The cabin is dominated by the rectangular central 15-inch screen; in the Model 3 this sits in landscape orientation rather than the portrait form of larger Teslas. Everything apart from gear selection and indication is run through the screen, including wipers and mirror adjustment. It’s mostly logical, although the cruise control speed setting is frustratingly clumsy, and the lack of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is a weakness in terms of smartphone connectivity. To partially counter that, Spotify and TuneIn radio are both fitted.

When we say everything runs through the screen, we really mean it, because all the car’s information is shown on it, and there’s no dashboard at all in front of the driver. Mostly that’s fine, but at night in particular, having to glance at the top corner of the screen to see the speedo is a distraction that would be eliminated were a head-up display to be fitted.

The big central storage areas are handy but the door pockets could be better (at least there are some rather than the early Model S design that went without), and the stowage area under the armrest isn’t particularly easy to access.

Quality throughout is generally high, even though there were a few creaks and rattles developing in the interior, which are amplified by the lack of engine noise to drown out such imperfections.

To drive, the Model 3 has very successfully taken on board the best features of the Model S. Even the ‘slowest’ model is sparklingly fast off the line, thanks to the instant performance of an electric car, and it handles really impressively, with the chassis feeling like the tyres will give up long before the car otherwise runs out of composure. It controls body roll very well, and encourages the driver to hold on to speed into bends. The regeneration settings are minimally adjustable, but in the most severe mode there’s a decent level of deceleration, bringing the car to an almost standstill without touching the brake.

All cars get the Autopilot system as standard, but it’s not yet at the point where it can be trusted to operate under anything other than the closest supervision. Despite the name, it’s certainly not an autopilot system, and glitches too often in terms of not being able to correctly read the road ahead, braking sharply for vehicles in adjacent lanes for example. The technology is developing quickly, and in very light traffic the Model 3 will maintain its speed, hold its lane and even change lanes without steering input from the driver, but it can’t yet interpret everything going on around it, and sudden harsh braking when there’s an empty lane ahead but a lorry in the neighbouring one can annoy following vehicles.

The ride quality is on the hard side, so you feel more bumps and ripples than expected, but it’s much better over bigger thumps and speed bumps.

The front boot is a handy extra place to stash the charging cable when not in use, rather than in the under-floor area in the boot, which means moving luggage to access. The rear boot has plenty of space, but be aware that it can only be accessed via a narrow saloon hatch. There aren’t any boot hooks or other cleverness, and that’s replicated inside, where there’s an absence of grab handles. Still, there are retractable jacket hooks on either side of the cabin.

Picking rivals for the Model 3 is tough because none of the premium brands is close to bringing out a full electric compact exec saloon, so it’s an eclectic mix of full electric models that are close in price, size or branding. We’ve plumped for the BMW i3 S, new DS 3 Crossback E-Tense and Nissan’s longer-range Leaf that launched last year. There are reasons why each of them would or wouldn’t be a rival, depending on your perspective, but very few people pick a new car without at least considering an alternative, and this is as near as it gets at the moment, given all four are covered by a £4000 range, little more than the Government’s grant level.

The Model 3 is a raging success in terms of bringing a practical, high-class premium electric vehicle with a long range and excellent driving dynamics to a much wider market, thanks to its comparatively low price tag. The Government’s grant takes this Standard Range Plus model below £40,000, which is well into the territory of a decently specced compact executive diesel, and that’s before you start adding up the company car Benefit-in-Kind savings. Don’t forget full electric cars are all zero BiK for the tax year that starts in April, rising to 1% and then 2% over the next two tax years. Take a Tesla Model 3 over a £40,000 160hp diesel Mercedes-Benz C-Class in April 2020 and the saving over three years will be more than £14,000 in company car tax alone, plus the fuel, VED and company National Insurance benefits.

Electric car demand is going to accelerate as rapidly as the cars themselves do, and company car drivers need to get on board with the savings. When the car itself is as good, and comparatively low-sacrifice, as the Model 3, which has its flaws and frustrations but nothing to put off the purchase decision, then it’s a financial no-brainer. It would be a sensible choice, even without the massive financial incentives to cement the decision.