-level car shows, a realistic estimate is closer to 386 miles.
Why the name is causing confusion
If you have searched "Tesla Model 3 Long Range" and landed here, you are not wrong to be confused. Tesla sold a trim under exactly that name for years. It sat between the entry-level Standard car and the flagship Performance. For the 2026 model year, Tesla dropped the "Long Range" badge in the UK. It renamed the equivalent car "Premium" instead, according to evpowered's coverage of the 2026 lineup change. The car underneath the badge is much the same idea. It is the bigger of the two battery options, built for maximum range rather than maximum pace.
This is not the first time Tesla has reshuffled Model 3 naming, and it will likely not be the last. If you are cross-shopping listings or reading older reviews, treat "Long Range RWD" and "Premium RWD" as the same car in Tesla's current UK lineup. Any price or spec you read for one applies to the other too.
Older second-hand listings sometimes still say "Long Range" even now, simply because that was the correct name when the car was first registered. Do not assume a listing using the old name is a mistake or a scam. It is often just an older, accurate description.
If you want to be certain which car a listing actually means, check the battery figure rather than the trim name alone. A car quoted at 60kWh usable is a Standard, whatever badge sits on the boot. A car quoted at 79kWh usable is a Long Range or Premium, again whatever the seller happens to call it. The battery size does not change with a rename, so it is the one detail you can trust completely.
What the Long Range (Premium) actually offers
Price and range
The rear-wheel-drive Premium — the old Long Range RWD — costs £44,990 on the road. That sits £7,000 above the entry-level Standard Model 3. For that money you get a larger 79kWh usable battery against the Standard's 60kWh, roughly a third more capacity, and an official WLTP range of up to 466 miles. Carwow's pricing data puts the wider Premium range, RWD and all-wheel-drive combined, between £44,990 and £49,990.
A bigger battery also means a longer charge from empty to full at any given charging speed, since there is simply more energy to put in. In everyday use that rarely matters, because most owners top up from a partial charge rather than an empty one, and a rapid charger adds range far faster than a full battery-to-battery comparison suggests.
The all-wheel-drive option
Adding a second motor for all-wheel drive pushes the price towards £49,990. You gain traction and a faster 0-62mph time in return. You carry more weight for it, though, which trims the WLTP range below the rear-wheel-drive car's figure. If outright pace matters more than range, our guide to the Tesla Model 3 Performance covers the model that goes further again in that direction.
What actually changed in the rename
Beyond the badge, little changed in the move from Long Range to Premium. The battery size stayed the same. The motor layout stayed the same. Tesla mainly used the rename to make room for a new, cheaper Standard trim below it, so the lineup now reads Standard, Premium and Performance instead of Standard, Long Range and Performance. If you owned or researched a Long Range car before 2026, nearly everything you learned still applies to the Premium today.
Working out real-world range, not the WLTP number
Every WLTP figure comes from a lab test, run under conditions few UK drivers actually replicate. EV Database's own testing shows the gap clearly on the entry-level Standard Model 3. Its official WLTP figure is 332 miles. Its real-world figure is 275 miles. That is a drop of about 17%.
Tesla does not publish an equivalent real-world figure for the Premium RWD specifically. Applying that same 17% gap to its 466-mile WLTP rating gives a working estimate, though: 466 × (275 ÷ 332) ≈ 386 miles. That is not an official number. It is a reasonable estimate, built from the one real-world comparison Tesla's own range actually offers. It is still a far more useful planning figure than the WLTP label on its own. For the general reason this gap exists at all, see our explainer on why your range estimate never quite matches reality.
Cold weather, motorway speed and a heavy right foot all push real-world range further below the WLTP number, not closer to it. Treat 386 miles as a fair-weather, mixed-driving estimate, and expect a noticeably lower figure on a fast, cold motorway run in winter.
