Exterior Design
The jury is always out when it comes to Tesla’s external designs. The Model Y is based on the Model 3 and does look like a taller version of the same car. Although we’re sure Tesla could have made its vehicles a big funkier, the major constraint is the aerodynamics. Despite being an SUV, the Model Y still manages to achieve an incredible drag coefficient of just 0.23, which is the same as the Model 3. This will really help with motorway efficiency.
Although this is a mini Model X, there are no Falcon Wing doors, just conventional ones. Judging by the US options, you can’t choose the Aero wheels of the Model 3, which we don’t really like anyway, and the alloy designs are different to the Model 3. The Uberturbine 21in wheels on our Performance worked well with the Midnight Silver Metallic of its paintjob. As with all Teslas, however, you either like the serious efficiency of the Model Y’s design or you don’t. It almost certainly wasn’t shaped by an Italian.
Interior Comfort
The same can be said of the Model Y interior. Our test car had the standard black interior, which looks like leather but isn’t. There’s the same single wood veneer panel at the front, which we thought looked out of place on the Model 3 and does just as much on the Model Y. We’d prefer if this was just black. With only the central 15in LCD panel, the interior seems very bare. All the seats are comfortable, and the front ones have electric adjustments at the side. The central console includes two cupholders and four USB ports with docking for two smartphones, and two USB ports for the rear. All Model Ys come with Qi wireless phone charging as standard.
One area of controversy has been whether the Model Y would actually have seven seats as originally hinted. Right now, in the US, you can’t buy it with this configuration, unlike the Model X. But when we talked to global vehicle tear-down company A2Mac1, which happened to have a Model Y in the lab being deconstructed, there was clearly a deep well behind the rear bench that could only be there for use with a third row of seating.
Recently, Tesla has updated its US website to offer seven seats from 2021 for $3,000, which will probably translate to £3,000 in the UK. The design of the Model Y will almost certainly mean these seats face backwards, as they did in the seven-seat Model S option that was offered for a few years, although some prototype pics have shown these facing forwards. However, unlike the third-row option in a Model X, these will definitely be for kids, without adequate adult headroom, and tiny legroom if they face forwards.
Storage and Load Carrying
Tesla cars universally do well on storage, because so much of the drivetrain is low down out of the way. It has a frunk, plus a well in the rear like the Model X. However, Tesla is a bit coy about stating the separate capacity of each of the areas. With the rear seats down and frunk included, you get 1,868 litres, which is 143 litres more than an Audi e-tron, for example, and much more than the Model 3’s 1,140 litres. The Model 3’s frunk has 85 litres, and the Model Y’s is clearly quite a bit larger. Estimates put the rear capacity with the seats up at 650 litres, which is similar to the Audi e-tron’s 660 litres. Either way, there’s plenty of luggage space for lots of different scenarios. The rear seats have the typical 60/40 arrangement, so you can choose whether to have one, two or no rear passengers alongside your expanded boot.
It’s also worth mentioning that, like the Model X, the Model Y can tow, although understandably not so much. With 19 or 21in wheels, the maximum is 1,588kg, but with the 20in wheels it is strangely much less at 1,043kg. This looks like a typo, but online discussions appear to infer that the tires and wheels used for the 20in option have a lower load capacity. If you’re planning on towing, we’d recommend the 19in wheels with the Long Range AWD. The 1,588kg ability is very good, although the Mercedes EQC and Audi e-tron can tow 1,800kg.
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