After nearly two and a half years of ownership, I sold my Model 3 last Autumn, taking advantage of the incredibly strong used prices. The rumour was the Model Y would go on sale in summer 2022 and I reckoned I could hold out until then.
The Buying Process
Then on 15th October, exactly one week later, reservations for the Y surprisingly opened in the UK and I put down my £100 for a place in the queue. Orders then went live on 7th January 2022 and I had completed the check-out within the first 20 minutes, with an estimated delivery window of February 18 – March 04.
Changes From the Model 3
With so many similarities, much of my Model 3 Mega Review is relevant to the Y, with a few notable exceptions. The most important one for me, and the main reason for changing to the Y is that raised seating position which means it’s much easier to get in and out of (#OldGit). There’s more room inside too, especially for rear passengers who have more support under their knees and can get their feet right under the seats in front of them now. The rear seat backrests have a couple of rake settings too. There’s a deeper bootwell and frunk, a huge boot and of course that hatchback practicality. 40/20/40 rear seat split means you can carry 4 adults and still through load your Ikea box. Size wise, it’s around 5 cm longer, 5 cm wider and 18 cm taller than the Model 3. Its dimensions are quite close to the BMW X4 as a comparison. More use of aluminium in the chassis with its mega casting means the Y’s 1,979 kg weight is just 149 kg more than the equivalent LR Model 3. While there’s a lot of talk about how heavy EVs are, the Y is actually lighter than many comparable internal combustion vehicles (like that X4 at 1,995 kg) with all the advantages of the clever Tesla packaging and far lower centre of gravity.
The car can tow up to 1,600 kg with the optional Model Y Tow Package (£1,090) which can be installed at a service centre anytime after purchase. Front mud flaps are now included, although I replaced these weirdly skinny items with this molded set of 4. There are 2 PPF (paint protection film) panels in front of the rear wheels to protect the flared bodywork from stone chips. There’s new darker rear glass, and Bioweapon Defence Mode with its HEPA filtration system is included on the Y too.
General Updates
The Long Range version is currently the entry level Y in the UK as Tesla are not offering a RWD model, nor the 2.0 car that’s being built in Texas. There’s no word on a 7 seat version yet in the UK. A new Lithium-ion low voltage battery replaces the lead-acid 12v, which is often a failure point on EVs (this change also saves around 10 kgs).
Things That Could Be Improved
It seems to be an emerging trend to omit the rear wiper on new hatchbacks (the Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 5 for example). It’s the same on the Y and while that’s mostly OK at speed, it’s not great around town when water can settle on the screen. The beam that ran across the glass roof in the Model 3 in the middle of the cabin, has been moved back above the rear seat headrests instead on the Y. This gives a pleasingly uninterrupted single sheet glass roof in the passenger cabin, but it also has the effect of narrowing the view out of the back window. The dark tinted glass and auto-dimming rear mirror reduces visibility at night even further (although this can be disabled in settings). You can display the view from the excellent rear camera while driving if you like and it appears automatically when reversing.
Even though there are Matrix headlights fitted, their smart features are currently not functional. Hopefully this will be remedied with a software update soon.
Tesla is finding it hard to shake its bad build quality rep, and lazy youtube reviews continue to mention panel gap issues where there are none. This MIC (made in China) car’s bodywork is better than my 2019 Californian built Model 3. Saying that though Tesla does still need to keep working on quality, the rear headrest rattle that seems to be a feature on the Y is pretty awful for a new car of this price (I’m waiting for a service visit to sort this on my car). While it has improved, the automatic wiper setting still isn’t a match for every other car on the planet and the phantom braking issues I had in 2019 are still there.
And so on…
(thanks to reinisb.co.uk for these photo)
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Tesla Model Y Long Range – Features
Audio and Media
Premium audio – 13 speakers, 1 subwoofer, 2 amps, and immersive sound
Music and media over Bluetooth
USB-A port in the glovebox with a 128GB portable storage device included
Comfort
Power adjustable front seats
Heated front and rear seats
Heated steering wheel
HEPA air filtration system
Tinted glass roof with ultraviolet and infrared protection
Independent flat-fold rear seats
Interior floor mats
Convenience
LED fog lamps
Power folding, auto-dimming, heated side mirrors
Custom driver profiles
Center console with storage, 4 USB-C ports and wireless charging for 2 smartphones
Premium Connectivity, 30 days complimentary
Live traffic visualisation
Satellite-View Maps
Video Streaming, allowing access to content from Netflix, Youtube, Twitch, and more
Caraoke
Music Streaming
Internet Browser
Last update on 2024-02-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API