Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive review

It’s been a long wait, but the Tesla Model Y is finally here.

Effectively an SUV version of the Model 3 that is by far the top selling EV in Australia, the mid-sized Model Y has been eagerly awaited as electric car interest grows.

While its most direct natural competitors are the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, it will also fight for EV interest from the Polestar 2 and Tesla’s own Model 3.

As the Model 3 has done, the Model Y is also poised to tempt buyers from traditional petrol- and diesel-powered SUVs.

It shares design themes with the Model 3 as well as its electrical architecture, but the Model Y gets a unique body. It sits 181mm higher than a Model 3 and is 56mm longer and 72mm wider.

It’s proved an instant hit from the moment Tesla started taking orders on June 10, to the point where a price rise was implemented seven days later.

That and a growing waiting list has taken a bit of the shine off the new model’s arrival, but it also reinforces the impact the Model Y is expected to make.

Value

The Model Y will eventually be offered in three model variants that mimic those of the Model 3 range: Rear-Wheel Drive, Long Range and Performance.

For now you can only order the most affordable model, the $72,300 plus on-roads costs Rear-Wheel Drive, and the most expensive model, the $103,329 (inclusive of luxury car tax) Performance. Even then, it’s the Model Y RWD will be the first car delivered to customers around August, although wait lists have already stretched out almost a year.

The Model Y Performance arrives around November 2022 and the Long Range some time in 2023.

All three share the same body but the Performance gets larger 21-inch wheels wrapped around bigger brakes.

The Rear-Wheel Drive gets 19-inch alloy wheels (an inch up on the equivalent Model 3) and plastic wheel covers that give an aerodynamic advantage to increase driving range.

All three also share the same basic (high) level of equipment.

That includes fake leather seats, electric front seats, dual wireless phone chargers, heated steering wheel, heated seats all around, electrically adjustable steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, powered tailgate and satellite-navigation.

There’s also an impressive 13-speaker sound system with a subwoofer; it’s got serious punch and is crisp and clean in its sound reproduction.

A 15-inch central touchscreen doubles as the instrument cluster and packs in a heap of functionality and tech. It houses the opening of the bonnet, boot and glovebox, for example. Plus there’s a selection of arcade games as well as a vast array of customisation; you can even change the sound of the indicators (just in case you want to hear farts every time you activate them…) as well as the steering feel and whether the car creeps forward when stationary.

In case that’s not enough then the Model Y also has a Bioweapon Defense Mode, which is a far more exciting way of describing a hospital-grade HEPA filter. It filters out pollens, bacteria and odours to keep the cabin air cleaner.

Cameras surround the car. Not all of them provide images to the driver, with some simply providing data to the computer for the semi-autonomous and crash avoidance tech. If you want to count them there are three cameras at the top of the windscreen looking forward, two cameras on either side and a reversing camera looking directly backwards.

Some provide high resolution images to the screen and can even double as a 360-degree dashcam, recoding footage along the way. Oh, and they can record when the car is parked, too, to dissuade would-be thieves or record anyone who damages or approaches the vehicle.

Omissions include a head-up display and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, the latter covered off by Tesla’s own Bluetooth-based connectivity.

The Model Y is also underdone with its factory warranty. There’s only four years and 80,000km of coverage, although the high voltage battery is covered by a separate eight-year, 160,000km warranty that guarantees at least 70 percent of the original capacity.

Inside

Up front the Model Y is almost identical to a Model 3. Same sparse dashboard with a strip of wood to break up the minimalism … and that giant touchscreen. Same seats, same centre console and the same neat integration of tech (thumbwheels on the steering wheel control a multitude of features, for example, depending on what you’re doing).

Traditional luxury brands pay more attention to the finishes and materials, although there’s a modernity to the Tesla – and everything fits together well enough.

You are also sitting a lot higher in a Y compared with a 3, something that gives a more commanding view and allowing for easier entry and egress.

Further back the Model Y is a lot more spacious than its 3 sibling.

While it’s available as a seven-seater overseas, the Model Y is only being offered with five seats in Australia.

But those in the middle row are well catered for with thoroughly respectable head room and an open-sky feel courtesy of the glass roof.

Leg room is not as generous, but there’s loads of foot room under the front seats as well as a flat floor.

It’s the boot that is the surprise package with the Model Y. It’s very deep and has two handy underfloor storage binnacles that could easily be used for valuables; that’s handy given there is no luggage cover, allowing people to see what’s in the main part of the boot from outside the car.

The corners of the boot have deep pockets to stop smaller items wandering around.

And if you want to carry long or bulky things then the 40/20/40 split-fold back seat aids with load flexibility.

All up there’s 854 litres of luggage space behind the back seats (so you can still have five occupants). Plus there’s the frunk (or froot, for front boot) that adds 117L to the mix, for 971L in total.

For a car that doesn’t take up a big footprint on the road it’s a lot of load space.

Performance and efficiency

The Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive uses the same single electric motor driving the rear wheels that is fitted to the Model 3 RWD.

Tesla claims that motor makes 194kW and 340Nm and it drives through a single speed reduction gear.

It’s claimed to hit 100km/h in 6.9 seconds, which officially makes it the slowest-accelerating Tesla ever sold in Australia.

