Tesla Model Y review

There are lots of new electric crossover SUVs around right now. But there’s only one Tesla Model Y. It came out in the US in March 2020, but took two years to arrive in the UK, making the whole thing feel like a 1990s movie or PlayStation game. We were very late to the party on these shores.

Where does it fit in the Tesla range?

It’s Tesla’s fourth four-door, after the Model S big saloon, the Model X big SUV, and the Model 3 small saloon, which the Model Y is pretty closely based on. Sadly just the 3 and Y are on sale in right-hand drive UK spec these days, but there are some S and X bargains to be had on the used market.

In fact, the Y shares three quarters of its parts with the 3 (well, the pre-facelift 3 - it should get an update of its own later this year). It’s just a bit longer and taller. The Model 3 seats sit on huge plinths for a commanding driving position. In October 2024, a long-promised seven seater version was finally added to the UK line-up. Watch out, Mercedes EQB and Peugeot e-5008.

And while the Model Y doesn’t get the Model X’s ‘falcon doors’, it does inherit a 15-inch touchscreen interface from the 3. And a round steering wheel. Phew.

How big is the battery and how far will that get me?

Tesla does like to chop and change its specs quite often, but for now at least this is really simple: you've got the entry-level Long Range model with rear-wheel drive that does 373 miles of WLTP range, the Long Range AWD that does 331 miles, and the Performance AWD model.

If you upgrade to the Model Y Performance then your range drops down to a claimed 319 miles, but in return power leaps from 434bhp to a massive 563bhp. And even then, a Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 AMG will be defeated by the Y’s instantaneous pace.

How much will it cost?

The Long Range RWD Model Y costs from £46,990 in the UK, while the dual motor version costs a tenner short of £52k.

For the Model Y Performance, you pay the same note shy of £60,000. A few grand between this and the Model 3 at either end of the spectrum, then, even after all of Tesla's recent price cuts.

What are the rivals?

They’re multiplying by the week. Chief fodder for the Model Y to chew up and dispatch is the VW ID.4, and its Audi Q4 e-tron, Q4 Sportback and Skoda Enyaq siblings – all of which fall short of the Tesla’s range. Then there’s the much more enduring Ford Mustang Mach-E, and the more design-led Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.

More recently the electric Porsche Macan and Lotus Eletre have joined the party, albeit a much more exclusive soiree with inflated entry price to match. Keep an eye out for BMW's iX3 replacement, coming later in 2025.

Images: Jonny Fleetwood + Lee Brimble

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Let’s not pretend it’s a surprise that the Model Y is a good car. And it very much is. What’s most interesting is this is the first Tesla we’ve driven where the standout impression isn’t necessarily the acceleration, or the driver assistance tech, or the world-class touchscreen, or even the built-in games and memes.

It’s the packaging. The Model Y is now the poster car for ‘if you delete the engine, the gearbox, the exhaust and all that fuel tank plumbing, then look how roomy you can make the cabin, and look how much storage you can offer in the boot'.

Obviously that’s not as sexy as Autopilot or Ludicrous Mode, but it’s going to make this a great car to live with, before you get to the foolproof charging, frugal real-world electrical consumption, and all the other stuff that makes Teslas genius electric all-rounders. Plus, if the build quality continues on this trajectory, one of Tesla’s real weaknesses against the European old guard will eventually be kiboshed.

It would have been one of the shocks of the century if Tesla had heightened a Model 3 and spoiled it in the process. In short, it has not.