Where each one leads
Tesla Model 3
- New Tesla Model 3 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 0 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 147 for the Volkswagen Golf R in 2020.
Volkswagen Golf R
- Against cars of the same age, the Volkswagen Golf R comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 3% more often than average) than the Tesla Model 3 (passes 5% less often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the Volkswagen Golf R comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 44% less often than average) than the Tesla Model 3 (fails 29% more often than average).
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Tesla Model 3 | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2017–2026 | 2012–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 336,489 (2019–2022) | 55,992 (2010–2020) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 132,950 | — |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 66,268 | — |
| In traffic in Finland | 14,948 | — |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Tesla Model 3 | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 83% | 90% |
| … against cars of the same age | −5% | +3% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| … against cars of the same year | +29% | −44% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 2.6% | — |
| US owner complaints | 4,371 | 80 |
| Most complaints about | Forward collision avoidance | Service brakes |
| Model year with most complaints | 2018 (1,033) | 2017 (15) |
| US recall campaigns | 36 | 16 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 803 | 4,810 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 109 | 6 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Tesla Model 3 | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2026) | 5★ (2019) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Tesla Model 3 | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | — | 9.3 l/100 km (2026) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 0 g/km | 147 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 201 kW (270 hp) | — |
| Average mass in running order | 1,875 kg | 1,406 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €51,179 | — |
| Average odometer in Finland | 98,000 km | — |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).