I always compare the Tesla Model 3 to the Toyota Corolla. This is how they actually stack up. TSLA

Get the Full StoryMatthew DeBord BI

I often compare the Tesla Model 3 to the Toyota Corolla in terms of basics: both vehicles are compact sedans.

I've driven several Model 3s. Recently, after reviewing a new Toyota Corolla, I decided to put my comparison to the test.

The Model 3 is a more compelling and important car full of ideas, with a revolutionary attitude.

But after decades in the US market, the Corolla is still always just there for you. That counts for a lot in my book.

Also, Tesla never stops talking about how hard it is to make the Model 3. Toyota, meanwhile, has been quietly cranking out Corollas since the late 1960s.

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Whenever I generalize about Tesla and the Model 3, I often point out that although the vehicle is in many ways revolutionary, if you boil it down to its automotive essence and take out the battery pack and electric drivetrain! it's a Toyota Corolla.

In other words, a compact family sedan. The Model 3 and the Corolla are almost exactly the same size, while the Model 3 is significantly heavier thanks to its fairly large battery. They each have four doors, six windows, and four wheels the Model 3, of course, has a panoramic glass roof.

The fastback Model 3 and the more traditional deck-lidded Corolla are also kin when it comes to the trunk: because the aforementioned panoramic glass roof can't move, the Model 3 isn't a true hatchback.

Obviously, we have gas versus electrons here. But the cheapest Corolla comes in at under 20,ooo. The least expensive Model 3, as listed on Tesla's configurator at the time of this writing, is just under 40,000.

I've driven several different Model 3 variants, but the one I officially reviewed was the rear-wheel-drive, single motor, Long Range Premium example, then priced at 57,500.

More recently, I reviewed a 2020 29,189 Toyota Corolla XSE. And an opportunity knocked: Why don't I test out my compulsive comparison of Corolla and Model 3, to determine if I actually have a point?

A quick note before we get started: YES, I KNOW THESE ARE VERY DIFFERENT CARS CONCEPTUALLY. But formally they aren't so divergent. You could electrify the Corolla or gasify the Model 3 and have something of an interchangeable experience.

Read on to see how it went down.Tesla doesn't do model years, but the 57,500 Long Range Premium I tested was more or less a 2019. It had a 75-kilowatt-hour battery pack and could travel 310 miles on a single charge.

Matthew DeBord BI

Read the review.

The 2020 Toyota Corolla XSE, arrived in "Celestite Gray Metallic" livery. "Celestite," for the record, is a mineral that's admired for its delicate blue color

Matthew DeBord BI

Read the review.

Let's start with the Model 3, which had a cool red multicoat paint job. My tester was fully loaded with options, including about 5,000 worth of Premium upgrades, plus another 5,000 for Enhanced Autopilot semi-self-driving systems.

Matthew DeBord BI

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