Five things we love about the Tesla Model Y

The 2022 Tesla Model Y is big news not just in the EV world but in the SUV world.

The all-new mid-size electric SUV is a car many people have been waiting for – and one that looks set to steal sales from traditional luxury brands, as the Model 3 sedan has done along the electric journey.

We’ve done almost 1000km in the EV newcomer and have come away generally impressed.

It’s a long way from perfect, though, and there are some characteristics that take the futuristic gloss off an otherwise impressive five-seat SUV.

Here are five things we really like, and five things we’re not so keen on.

Storage, space and flexibility

The 2022 Tesla Model Y shares plenty with the Model 3 that is now a familiar sight on our roads. But there’s one big difference: the roof. It sits 18cm higher on a slightly longer and wider body.

There’s also an additional 15mm between the front and rear wheels, something that adds precious millimetres to the rear legroom.

But it’s that tall roof that makes the biggest difference with the Y, transforming its interior flexibility compared with the Model 3 and making it a genuine competitor to the likes of the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Audi Q5, Lexus NX and Volvo XC60.

Those up front won’t notice a massive difference, other than sitting higher off the ground. The front seats are about 140mm higher and there’s a bit more headroom, but it’s the view out the windows that makes the biggest difference.

For those in the rear it’s a very different story. Even taller adults will have plenty of head space as well as the vast view created by the wholly glass roof.

The extra space continues further back. For what is a relatively compact exterior the Model Y packs plenty in. The boot is really deep and gets even deeper under the floor, totalling a combined 854 litres of space. There’s also another 117L under the bonnet. So heavy packers, the Model Y could be the ride for you!

Sound system

Premium sound systems in cars are nothing new, but most of them have a brand name attached to them. It could be Bose, Bang & Olufsen or Harman Kardon – or myriad others.

Tesla does without all that and instead develops its sound systems in-house. The result is terrific sound, in part because its snaffled some of those who previously worked at some big-name brands.

In the Model Y there are 13 speakers, including a subwoofer under the boot. Most of those speakers are focused on the two people up front. As well as beefy door speakers there are mid-range units at the top of the A-pillar and in the corner where the window meets the dash. Tweeters towards the front of the dash provide the all-important clarity and bright notes. Crank it up and there’s a rich, clear sound with loads of bass for back-up.

Tesla even allows sensible tuning of the acoustics. You can independently adjust the volume of five different frequency points, from bass to treble, while also adjusting the punch of the subwoofer.

Don’t go bringing your CDs though, because there’s none of that old-school tech in the forward-focused Tesla. Instead, you’ll either be listening to radio (minus the AM tuning) or streaming from something like Spotify.

And a warning: we’ve often found the Spotify connection in a Tesla can take a while to wake up, so you can sometimes be left tuneless waiting for the data to flow. But when it does, be prepared to be impressed.

Performance and efficiency

The Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive is the slowest car Tesla has ever sold in Australia. But it is by no means slow. There’s 194kW and 340Nm on offer from the single motor mounted between the rear wheels.

That’s about as much power as a decent hot hatch and responds almost immediately to throttle inputs. It’s particularly impressive when you plant your foot at about 50km/h.

Accelerating from a standstill is useful too. Tesla claims 0-100km/h acceleration in 6.9 seconds and our testing found it was closer to 7.2 seconds. Again, brisk but not potent, and it works well in a range of driving situations.

Even better, it’s pretty efficient doing it. You’ll use something like 15kWh of electricity for every 100km of driving, which for most people will cost something like $4 – which is heaps less than you’ll pay for petrol.

The charging network

Most people charge their EVs at home. It’s easy, practical and affordable, especially if you’ve got a solar system. But if you want to charge when you’re on the road Teslas have an edge over all other EVs.

They can not only use chargers designed for any other EV but all the Tesla-branded ones as well. There are hundreds around the country, including Superchargers that can theoretically add driving range at the rate of about 1000km/h.

They came about because Tesla wanted to solve the chicken-and-egg argument about what should come first (EVs or the things to charge them) when it started getting serious about EVs in Australia in the mid-2010s.

The company ploughed plenty into a fast-charging network and also incentivised anything from shopping centre and winery operators to motels and councils to provide easy EV power.

While those Tesla chargers use the same plug as other EVs (a Type 2 plug for AC charging and the associated CCS Combo for faster DC charging), those other EVs currently don’t work when plugged into a Tesla charger because the charging station doesn’t recognise it as a Tesla.

Tesla has flagged its intention to open its charging network to other EVs, but right now its chargers remain available only to Tesla owners. If you happen to drive a Tesla you’ll find it a lot easier to charge.

