Tesla Model Y Review & Prices

The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV that is a cutting-edge alternative to models such as the BMW iX3, Audi Q4 e-tron and Mercedes EQB.

Based on the hugely popular Model 3, it’s a bit like if someone uploaded a picture of a Model 3 into Photoshop and started stretching its proportions. It’s longer and ever so slightly wider, but noticeably (more than 15cm) taller, meaning it looks more like a shrunken Model X.

The extra size means, unsurprisingly, extra space. The Model Y was first shown as a seven-seat model directly rivalling the EQB, but it’s only sold as a five-seater for the time being – Tesla won’t say if or when three-row models will go on sale.

Still, those in the rear get more head and legroom than in a Model 3, and all the seats are raised up to give a better view out. It also offers a huge 1,869-litre load bay with the rear seats down, which is more than you get even in the roomy Skoda Enyaq. You get a panoramic glass sunroof as standard to make the interior feel light and airy, too.

Tesla Model Y: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 283-331 miles
Efficiency: 3.6-4.0 miles per kWh
Battery size: 60kWh / 78kWh
Max charge speed: 250kW
Charge time AC: 7hrs 34mins, 0-100%, 11kW
Charge time DC: 27mins, 0-80%, 250kW
Charge port location: Left rear
Power outputs: 347hp / 389hp / 432hp

Like every other Tesla including the Model 3, the Model Y has a giant infotainment screen dominating the dashboard, and very little in the way of physical switchgear. The screen is in a landscape style (rather than portrait), is 15 inches in size and used to control almost all the car’s systems – even the door mirrors. It takes a bit of getting used to, but is one of the best screens on the market in terms of graphics and response.

Instead of using a key, you access the Tesla using your phone and you can send electronic keys to friends and family for car sharing. That’s done using the Tesla app, which also allows you to heat and cool the car before you get in it, track the car’s location and even limit its top speed.

Summon Mode is by far the cleverest feature, though. It means the Model Y will be able to drive out of its parking space and meet you, autonomously.

That said, most of the time you’ll want to do the driving – if only to experience the Tesla’s ludicrous acceleration. The top-end Performance version can get from 0-60mph in just 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 150mph.

Initially the Model Y was available in the UK in two versions: Long Range and Performance. As the name suggests, the Long Range can go furthest on a charge with a claimed range of 331 miles. Its 0-60mph time is 4.8 seconds, which is hardly slow. But, of course, the Performance model has supercar-baiting pace, completing this sprint in 3.5 seconds. That sacrifices range, however, which is down to 319 miles.

Both these cars are four-wheel drive, but there's also a third, cheaper, rear-wheel drive model, simply called Model Y. It’s quite a bit slower than the 4WD cars, with a 0-60mph time of 6.6 seconds and shorter range of 283 miles.

The Model Y does a decent job of mimicking the Model 3 when it comes to handling. There’s little body lean and quick steering to make it feel more agile than it should, given its size, although it isn’t quite as entertaining as the saloon. The ride is also firm – more so if you spec the optional 20-inch wheels, in which case it borders on harsh at times.

Of course, the Model Y will have access to Tesla’s comprehensive and reliable Supercharger charging network. The latest 250kW Superchargers will add 75 miles of range to the Model Y in just five minutes, while 15 minutes of charging will add 158 miles.

Check out the latest deals on the Tesla Model Y or browse an extensive stock of used Model Ys for a network of trusted dealers. You can also take a look through new Tesla deals other used Tesla models, and if you need to sell your current car, carwow can help with that, too.

Price drops across the Tesla range mean that you can now pick up the base Model Y for around the same price as other excellent electric SUVs like the Hyundai Ioniq and the Kia EV6.

You’re looking at high-spec Hyundais and Kias for the price of the Long Range, though, while the Performance starts above what you’ll pay for a fully loaded Ioniq 5 or EV6.

Like any EV, when you look at the high purchase price you need to factor in the savings you will make running on electricity rather than filling up with pricey petrol or diesel. The longer you plan to keep the car the more those savings add up.

Stunning acceleration, but a stiff ride quality doesn’t make for supreme comfort

In town

An electric car like the Model Y makes a lot of sense around town, as there are no exhaust emissions to harm air quality.

