New Tesla Model Y Review: Cheaper, Longer Range & Tesla’s Latest Innovations! TSLA's performance future of sustainable transport artificial intelligence
Join us as we dive into the world of Tesla, exploring the cutting-edge features of the 2023 Tesla Model 3 and beyond. From the revolutionary Tesla Solar Roof and Powerwall to the highly anticipated Tesla Cybertruck and Roadster, we cover it all. Learn how Elon Musk and his vision for Tesla are reshaping the future of electric vehicles, solar energy, and autonomy. We also discuss Tesla’s position in the market, including TSLA's performance on Nasdaq, the latest on Tesla shares, and insights into Tesla's energy solutions. Whether you’re curious about the cost of a Tesla, new models like the Tesla Model 2, or Musk’s ventures into artificial intelligence with OpenAI and robotics, this review offers a comprehensive look at Tesla's innovations. Stay tuned for insights on the Tesla Semi, Tesla Van, and the future of sustainable transport!
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00:00Last year, the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car in the entire world, and it isn't hard
00:07to see why, because this is an electric car that offers a long range, a practical interior
00:12and unrestricted access to Tesla's brilliant supercharger network.
00:16But what if you could have an even longer range and better efficiency for less money?
00:21Well, now you can, because this new version offers exactly that.
00:25In this review, I'm going to be telling you everything you need to know about it and
00:28finding out how efficient it really is in normal driving.
00:32So stay watching and don't forget to subscribe for lots more new car reviews, reveals and
00:36road trips.
00:42Now if you've heard there's a brand new Model Y on the horizon and you're hoping
00:46that this is it, well it isn't.
00:48There is a new version, it's codenamed Juniper, and later on this video I'll be telling
00:53you everything we know about this car so far, including the changes that we'd make if
00:58we were part of Tesla's design team.
01:00So what exactly do we have here then?
01:02Well this is effectively the same Model Y that's been on sale in the UK since late
01:062021.
01:07It's just been made more efficient than before.
01:10So efficient, in fact, that Tesla claims this sets a new benchmark among electric SUVs.
01:15And it's that improved efficiency that gives it a longer range between charges, because
01:20it has exactly the same 75kWh usable capacity battery that we've seen in the long range
01:25all-wheel drive version of the Model Y for years.
01:28Now you might be wondering how does it achieve this better efficiency?
01:31Does it have improved aerodynamics to help it cut through the air better, or does it
01:35have more energy efficient electric motors?
01:38Well actually it's a bit simpler than that, because until now the all-wheel drive version
01:42of the Model Y, in the UK at least, has only been available with all-wheel drive.
01:46So it's had one electric motor on the front axle here, and another one driving the rear
01:51wheels.
01:52So basically all Tesla has done is remove this front motor here.
01:55That's reduced weight of course, but also energy consumption.
01:59And it means that the long range rear-wheel drive version of the Model Y has an official
02:03range of 373 miles.
02:06That's 41 miles further than the all-wheel drive version, and a whopping 89 miles further
02:11than the standard range rear-wheel drive.
02:13In fact 373 miles is only 18 miles behind the range offered by the Model 3 long range,
02:19although it isn't quite class leading among electric SUVs, because the new Renault Scenic
02:24can officially do up to 379 miles.
02:27And if you want to see exactly how far that car can go in the real world, click up there
02:31at the top to watch our 2024 summer range test.
02:34But to get some idea of the real world range and efficiency of this new updated Model Y,
02:39I have come up with a cunning plan.
02:42So we are currently plugged into a supercharger near Heathrow Terminal 2, and when the battery
02:46gets to 80%, I'm going to head up to Bicester Village for some lunch.
02:51From there we'll loop back into London on the A41 and we'll finish up at another supercharger
02:56at Brent Cross.
02:57When we get there, we'll charge the battery back up to 80%, we'll crunch some numbers
03:01and we'll work out the average efficiency for the trip, and also a realistic range for
03:06this car in normal driving.