Our experience also suggests a Tesla charger is more likely to be working. We’ve discovered plenty of issues with other charging networks – many running the popular Tritium chargers – where they simply don’t work. We’ve experienced nothing like the same issues with Tesla chargers.

Touch-screen and tech

Infotainment screens are an increasingly important part of any new car. But Tesla (mostly) nails it with the 15-inch multimedia screen in the Model Y.

As well as being intuitive to use – if you’re handy with a smartphone you should be fine with this – it also packs in heaps more. You can play arcade games, tailor all manner of functions in the car and even get the car to do a bit of a dance…

The screen is also of a high resolution, something you notice when using the cameras (there are nine in the Model Y, four of which are used to provide a view around the car).

The screen also has some nifty features built in, including a dash-cam system that can be used to record what’s going on around you as you’re driving, as well as Sentry mode, which can record what’s happening when parked.

That latter function churns through a bit of battery, so it’s best not to leave your Model Y in a dodgy parking spot where you’re concerned about thieves, or where the locals might be adept at touch parking.

There is one big gripe with the touch-screen, though, and that’s how it also doubles as your instrument cluster. Without a traditional instrument cluster it means some of those 15 inches are dedicated to your speedo, vehicle warnings and a heap of semi-automated driving tech that looks funky but isn’t really necessary and takes up screen real estate.

The panoramic sunroof

That big expanse of glass that forms the roof is a masterpiece at night and on cloudy days. Unlike the Model 3, which has a support beam running across the centre of the roof, the Model Y’s sunroof is all sun, with glass from front to rear.

But despite ultraviolet and infrared protection being built into the glass, our experience suggests a good dose of Aussie sun will be enough to make things a tad too steamy in the cabin. The air-conditioning in the Tesla doesn’t blast as hard as that in a Toyota (the unofficial kings of icy air), so those additional overhead rays can also bite that fraction harder.

A retracting cover would be a perfect solution, but it doesn’t exist in the Model Y.

Instead, Tesla offers a clip-in sunshade that sells for $170 and promises to block “two-thirds of solar thermal load”.

The look…

There’s loads of Model 3 DNA in the Model Y. But somehow it doesn’t have much in the way of road presence. Blame it on the extra height; it’s a full 18cm taller than a Model 3.

We’re guessing that’s one reason Tesla opted to fit bigger wheels on the Model Y than it does for the Model 3. With the 3, for example, the entry-level wheels are 18 inches in diameter, whereas with the Y they’re 19s.

But it’s not until you get to the optional 20-inch wheels (or the 21s fitted to the Performance variant) that they really start to look muscly and flesh out the wheel-arches nicely.

Speaking of which, those arches have been pumped out wider to help work with the overall stance, although somehow it’s still not working. Around the rear three-quarter, in particular, there’s a lot of height and not a lot of width.

All of which means the Model Y looks modern with those familiar Tesla jellybean-esque details, but lacks the stance that would give it some added visual toughness.

The wheels…

The Tesla Model Y gets standard 19-inch wheels or optional 20s. Those 20-inch units look fantastic, but they cost almost three grand more. Not cheap…

Unfortunately the 19-inch wheels don’t really do it for us. That’s partly because what you’re really looking at are plastic wheel covers. You can clip them off to expose the real alloy wheels underneath, but somehow they still lack some cool factor.

Granted, the entry-level Model 3 also uses plastic wheel covers, but the cleaner design and black finish give them a better look.

No selectable brake regen

Electric cars have a terrific function called regenerative braking, where the electric motor can provide ‘engine braking’ to help decelerate the car, in turn temporarily creating electricity.

Teslas used to allow owners to choose the level of regen they wanted. But software updates mean the latest models have a single relatively aggressive regen setting. It means you have to be careful lifting off the accelerator or your passengers will be unwillingly nodding their heads. That said, with careful driving it also means you can get away without using the brake pedal in many situations, too.

Plus if you get bored with having to modulate the throttle carefully – any easing of your right foot will result in what feels like a press of the brake pedal – then there’s always cruise control to help out.

Even better, we’d like the choice of selectable regen modes to return. Maybe a future over-the-air software update will bring back the ability for drivers to select how hard they want their Model Y to decelerate, but for now the single aggressive mode won’t suit everyone.

Suspension firmness

Teslas have never had supple suspension. Instead there’s a firmness that helps provide an agile and sharp driving experience, from the way the nose points towards a corner to the way the suspension responds over a bump.

But the tautness of the Model Y’s suspension is more noticeable than with the Model 3 with which it shares so much. That’s partly because occupants are sitting higher, so they get tossed around that little more.

But it’s also because the core suspension set-up has clearly been chosen to prioritise driving enjoyment over passenger pampering.