Around the world: Tesla Model Y
Tesla’s Model Y is a ‘baby’ version of the Model X SUV, is based on the Model 3 and has enough room to seat seven adults.
Tesla hasn’t announced timing for New Zealand yet, but it is expected to arrive in Australia later this year.
There are four powertrains for the Model Y: Standard Range, Long Range, Long Range with Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive, and Performance. The Long Range AWD model and the Performance model are currently being delivered and the Standard Range model is expected in "early 2021”.
Production started at Tesla’s Fremont, USA plant in January 2020, with first customer vehicles delivered just before lockdown in the States.
Here are the American motoring experts opinions on the electric crossover.
Tesla started production of the Model Y crossover in January. Photo: Tesla
Edmunds
“The 2020 Tesla Model Y is an all-new electric small luxury SUV. It joins the Model X within Tesla's line-up of electric SUVs. It's smaller than the X and lacks some of the X's flashiness (or gimmickry, some might say). The Y, for instance, has regular doors instead of the X's upward rear swinging doors. In fact, the Y has a lot in common with the Tesla Model 3 sedan and has a similar interior design and electric powertrain. It's one of the first small electric luxury SUVs to hit the market, though automakers such as BMW and Volvo are also set to launch rival electric SUVs of their own.
Where traditional fuel-fed drivetrains take time to downshift to get to the right engine speed when you hit the gas, electric motors respond instantaneously. There's no windup or pause before you get going. Compared to a regular SUV, the Model Y gives you the ability to merge into fast-moving highway traffic more safely.
Like most other Tesla vehicles, the Model Y offers steering that's accurate and pleasingly weighted, making it easy and pleasurable to direct this SUV around turns. In doing so, you can sense that the Model Y is heavy — especially due to the Performance Upgrade's 21-inch wheels — but the low position of the bulk of the vehicle's weight masks most of that weight's negative effects.”
The interior is similar to the Model 3. Photo: Supplied
Car and Driver
“Tesla's electric powertrains really are remarkable, and considering everything the company provides—from Supercharging to Dog mode to over-the-air updates—we understand why so many Tesla owners say they'll never buy from any other carmaker.
But then we come to the Model Y. Hopping from Car and Driver’s long-term Model 3 into the Model Y … It's taller, longer, and wider, but the interior and exterior designs are essentially indistinguishable.
We like the Model 3 so a car that's just like it but has a roomier back seat—with nearly two more inches of headroom — and a bigger cargo hold — fitting seven carry-on bags behind the seats to the 3's four — sounds great, right? In reality, the Y's dimensions work against it. Even though the Y and 3 share powertrains and batteries, the less refined driving character of the former is instantly discernible by anyone who has driven the latter.
There is more body roll, and a keen tush detects a bit of flex in the unibody when the chassis is stressed in corners or by pockmarked roads.”
The Model Y can fit seven people or huge storage with the third row down. Photo: Supplied
The Wall Street Journal
“Shared with the 3, the Y’s dash is a spare, inclined console of soft-touch ‘vegan leather’ and wood trim, concealing in its layers the blade-like climate outlets. There are flickable switches on the doors, for windows and opening actuators, and two roller-ball selectors on the steering wheel. All other controls – including the power tilt/rake of the steering wheel, side mirrors, even climate outlet airflow – are accessed in the 38cm touchscreen floating in the centre of the dash. Not everyone is down with that.
The Long Range Dual Motor AWD tested, zero to 100km/h goes by in a crisp 5.1 seconds (3.7 seconds for the Performance version). At highway speed, it was capable of gasp-inducing bouts of acceleration, surging into triple digits with ridiculous nonchalance.
Even setting aside the Y’s brawny batteries and humma-hunka motors, this car is a little dreadnought of innovation, advancing in fields as diverse as body engineering and HVAC systems. Because heating and air-conditioning can be a huge drain on batteries, Tesla developed a super-efficient heat pump for climate control, as well as a remarkably compact network of coolant loops coming together at the “Octovalve” and serving the thermal needs of disparate systems. The HVAC’s efficiency is crucial to the Y’s 505km range.”
The Model Y has a glass roof. Photo: Supplied
Motor Trend
“Although most folks wouldn't dream of taking a Tesla off-road, the Model Y's off-road assist function lets the wheels spin more on loose surfaces, somewhat equalises their spin rates, and softens the motors' torque reaction to pedal motion.
Just cruising around, we found the Model Y to have a pretty firm ride, like something from BMW's M division. That might be a bit too busy and jolty for some folks. Interior noise is at best so-so (even given the lack of a gasoline engine to drown out the outside world). One caveat: Tesla says it developed the suspension settings so that the damping and ride frequency changes as you add weight to the car. Thus, with a single driver, the ride is firmer, and damping gets softer with a lower ride frequency as you add passengers and cargo. Due to social distancing measures, we could not test this function.
Our tester came with basic Autopilot standard, and it's easily the most intelligent adaptive cruise control and lane centre technology on the road. It responds quickly to stopped cars pulling away ahead, and it even becomes cautious when it senses a car in the next lane acting in an unpredictable manner or when the relative lane speeds become too great.”