03:08Okay, so we're on the M40 at the moment, and that gives me a chance to talk about one
03:19of this car's biggest shortcomings, and that's refinement, because there's a lot of road
03:24noise at 70 miles an hour, and also it's a bit of an echo chamber in here because there
03:28are thumps from the suspension as it tries to deal with imperfections in the road, and
03:32they reverberate around the interior.
03:35Now you might have noticed I said the suspension tries to deal with bumps, because the truth
03:40is it doesn't do a particularly great job of that.
03:43Early versions of the Model Y that made it to the UK were particularly bad for ride comfort,
03:47and some of the models that we've driven since have been better.
03:50Not brilliant, but not terrible.
03:52This version though really isn't very good at all.
03:55It's particularly bad around town, but even on the motorway when you're doing 70 miles
03:58an hour, you're jostled around, any little bump in the road has the rear end hopping
04:03around, and frankly it's just quite annoying.
04:06Now whether that's because the suspension has been retuned to take into account the
04:09reduced weight over the nose, or whether this is just a Friday afternoon car, I'm really
04:14not sure, but what I can say is there are far, far more comfortable electric SUVs to
04:19choose from, including cars like the new Renault Scenic and the Skoda Enyaq.
04:24There is better news when it comes to self-driving tech though, so there are various packages
04:27you can add to the Model Y to increase the level of automation, but even as standard
04:32you get something called Autopilot.
04:34So all I do is I double tap this right stalk behind the steering wheel, and that engages
04:39adaptive cruise control, so it keeps me a safe distance from the car in front, and also
04:43steers me in the centre of my lane.
04:45You have to keep your hands on the steering wheel of course, but it does a really good
04:49job, far better than the equivalent systems in a lot of rivals.
04:52Okay, so we've just come off the M40, we are taking a slightly more scenic route to
05:04Bicester via the Chilterns, and that gives me a good opportunity to talk about handling.
05:09So the good news is that it is better than the ride comfort that this car offers, which
05:14along this road is still terrible, and this car does stay fairly upright by electric SUV
05:21standards when you're going around corners, and also it offers quite a lot of grip.
05:25The problem is the steering is quite quick for what's quite a tall SUV, it makes the
05:29Model Y feel a little bit nervous and edgy when you're driving along winding roads like
05:34this, and also the steering is ridiculously heavy unless you choose the lightest setting
05:41on the touchscreen here, and that really robs you of any sense of connection with the front
05:45wheels.
05:46So this isn't a car that's fun or rewarding to drive on twisty country roads, and if you
05:52do want something that will put a bit more of a smile on your face, then I would suggest
05:55looking at the Kia EV6.
05:57Now we are on an efficiency run of course, so I'm not going to do a 0-60 run, but what
06:01I can tell you is this car is quite a lot slower than the all-wheel drive long range
06:05version of the Model Y.
06:07That can do 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, in this rear wheel drive version you'll be waiting just
06:12under 6 seconds because of course it only has one electric motor rather than two, but
06:17still that is plenty fast enough for what's a family SUV after all, it's just that you
06:23don't get quite the brutal kick that you do from a lot of Teslas when you put your foot
06:27down hard.
06:28If that's something that's appealing to you, then you might want to consider the all-wheel
06:31drive version, or perhaps even the range-topping performance, which can do 0-60 in less than
06:364 seconds.
06:43Right we are here at Bicester Village, and before I get some lunch, let's just take
06:47a quick look at this interior, because to be honest, not much has changed since this
06:51car was first launched in the UK a few years ago.
06:54So you've still got this really minimalist design, very few buttons, and that means to
06:59do things like adjusting the steering wheel or the door mirrors, you have to use a combination
07:04of this touchscreen here and these scroll wheels on the steering wheel, so it's a bit
07:08of a faff, but at least it's not something you're going to be doing on a regular basis.
07:12You will always though have to look at this screen to see what speed you're doing, because
07:16the speedo is up here in the corner, and also you'll have to look at it for sat-nav directions,
07:21because unlike pretty much every other rival, there is no digital display here behind the
07:27steering wheel, and there is no head-up display on the windscreen either.