They make good town cars in all sorts of other ways, too. With just one forward gear, there are no gearchanges to worry about, so creeping along in traffic is even smoother than when driving a regular auto. And any Model Y has performance to burn on city streets – you’ll scoot into a gap of traffic and up to 30mph before you know it.

It’s not all good news, though. The Model Y has a stiff ride, especially on larger alloy wheels. It thumps into potholes and you can hear the suspension at work.

Another problem is the huge turning circle. It labours around tight turns that are easy in other EVs like the Skoda Enyaq.

Rear visibility is poor, which would be a real pain when parking if it wasn’t for Tesla’s excellent camera system. This gives a brilliant view all around the car, so there’s no excuse for scratching those expensive-looking alloys!

On the motorway

Some electric cars are nippy around town but begin to run out of puff on the motorway. That’s definitely not the case with the Tesla. This car is fast. Very fast.

Of course, there’s more to being a good motorway car than reaching 70mph when you’ve only just joined the slip road. As with the Tesla’s drive around town, there’s good and bad to report. The stiff town ride doesn’t really smooth out at speed, and the car feels a bit fidgety compared with the likes of the BMW i4. The Model Y is also less hushed than most electric cars, as road noise seems to echo around in the tall and roomy cabin.

Switch on the Tesla Autopilot system and the Model Y will largely drive for you, although the driver always needs to supervise the system ready to take back control.

On a twisty road

The Tesla Model Y is an exciting car to drive when the road starts to twist and turn, but it’s no quite as much fun as the Model 3. The suspension feels firmer in the Model Y and the car is heavier, so it’s not as agile. You do still get pin-sharp, super-responsive steering, but there’s something oddly false about its sportiness.

You go from one corner to another very quickly indeed, especially if you choose one of the four-wheel-drive models. These put their power to the road really well, even if the surface is wet and greasy. Even the entry-level rear-wheel-drive car is quicker than most other electric SUVs.

Lots of space front and rear, but you need to use the touchscreen to sort your driving position

You sit up higher in the Tesla Model Y than in the Model 3, but not as high as you’d be in a big SUV like a Land Rover. It’s still quite a sporty seating position.

There’s a good range of adjustment to the seat and the steering wheel moves up and down as well as in and out. However, fine-tuning the driving position is a bit of a faff, because you need to fiddle with the touchscreen to make even simple adjustments.

Whether you want to move the wheel, seat, or even adjust the door mirrors, you need to do it through a touchscreen menu, and the small round buttons on the steering wheel. It’s a much more time-consuming process than adjusting the seating position in any other car.

On the other hand, you can set up a driver profile which includes your ideal seating position and the angle of the mirrors, so you won’t have to keep fussing with the controls every time you drive.

There are big storage bins in the doors, and more storage and cupholders between the front seats. Lift up the driver’s armrest and you’ll find more space. There is a glovebox but you need to use voice control or the touchscreen to open it, which is unnecessarily complicated.

Space in the back seats

We’d much rather sit in the back of the Model Y than the Model 3. Not only is there more space, but the seat is further from the floor, which makes for a much more comfortable seating position. The seatbacks recline if one of your passengers wants a snooze, and the flat floor means there’s space for everyone’s feet, even with three in the back. Because the front seats are quite high you can stretch your feet out underneath them.

There’s an armrest which folds down out of the middle seat, although it’s a shame that there isn’t a cover for the cupholders set within it – they dig into your elbow.

You get ISOFIX mounting points for the outer seats, but they aren’t the easiest to use because they’re hidden between the seat base and back. Flip up covers would make life easier for parents with young children.

Boot space

Some electric cars waste the space where the petrol or diesel engine would be. Not the Tesla Model Y. There’s a front boot (Froot? Frunk?) with a 117-litre capacity. That’s genuinely useful.

You may not need it, though, as the boot in the back has a huge 854-litre capacity including the underfloor storage. You can fold the rear seats down for even more space, with no step to the boot floor.

That makes it one of the most practical electric SUVs you can buy, and by some margin. The Skoda Enyaq is considered a spacious car but it’s still a long way off the Tesla at 585 litres with the seats up. The Q4 e-tron and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are similar at 520 and 527 litres respectively, while the Kia EV6 lags some way behind with 490 litres.

It’s a shame there are no tie-down points to stop things sliding around, though. There’s no luggage cover either, which means whatever you put in the boot can be seen by potential thieves.