Long Range vs Standard vs a rear-drive Model Y
| Standard RWD | Premium RWD (was Long Range) | Tesla Model Y RWD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (OTR) | £37,990 | £44,990 | See our Model Y guide |
| WLTP range | 332 miles | 466 miles | Varies by trim |
| Usable battery | 60kWh | 79kWh | Varies by trim |
| 0-62mph | 6.2 seconds | 5.2 seconds | Varies by trim |
| Best for | Lower cost, most UK driving | Fewer stops on long trips | Boot space over saloon shape |
Work out how much EV range you actually need before paying the £7,000 premium for the bigger pack. Most UK driving falls well inside even the Standard car's real-world range. The Premium mainly earns its keep on genuinely long, frequent motorway trips rather than daily use.
If a taller, more practical shape matters more than saloon looks, it is worth comparing against a Tesla Model Y RWD too. Tesla applies a similar Standard-vs-Long-Range-style choice across that model as well.
When the Long Range is not worth the extra money
If most of your driving is short, local trips with regular access to home charging, the extra range mostly sits unused. You are paying £7,000 for a buffer you rarely draw on. That money often works harder as a deposit or against a lease instead.
The maths shifts the other way if you regularly drive 200 miles or more in a single trip, or if reliable access to a home charger is not guaranteed. In that case, fewer stops on a long journey are worth real money in time, not just comfort.
Resale value is worth a thought too. A Premium car tends to hold its value a little better than a Standard one, since buyers searching the used market often still look for "Long Range" by habit. That effect is small next to the £7,000 you pay upfront, though, so it should never be the main reason to choose one trim over the other.
What to do next
If range is the deciding factor, check your own typical weekly mileage against the real-world estimate above before paying for the bigger pack. Looking at a used example instead of new is also worth pricing up properly in our guide to buying a used Tesla Model 3. If the battery bill worries you more than the badge, our breakdown of Tesla Model 3 battery replacement cost covers exactly that risk, trim by trim.
Sources
- EV Database — Tesla Model 3 RWD (Highland) price and specifications
- EV Database — Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD (Highland) price and specifications
- Carwow — Tesla Model 3 Premium review
- evpowered — Tesla Model 3 Standard gets sub-£38k pricetag and 332-mile range
- FindMyElectric — Tesla Model 3 battery replacement cost
Common questions
What happened to the Tesla Model 3 Long Range trim?
Tesla renamed it "Premium" for the 2026 model year, in both the UK and US lineups. The car underneath is largely the same idea — the larger of the two battery options — just sold under a different badge, so search results and older reviews using "Long Range" still refer to the same car.
How much does a Tesla Model 3 Long Range (Premium) RWD cost?
£44,990 on the road in the UK as of 2026, £7,000 more than the entry-level Standard trim. The all-wheel-drive Premium costs up to £49,990, according to Carwow's current pricing.
What is the Tesla Model 3 Long Range's real-world range?
Official WLTP range is up to 466 miles, but real-world driving falls meaningfully short of that lab figure. Applying the same roughly 17% gap EV Database measured on the entry-level Standard car gives a working estimate of around 386 miles in typical UK driving.
Is the Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD or AWD the better choice?
The RWD version has the longer official range and a lower price, so it suits most UK driving. The AWD version trades some range for extra traction and a quicker 0-62mph time, which matters more if you regularly drive in poor weather or want the fastest acceleration on offer.
Does the Tesla Model 3 Long Range cost more to replace the battery on?
Slightly, yes. Its larger 79kWh pack costs more to replace than the Standard car's 60kWh pack, at £9,000 to £14,000 in the UK against £8,000 to £12,000, though both sit well inside Tesla's eight-year battery warranty for most owners.
Is the Tesla Model 3 Long Range worth the extra money over the Standard?
Only if you regularly drive long distances or cannot guarantee reliable home charging. For most UK driving, the Standard car's real-world range already covers typical weekly mileage comfortably, so the extra £7,000 mainly buys peace of mind on longer or less predictable trips.
About the author
ElectraMile EditorialEditorial desk
The ElectraMile editorial team covers charging, running costs and EV ownership for readers in the UK and US.
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