Tesla’s Model Y is most advanced EV

A motoring expert has called the Tesla Model Y the most technologically advanced EV in the world after an intense examination of the compact SUV.

As president of Munro & Associates, a U.S. firm in Michigan, that specialises in vehicle competitive teardowns. Sandy Munro, says the only real competition is itself.

Tesla's star was its Model 3 sedan is reportedly the top-selling EV in the world, and is New Zealand’s best seller in this segment. 

The Model 3 also gains kudos  as the top-selling luxury car of any kind in the U.S., based on estimates. The Model Y, which went on sale in March based on the Model 3's architecture, has raised the bar.

"I thought the Model 3 was 10 years ahead of everybody else," Munro told Automotive News Europe after examining the individual components and construction of the Model Y. 

"Then we tore apart the Model Y, and we're pretty much convinced the Model Y is another three or four years ahead," he told Automotive News Europe 

Munro, a former Ford Motor engineer and manager, has been providing competitive analysis to the auto industry for more than three decades. 

"They've got a depth I just don't see anywhere else," Munro said of Tesla's newest products, even as he offered unflinching criticism of the California company's manufacturing quality glitches, giving it low grades for fit-and-finish and its widely reported problems with paint.

But "the people who are buying these cars aren't buying them for that," he said. "They're looking for that million-mile battery. They're looking for the range."

Tesla was already an industry benchmark on battery range. The Model Y crossover's range, at 510km, is nearly the same as the  520km available on the Model 3, despite the crossover being heavier. This year, Tesla boosted the full-charge range of its Model S sedan to 646km, making it the first EV to crack the 640km threshold.

Though Mercedes-Benz is set to beat that figure when it launches the EQS luxury sedan next year, as it will have a 700km range.

As for Kiwis, Tesla says it is still a while off taking orders for the Model Y, though a plant being built in Shanghai to built the Model Y may help with dealing with the worldwide demand for the SUV.