07:30On the plus side, this 15-inch touchscreen, it's really bright, it's quick to respond
07:33as you can see the graphics on there are very sharp, and you get over-the-air updates
07:37from Tesla, so sometimes you'll log in and you'll see that the design of the operating
07:42system has changed slightly, and other times you'll just notice there's a new feature that's
07:45popped up.
07:46So that's really, really good.
07:47The only thing you don't get is smartphone mirroring, because that isn't available on
07:51any Tesla, so you can't have Apple CarPlay and you can't have Android Auto.
07:56It's not a huge deal, because there are apps for Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify,
08:01but it is something worth bearing in mind, because as I say, the Model Y is not available
08:05with any form of smartphone mirroring.
08:07Now quality is something that we've criticised Tesla for in its early days actually, but
08:12things have improved notably.
08:14This is not as classy inside as a Genesis GV60 or an Audi Q6 e-tron, but it is a step
08:19above a Hyundai Ioniq 5, or even a Peugeot E3008 actually, because you've got some nice
08:25soft-touch materials on the dashboard, on the insides of the doors, there is stitch
08:29leather across the centre console, and everything actually feels quite solid too.
08:34And if you don't like this black and wood effect colour scheme, then don't worry, because
08:38you can pay extra to have white seats and a white face on the dashboard instead.
08:42Anyway, storage, there is loads of it.
08:45There is a massive cubby under this central armrest here.
08:48There are two cup holders, as you can see, just in front of that.
08:51Further forward in front of it, there is another storage tray that's lidded, and that's useful
08:55for throwing cables or anything else you want to keep out of sight.
08:58And if you're wondering what this design here is all about, well, it is actually two
09:02wireless phone charging pads, so I can just pop my phone there and charge it when I'm
09:06driving along without needing to plug it in.
09:08On top of that, you've got some decent-sized door bins, so all in all, you are really well
09:13catered for when it comes to storage in the front of the Model Y.
09:16But what's it like in the back?
09:17Now, the rear seats in the Model Y are really roomy, actually.
09:20As you can see, I've got loads of space for my feet, I have plenty of knee room, and even
09:25head room.
09:26For someone of my height, I'm just over six feet tall, this seat in front is in my driving
09:30position, and I'm absolutely fine.
09:32I can even recline these rear seat backs if I want a slightly more laid-back seating position.
09:37So overall, far, far better in the back than a Peugeot E3008 or even a Renault Scenic.
09:44There is also a flat floor down here, so no hump for the central passenger to straddle.
09:49And because I've got this huge single piece of glass above my head, that lets loads of
09:54light inside, and generally, it feels really light and airy back here.
09:58There are a couple of minor complaints though, so as you can see, there are air vents for
10:02the rear passengers down here, but there is no way of controlling the air conditioning
10:06back here.
10:07So if I'm feeling a bit chilly, I need to speak to someone sitting in the front and
10:11ask them to turn the temperature up.
10:12It's the same story if I want to switch on the heated seats, unusually, all three seats
10:17in the back here are heated, so it's not just the altitude the middle passenger is catered
10:20for.
10:21But again, I'll need to speak to the driver or the front passenger to switch these on.
10:26The other minor complaint is the length of these seat bases.
10:29As you can see, they're quite short.
10:31If they were a bit longer, I would be more comfortable on a long journey.
10:34But overall, certainly one of the best cars in the class.
10:48Now what about the next generation Model Y that's due to arrive next year?
10:51Well, there are lots of rumours floating around, but it's almost certainly going to be a
10:55heavily revised version of the car we're driving here.
10:58In fact, the overhaul will probably be similar to the one given to the Model 3 at the end
11:02of last year.
11:03These aren't images of the finished production car, they're artist's impressions of what
11:08we expect the Model Y to look like based on a series of spy shots we've seen.
11:11These suggest improved aerodynamics, which should help the Model Y deliver even better
11:15efficiency and also give it a longer range.
11:18It also looks like there will be a light bar across the rear end.
11:21Tesla isn't expected to make drastic changes to the battery and charging system.
11:25The Model Y's 250kW maximum charging rate is still one of its strong suits, although
11:30the top-rung performance version is likely to receive a significant power boost to take
11:35the fight to the new electric Porsche Macan turbo.
