Edmunds U-Drags – Tesla Model 3 Performance vs BMW M3 CS

February 3rd, 2025

U-Drag racing offers a unique vantage point that combines drag racing with road racing. It is an excellent measure of just how well a vehicle accelerates, brakes and handles in a corner. Competitors line up and start much like a drag race. Once they have accelerated through the quarter-mile mark, drivers must hit the brake and slow the vehicle in order to navigate a single hairpin turn. Having successfully maneuvered through the turn, the driver must accelerate back to the original starting line. First one to cross the start/end line is the victor. Simple, right?

Today’s race will be between an all-electric car and a car with an internal combustion engine.

In lane one is the all-wheel drive Tesla Model 3 Performance. It sounds like a golf cart, you say? Bite your tongue. Choosing Performance trim on the Model 3 adds sport tuned suspension, adaptive dampers, upgraded brakes and a staggered set of wheels. It also bumps up the output to 510hp. At a curb weight of 4,051-pounds, that makes the power-to-weight ratio 7.94-pounds per horsepower.

Lane two is home to the BMW M3 CS. An all-wheel (x-drive) luxury sedan, the BMW M3 CS features a twin turbocharged 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Maximum output is rated at 543hp and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. The M3 CS has 4-wheel carbon ceramic disc brakes. They stop on a dime and leave 9-cents change. Tipping the scale at 3,890-pounds, the Beemer has a power-to-weight ratio of 7.16-pounds to each horsepower.

It’s lighter and more powerful. The BMW has to be the favorite, right?

Follow