Tesla's minimalist design philosophy looks great, but controlling everything through the touchscreen can be annoying

Tesla used to get a lot of stick for iffy build quality and materials that looked out of place in a premium-priced car. The Model Y is a big improvement and looks and feels far more solidly screwed together.

If you think a Volvo’s dash doesn’t have many buttons, wait until you sit inside the Tesla. The Model Y takes minimalism to new extremes.

You get two scrolling buttons on the steering wheel, and stalks for the indicator and windscreen wipers. That’s pretty much your lot when it comes to physical controls. Everything else – and we mean everything – goes through the touchscreen.

And what an impressive bit of tech it is. The 13.0-inch infotainment screen looks fantastic. It’s slick and responsive. There are so many different menus and functions that it takes a bit of getting used to, but it really is very clever.

In most upmarket electric SUVs, you’d expect a second screen in front of the wheel with a speedo to let you know how fast you are going. Not in the Model Y. There’s just plain dashboard where you’d expect the digital dials to be.

Very minimal, very smart. But there are downsides. The Model Y’s speed is shown in the corner of the touchscreen. It’s not easy to read at a glance and depending on your seating position your arm and hand can get in the way of seeing it. Really, a high-tech car like this is crying out for a head-up display to put important info directly into your line of sight, but the Model Y doesn’t have one.

Other features are easier to like, such as the big wireless charging pad with room for two phones. And it’s great that Tesla has thought about keeping you entertained while you recharge, with Netflix, Spotify, and some games to keep you occupied.

There’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but you can stream music through a Bluetooth connection.

Tesla offers some of the longest range EVs you can get for the cash. In base form, the Model Y has a claimed range of 283 miles. Jump up to the Model Y Long Range and you get 331 miles, while the Performance is quoted at 319 miles.

The rear-wheel drive Kia EV6 has a maximum range of 328 miles, or 314 miles in all-wheel drive, dual-motor performance guise. The entry Hyundai Ioniq 5 goes up to 238 miles per charge, or 315 miles for the big battery version.

As for charging speeds, they’re all pretty similar. The Model Y can get up to speeds of 250kW at a fast charger, it's 220kW for the Ioniq 5 and the EV6 splits the two at 233kW. Tesla says its chargers add about 150 miles of range in 15 minutes.

Any electric car is cheap to fuel compared with a petrol or diesel car, but that’s not to say all electric cars are equally affordable to run. The Model Y is very efficient, with independent tests showing that it’s up with the very best when it comes to stretching every possible mile from a battery full of electricity.

Exactly how much a charge will cost depends on whether you are at home or using a public charger. Which brings us to one of the biggest advantages of choosing a Tesla over any other electric car – the Supercharger network. This is the biggest and most extensive collection of ultra-rapid chargers, and other EV owners can’t yet widely use it. The locations are all included in Model Y’s sat nav, and on long journeys the car will plot a route via Supercharger locations so you don’t need to give any thought as to where you should stop to recharge.

If you’re a company car driver, any electric car is a great choice thanks to exceptionally low tax rates. You’ll pay less in tax to put a Tesla Model Y on your drive than you would a petrol hatchback.

Private drivers are quids in too, as there’s no Vehicle Excise Duty to pay.

This is one safe car. The Model Y really made the safety boffins at Euro NCAP sit up and take notice.

The Tesla earned a rating of five stars out of five overall. The score for adult occupant protection was 97%, with an 87% score for child occupant protection. The Tesla’s protection of vulnerable road users scored an impressive 82%, and the safety assistance systems scored 98%.

So, the Tesla has lots of clever systems to help you avoid a collision, and if a crash happen it holds up well.

As for security, enable Sentry mode for the car’s cameras to start recording whenever the car is approached after it’s been locked. We’re not so sure about the lack of a luggage cover, though, as this leaves anything in the boot on show to a light-fingered passerby.

Early Teslas had an iffy reputation for faults, but things have improved. Nowadays Tesla tends to finish midfield in reliability surveys.

The Model Y is still a very new car, so it’s early days to know if there are specific problems with this model. Early signs are positive, though. In general electric cars are more reliable than cars with an internal combustion engine, as there are fewer complicated moving parts.

A decent four-year, 50,000-mile warranty is standard, with the battery and motors covered for eight years and 120,000 miles.