Tesla Model Y electric car test

Tesla’s Model Y was named the best-selling car in Europe for 2023 (second was the Dacia Sandero) and the best-selling car in the world at the same time. However, this year is not so favorable, as Tesla’s financial results are below expectations, on the basis of which the North American carmaker reduced the price of the basic Model 3 Highland by CZK 50,000 and shortly afterwards also introduced the Model 3 Highland Performance, which is such a small electric beast.

The novelty did not escape the Model Y either, but there was not as much fuss about it in the Internet world as, for example, in the case of the Cybertruck, which can be put out of service for 5 hours even by an ordinary dishwasher.

At the same time, this is a fairly fundamental innovation in the field of this electric SUV with huge commercial potential. Specifically, we are talking about the installation of one electric motor designed by Tesla, backwards.

Yes, this solution also offers the basic version of the Model Y with a LiFePO4 battery with a usable capacity of 57.5 kWh, this latest, named Long Range RWD (rear wheel drive), however, boasts a larger traction lithium-ion battery with a usable capacity 75 kWh.

According to the manufacturer’s data, the vehicle can cover 600 km per charge on 19-inch wheels and 565 km on 20-inch discs, but only in optimal conditions, which are very difficult to achieve in real traffic.

And it also makes a huge difference whether you drive in winter or summer, because it will affect the consumption by 20 to 30%, as our spring test of the Model 3 Highland proved. But what about the Model Y Long Range RWD on the base 19-inch wheels, how did it fare?

Although we only got the car for a few days, we drove it for six. Mainly highways (over half share), districts and also cities. The consumption for the first few hundred kilometers was slightly above 14 kWh per hundred, which could be considered a miracle, but then lower outside temperatures set in and the average energy appetite shot up.

We also observed that in the summer nineteen at the prescribed highway speed and with an ambient temperature of about six degrees above zero, the Y Long Range RWD drives for 19 kWh per hundred. And that’s not a bad value at all.

Anyway, after more than a thousand kilometers driven, our average consumption settled at a final 15.5 kWh per hundred kilometers, based on which the combined range is not on paper 600 km, but on real 483 km. On the other hand, reducing our share of highways by more than half and reducing consumption to 15 kWh per hundred would mean having 500 km at your disposal with a full battery.

We believe that coasting would also help to achieve better results, however the Model Y does not allow for free gliding. It offers three recovery modes, but all of them are quite strong.

Despite this, the Model Y still stands out against the segment competition as one of the most fuel-efficient electric SUVs. After all, you have to take into account that we are talking about a five-seater car the size of the Skoda Enyaq.

This builds on the weight, with the Long Range RWD weighing 1,959kg unladen, while a comparable entry-level Enyaq with rear-wheel drive and a larger 77kWh usable battery has a unladen weight of at least 2,062kg. And that is at least 103 kg of permanent extra weight.

But it’s not just about how heavy an electric car is, other factors include its efficiency and management of stored energy. By having Tesla’s software, electric motors and energy management, all underlined by the collection of an enormous amount of data from practically all of the brand’s vehicles in operation, its powertrain offers high efficiency and effectiveness.

Aerodynamics also play a very important role, namely the drag coefficient, which has a significant effect on consumption. The Tesla Model Y has a value of 0.23 (the lower the better), while for example the Škoda Enyaq SUV 0.27 and the Škoda Enyaq Coupé 0.234.

It would seem that an almost ideal SUV electric car has appeared in the world, however, we must not forget that it is a North American Tesla. And she does everything her way.

The exterior design of the car is understandably subjective, however, due to the simple shapes, the established Model Y is not to everyone’s liking. So there is nothing new in the fresh Long Range RWD in terms of exterior, except perhaps for the now adaptive LED lights.

It is worth mentioning here that even the older Model Y / Model 3 vehicles were already hardware-ready to turn off individual light segments, but the software was missing. And when the car software recently arrived, a new adaptive lighting option was suddenly added to the lighting sub-menu of these electric cars.

We found that in the tested Model Y the matrix lights work a little better (in the sense of not dazzling others) than in the modernized Model 3 Highland, so any tuning of the control software of the main lighting will probably be just a matter of small things.

The interior is also unchanged, so a simple design constant with possibly too wide A-pillars and no traditional instrument panel. Unlike the facelifted Model 3 Highland, inside the current Model Y you will still find levers for controlling the turn signals, lights, wipers and gearshift, but the steering wheel as such already looks and feels more like an arcade machine. Therefore, upgrading to Juniper for Model Y will be a welcome change, when the Highland-style SUV gets rid of the levers and gets a better “rudder”.

By the way, while we’re talking about video game machines, this Tesla also has its game package, including races, where you can physically use the steering wheel (the wheels turn slightly in place) and the brake pedal (the gas is automatic) to drive. We tried a few wheels and filmed this fun game for you. If you are waiting for someone or something (charging) somewhere, you can pleasantly shorten the beach rally for a long time.

In addition to the royal living space, the mega advantage of the Model Y in general is the volume of both trunks, totaling 971 liters. If you really need a gigantic trunk, the Model Y has an 854-liter Macocha in the back, complemented by a 117-liter front trunk.

There is no need to worry about the potentially slow acceleration of the single-engine version, because this latest variant can do it from zero to one hundred in less than six seconds (the default four-wheel drive is 0.9 seconds faster) and it will heat up to a maximum speed of 217 km/h. You won’t be standing for long at the fast charger either, as the highest charging power is up to 250 kW, which is against a number of direct terno competitors (e.g. Enyaq 135/175 kW, Peugeot e-3008/5008 160 kW).

In our opinion, the fresh Long Range RWD variant is the best choice from the Y model range, as it will offer a balanced ratio between range, consumption and price. You just have to live with the fact that the vehicle does not have a 4 × 4 drive. Twice a year, when you go to the mountains, pack chains in your trunk, or buy quality winter boots.

The latest addition to the Model Y family currently costs CZK 1,189,900, while the basic version, also with a driven rear axle, but with a smaller LiFePo4 battery, costs CZK 1,094,900. If you insist on a four-wheeler, then you will pay either CZK 1,284,900 for the standard Long Range AWD version, or CZK 1,408,900 for a four-wheeler in dynamic Performance guise.