Just a few minutes after the Government announced the clean car rebate on June 13, the phones in Tesla’s New Zealand showroom in Auckland started ringing non-stop.

The three Tesla staff members had thought it would be a quiet Sunday with maybe a few grandparents showing their grandkids the fancy electric cars.

Instead, they had an unprecedented number of people on the phone wanting to order a Model 3. A quick google search and they found the reason for the inundation of orders. And within a few hours, the store was filled with wannabe customers.

Since then, the showroom has had a daily influx of customers, with a huge number of Model 3s arriving in the country from Tesla’s Giga factory in Shanghai. This means that the wait time for the car to arrive in New Zealand is 3-9 weeks.

I now reckon that the brand will have more than 3000 orders of the car in 2021, especially as year-to-date sales there have been 903 registrations of the Model 3, mainly the Standard Range Plus that’s priced from $66,990 with an $8625 Clean Car Discount.

The Standard Range Plus is a rear-wheel drive with a range of 448km, with 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 225km/h.

The base model has Pearl White as the standard exterior colour and black faux leather inside. It has 18in aero alloys. If you want the exterior colour changed to Solid Black, Midnight Silver Metallic, or Deep Blue Metallic it will add $1700 to the price, while Red Multi-Coat is $3300.

The Full Self-Driving Capability costs an extra $11,400 and that gives you Navigate on Autopilot which includes auto lane change, autopark, summon, full self-driving computer plus traffic light and stop sign control.

Being the ‘genius’ that I am (not), I worked out that as the full self-driving system is just a software update, instead of ticking that box now, you’d wait until you got your rebate and pay another $1000 or so and get it added.

I couldn’t wait to tell the Tesla staff member this genius plan but surprise, surprise they were already onto it. The staff member said when they get an order with the self-driving package ticked they contact the customer and suggest paying for it after the rebate. 

The inside of the Model 3 the optional packages you can add is white seats for $1700 and I wouldn’t pay for that as the white would mark, especially for someone as clumsy as me.

What makes the inside of the Model 3 special is its simplicity: just a dash of faux wood and an all-glass roof extends from front to back, creating a very open cabin.

A huge central 15-inch touchscreen dominates the front of the car and it gives you all driver controls and displays your speed, navigation entertainment etc. One of the best features is that on the right side of the screen it displays what vehicles are around you, for example, if a truck is in the left lane, or cars front and rear. It also picks up road cones and wheelie bins.

The cabin is also big enough for five people, with three adults easily accommodated for in the rear due to the flat floor.

The Model 3 is controlled by a smartphone app that you can open and close the car, preset the temperature, use summon mode, open and close the two boots (front and back), flash your lights, start the car or honk the horn remotely (Why? Just to show off). 

As backup the car also comes with a credit card size ‘key’ that you are recommended to keep in your wallet in case your phone’s battery dies.

I had first tested the Model 3 in LA in January 2019, then mid that year when it arrived in New Zealand. Since then, the Model 3 has had a number of exterior and interior refreshes, updated software and improved functionality. 

So, it was a no-brainer when Tesla offered me a chance to review the updated Model 3.

First up, gone is the piano black interior panels, replaced with practical matte black. The door handles are now blacked out. 

My favourite update is to the windscreen wiper. I know, that’s pretty basic, but with the original Model 3 you had to tap on the screen to operate it, and with Auckland’s weather you’d be tapping on that screen non-stop! Instead, now you just need to tap ‘auto’ on the wiper function on the screen and it will sort it out. Plus there is a new function on the left steering wheel stork that if you tap it, it will give the front windscreen a wipe.

While the rear of the hatchback is quite high you could have limited vision of the car behind you, for example I couldn’t see my neighbour’s Mercedes SLK when it was behind me, wanting to turn into our street. But Tesla has stored that with three cameras so you can see behind you.

Another practical update is Tesla providing a USB for its dashcam function as before you had to provide your own and set it up. The dashcam system works on an hour loop and to save footage you just need to push a button on the screen and it will save footage. In the UK, Tesla owners are passing road rage or dangerous driving footage to the Police who prosecute the offending party. I’d love that in New Zealand!

It also now has sentry mode that allows you to record the surroundings of the Model 3 when you are parked, and it's ideal for busy supermarket car parks to record if anyone damages your car. But Tesla says using the Sentry mode does use up the battery.

The next update is on the app function with more arcade games added plus media functions so you can watch Netflix or YouTube while you are sitting in your car at a supercharger.

The summon mode is used off the phone app where you just move it backwards or forwards by holding down a button on your phone. Take your finger off, and the car stops.

The summon mode used to be forward or backwards only but has had a rejig with Summon Smart. It lets the Model 3 drive to you as long as you are not on a public road, as you just need to drop on a pin on your location on your phone app.

But does Tesla’s Model 3 summons really mode work and can you use it in everyday applications? 

Yup, I used it at least once a day during my seven day review. I’d reverse it out of the car park beside my house that’s a tight squeeze when you try to enter or exit the car, especially for passengers. I also used it to drive the car forward when someone parked too close to my driver door

For Smart Summon I stood by my front door and holding down a button on my phone, the Model 3 reversed from the park beside my house, and did three manoeuvres forward and came to it. It’s a great party trick and if you want to see shoppers getting surprised by a driverless Tesla, then head to Youtube.

What is the Tesla Model 3  Standard Range Plus like to live with? It’s fun. The first two days I smiled all the time I was driving as I love that instant power when I hit the accelerator. 

I’m sure that Tesla owners (actually 99.9% of electric car owners) drive economically to save from having to frequently top up the battery, but for me I loved entering the motorway on-ramp and surging ahead.

Ditto at the traffic lights when the lights turn green and I was off and at 50km/h before the car beside me was in second gear.

There are three driving modes: Comfort (that reduces the effort required to turn the wheel), Standard (Tesla thinks this is best handling and response in all conditions), and my favourite Sport (when driving at higher speeds, Model 3 feels more responsive).

To implement cruise control you push the right stork down and for autopilot you push the steering wheel symbol on the screen then push down the stork. You can also add the feature that sees the car self-navigate for you, with the car slowing down for upcoming traffic lights, start at lights and slow down.

But Elon can please update your speed sign recognition from sat nav to front camera as your vehicles don’t recognise temporary signs or updated speeds. This is apparently in autopilot where the car is driving at the speed that the sat nav recorded, not what the real speed is. 

This came to the fore when I had the Model 3 on autopilot driving on the South-Western motorway through the Waterview Tunnel and as we were about to exit, it thought we were on the 50km road literally above us, so suddenly slowed, until I applied the accelerator. Cheers mate.

Would I buy a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus? Sure would, and it seems like quite a few Aucklanders feel the same. When I went to use the supercharger at the Tesla store on Monday, four new customers were having an official handover.