11:38Inside, we expect to see some more upmarket materials, along with the redesigned centre
11:42console and 8-inch rear infotainment screen from the latest Model 3.
11:46But here are three things we'd change about the Model Y, and three things we wouldn't
11:51if we were in charge at Tesla.
11:53We'd add more supportive seats, because these ones, they're OK when you're going in a straight
11:57line, but bigger side bolsters would hold you in place better when you're going around
12:01corners.
12:02We wouldn't change the boot, because as you can see, it is absolutely massive, and there
12:06is loads more storage space below this main boot floor here.
12:09There is even further storage space under the bonnet, something that Tesla calls a frunk.
12:14We would definitely improve ride comfort.
12:17It's always been a weakness of the Model Y, and this long-range rear-wheel-drive version
12:21is particularly annoying.
12:22We wouldn't carry over the indicator buttons on the steering wheel that debuted on the
12:27facelifted Model 3 last year, because they are fiddly, and there is nothing wrong with
12:31a good old-fashioned stalk.
12:34We'd also add a seven-seat option.
12:36That has been available in America for quite a while now, but it has never made it to the
12:40UK, and it would add some extra flexibility to the Model Y.
12:44A six-seat option has been rumoured, and that would be fine too.
12:47We also wouldn't raise the price.
12:49Some other manufacturers have been particularly aggressive with the pricing of their electric
12:54SUVs recently, including Renault.
12:56So if anything, Tesla might want to consider cutting the price of the Model Y, something
13:00it did when it launched the heavily facelifted Model 3 a few months ago.
13:07Right, we're at Brent Cross.
13:11This is plugged in.
13:12We've done 131 miles today, so let's get it back up to 80% and crunch some numbers.
13:19Now this version of the Model Y can officially charge at speeds of up to 250kW, so in ideal
13:24conditions you'll be waiting around 27 minutes for a 10-80% top-up.
13:29That isn't always the case though.
13:31Our 29% to 80% charge at the Brent Cross superchargers took 29 minutes and 42 seconds.
13:37That's partly because those charging points can deliver a maximum of only 150kW, many
13:41other supercharger locations can pump up to 250kW, but your actual charging time varies
13:46depending on lots of factors, such as the temperature of the battery.
13:50Although on this trip, we did precondition the battery before arriving for a final charging
13:54stop.
13:55Nevertheless, unrestricted access to Tesla's supercharger network is a big reason to choose
14:00the Model Y, and you can normally expect fast, reliable charging with no faffing around
14:04with phone apps or contactless cards.
14:06You just plug in and the fee comes out of your bank account automatically.
14:10But what about the efficiency of this new long-range rear-wheel drive version on our
14:14journey?
14:15Well, the car's trip computer showed an average of 276wh per mile, which translates
14:19to 3.6 miles per kWh.
14:22However, the final charge back up to 80%, the level of the battery when we started the
14:26trip, pulled 43kWh from the grid.
14:29Given that the trip was 131 miles, that works out to a more disappointing average of 3 miles
14:34per kWh, although that figure does factor in charging losses, something that all electric
14:39cars suffer from, and the rainy weather certainly didn't help matters.
14:42Anyway, let's talk about the price of this car, because it costs £46,990.
14:46That's £6,000 less than the all-wheel drive version of the long-range Model Y, and only
14:52£2,000 more than the entry-level rear-wheel drive version, which is expected to be dropped
14:56pretty soon.
14:57So on paper, this new version is a no-brainer if you're buying a Model Y, and it comes
15:01with loads of standard equipment.
15:04But although the Model Y might be the best-selling car that Tesla makes, it isn't the best.
15:08The Model 3 is cheaper, it's more efficient, and it's much better to drive.
15:12So unless you really need the extra practicality that the Model Y offers, that's where our
15:16money would go.
15:17Thanks for watching, and let us know what you think of the Model Y in the comments below,
15:20and what you'd like to see when the new Juniper version arrives next year.
15:24If you'd like to watch another video, just click one of the links on the left-hand side.