Exactly a week after Tesla introduced the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive, Tesla Malaysia invited us to take a closer look at the new series champion. As part of the updated 2026 model year, which also includes the American Standard, the car is now the country’s longest-range EV, beating rivals like the Mercedes-Benz EQS500 and BMW iX xDrive60.
This achievement is due to the LR RWD getting the larger battery – reportedly a 78.1 kWh LG nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) pack – from the existing LR AWD. Powering just one engine, it provides a significant range of up to 750 km on the WLTP cycle, compared to 660 km for the LR AWD variant and 520 km for the regular RWD.
Equipping the battery with greater energy density has also allowed the fitment of a more powerful motor, with reports suggesting it delivers 306 hp (225 kW) instead of the usual 264 hp (194 kW); Tesla does not provide official figures on battery capacity or output power. With this equipment, the LR RWD shaves almost a second off the RWD’s 0 to 60 mph time, which takes 5.2 seconds. The top speed remains identical at 201 km/h.
Another beneficiary is the DC fast charging speed, where the LR RWD can support up to 250 kW, compared to 170 kW for the RWD. Tesla says that hooking up the car to a Supercharger will give you a range of 190 miles (311 km) with just 15 minutes of charging.
In addition to the new variant, the 2026 Model 3 also introduces a few minor changes. This includes black badging (“T” logo at the front, Tesla lettering at the rear) that ultimately matches the door handles and window surrounds. There’s also a front camera carried over from the Model Y Juniper facelift – complete with a built-in washing machine – which offers better visibility when parking, although there’s still no true 360-degree view.
The most important update, however, is on the inside. Here you now get the Juniper Model Y’s turn signal stalk, which finally lets you ditch the much-maligned steering wheel buttons. We should point out that this lever only controls the turn signals, as the high beam flashing function is still on the steering wheel.
Otherwise the Model 3 is the same as before, with standard kit including LED headlights with adaptive high beams, 18-inch Photon alloy wheels with covers (the units you see here riding on the optional 19-inch Nova rolls) and keyless entry and start – including an NFC keycard and a digital key via the Tesla app.
You also get tri-zone automatic climate control, auto-folding door mirrors, a glass roof, electrically adjustable front seats with memory, heating and ventilation, heated rear seats, leatherette upholstery, a 15.4-inch touchscreen, dual wireless chargers, an 8-inch rear touchscreen, nine speakers and an electric trunk lid.
In terms of safety, the Model 3 comes with standard Autopilot, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centering assistance and blind spot monitoring. The options list includes Enhanced Autopilot that enables autonomous lane changing and Dumb Summon remote parking assistance, as well as the (currently non-functional) Full Self Driving package that costs a whopping RM32,000.
Tesla also took the opportunity to slash prices across its range by as much as RM13,000, now from RM169,000. The result of this is that the new RM185,000 The LR RWD is only RM4,000 more expensive than the old base RWD, while offering significantly more range and better performance.
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