Tesla's Model 3 isn't an SUV - but you can almost use it like one

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

The Model 3 has a trunk and a "frunk."

• The Tesla Model 3 is a sedan, not an SUV.
• A selling point of SUVs is cargo capacity.
• But the Tesla Model 3 has extra space that can add to its gear-hauling credibility.

In some respects, the new Tesla Model 3 sedan is the wrong car for the current SUV-mad market in the US.

Americans are buying lots of compact SUVs. In fact, some automakers now think that a structural change has occurred and that SUVs have completely displaced passenger cars. If you want to buy or lease, you can start with a small SUV and never look back.

Tesla plans to roll out a compact SUV, the Model Y, but until then, we have to content ourselves with the four-door.

The Model 3 has a conventional, manually operated truck that is reasonably roomy. But compared with the cargo hatch of a compact SUV, the Model 3 looks a bit meager. That is until you get the Tesla's secret cargo weapon: the frunk!

Read on.

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