But it’s hardly slow…

Our own testing showed it took almost 7.2 seconds to reach 100km/h. And while that’s slower than Teslas we’ve seen in the past, it’s thoroughly acceptable – borderline brisk – by mid-sized SUV standards.

As with all EVs, there’s a near-instant enthusiasm to any prod of the throttle. It’s no slouch from a standstill and rolling acceleration from, say, 50 or 60km/h results in slick forward progress. It helps that there’s no gearbox that needs to sort itself out.

In modern Teslas there’s only one mode for regenerative braking and it’s quite aggressive. It means you can lift off and allow the reversed flow in the electric motor to do much of the deceleration.

But it also means you need to be aware of that acceleration to save giving your passengers the unwanted nods.

As for the range, the official WLTP figure is 455km. We found something just shy of 440km was more like it, maybe 435km to be safe.

Considering the battery pack is about 60kWh in capacity it means average electricity use just under 15kWh per 100km. Against a government-derived figure of 14.6kWh/100km it looks decent.

Oh, and for those who want to tow, the Model Y has been homologated to lug up to 1600kg. That’s big news for Australians given the Model 3 doesn’t have towing capacity locally. The hardware for the tow kit is due in 2023.

Charging the Tesla Model Y

Tesla doesn’t divulge the capacity of the Model Y’s battery, but a quick calculation shows there’s about 60kWh of usable storage.

That’s smaller than most rivals, but the car – while nuggety, at 1909kg – is lighter than most rivals, adding to its efficiency and charging speed

Which all helps when pumping electricity into it, something done via a Type 2 plug when home charging or the associated CCS combo for faster charging.

Home charging will take about 24 hours using a household plug, or something like 5.5 hours if you’ve got a wallbox charger and can utilise the 11kW AC charging limit of the Model Y.

Faster DC charging is claimed to add 299km of range in as little as 15 minutes, suggesting a kilometre-per hour charging average of almost 1200km/h (it’s academic, because the car doesn’t have the battery capacity to charge at that rate for a full hour).

We didn’t quite see that km/h peak during our charge, with our Model Y instead topping out below 1000km/h.

Still, it’s plenty fast and suggests the Model Y can take something like 160kW of charge on average across that 15-minute period (there would likely be peaks higher than that as the car regulates charging to look after its battery).

It’s also worth remembering that the Model Y has access to Tesla’s vast network of chargers around the country. It adds to the choices when you’re on a road trip, making a top-up that little bit easier.

Ride and handling

The Tesla Model Y has a clear focus on driving enjoyment over outright comfort. In some ways that nicely matches the youthful character of the car.

The steering is very direct and responsive, to the point where it requires subtlety at higher speeds.

But it points the nose succinctly and tucks neatly into a corner. The 19-inch Hankook tyres are respectably grippy, too.

The trade-off is how it deals with bumps. The Model Y RWD is towards the firmer side of the suspension ledger. It doesn’t jolt or jar, but equally it doesn’t smother bumps.

Multiple imperfections can have the body busily reacting. It’s no worse than a Model 3, but because you’re seated slightly higher there’s more side-to-side movement that ever-so-slightly accentuates things.

Again, it’s not uncomfortable but the Model Y is the sort of car that ensures you’re part of the journey no matter what’s going on at ground level.

X-factor

There’s no shortage of talking points for the Model Y, from its arcade games and “caraoke” to the Sentry mode that monitors people around the car when parked to the Toy Box that houses things such as the farting indicators.

But it’s the HEPA filter that is one of the more interesting extras on the Model Y.

Previously reserved for more expensive models, the HEPA filter is the core of the Bioweapon Defense Mode. Press the button and the cabin fan speeds up to recirculate and clean air.

It claims to remove pollens, bacteria, odours and other nasties from the cabin. Certainly sounds impressive and is a great conversation starter for those who have a boring quad-zone ventilation system…

Safety

The Model Y hasn’t been ANCAP crash rated yet, but it shares a lot with the Model 3 that scored a perfect five-star result in 2019.

It’s also well-endowed with active safety gear and driver assistance systems, including autonomous emergency braking, blind spot warning, lane departure assistance and a plethora of cameras to keep an eye on what’s going on around the car.

Verdict

So does the new Tesla Model Y live up to the hype?

For those familiar with the Model 3 it’s not a radical departure, instead building on the DNA with added space and flexibility.

That’s a good thing, although missing out on the EV rebates effectively adds to its price premium over the 3.

For those considering the EV switch from a luxury brand the Model Y will be a change of pace with an emphasis on technology over tradition.

Again, that could be a good thing, one that also brings a solid EV driving experience.

As with many EVs, the challenge with the Model Y could be getting hold of one. But for those prepared to settle in for the wait they’ll be driving away in an electric SUV that is among the best on the market.

Tesla Model Y specifications

Price: $72,300 plus on-road costs

Basics:EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, SUV, RWD

Range: 455km

Battery capacity: 60kWh (estimated)

Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km (guarantee of 70% of original capacity)

Energy consumption: 14.6kWh/100km

Motors: 1 rear 194kW/340Nm

AC charging: 11kW, Type 2 plug

DC charging: 250kW (estimated peak), CCS combo plug

0-100km/h: 6.9 seconds (claimed)