The Y of Tesla
Tesla’s second offering here, the Model Y, pairs lofty ambition with a lofty ride height
THIS isn’t a comprehensive review of the Tesla Model Y so much as a set of impressions after a half-hour drive, but do Teslas need reviewing anyway? The brand’s many fans seem to pounce on anything the company produces, eager to signal their tech savviness or fealty to Elon Mouth, a man who, for all his visionary determination, really puts the “twit” in “Twitter”.
Norman, the chatty sales consultant from Tesla who accompanied me on my drive, told me he’s seen customers trade in just about anything for one of the American company’s cars, from Nissan Qashqais to a Porsche 911, which goes to show how uniquely Tesla can pull customers from both the mainstream and posh ends of the market.
Then again, Singaporeans can pick out a bargain better than a hawk can spot a fluffy bunny, and Tesla does have a lot to offer. Consider the performance. Cars like the Model Y make it clear just how much lightning has become a more effective means of propulsion than fire. In standard RWD (or rear wheel drive) form the medium 5-seat sport utility vehicle (SUV) is quick on paper, getting to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds, but the Model Y Performance I drove is spare-underpants fast, blazing noiselessly to 100 km/h in only 3.7 seconds.
All this for, respectively, S$142,471 and S$190,195. You still have to add S$110,003 for a Certificate Of Entitlement, but with the Model Y Performance, you’re getting sportscar performance for normal car money.
It feels reasonably sure-footed because the batteries’ low-slung position limits body roll and the tyres are good and sticky, but the Tesla also sits on hard suspension, so you’ll have to get used to a jiggly ride over bumps. If you can’t, stick to a Model 3, the brand’s BMW 3 Series killer. But then the Model Y is a noticeably larger car inside, with a cabin that feels airy and expansive, not because of the glass roof, but more since cars built from the outset to run on batteries tend to make the most of electric motors’ relatively small size by dedicating more space to occupants.
That packaging seems to have given the Model Y odd proportions, however. The snubnose, high tail and tall stance give it the look of a frog who ate too much, which works if you see the car’s otherness as something worth flaunting, but is otherwise bound to divide opinion. Likewise the interior, which has the same Zen-like, minimalist dashboard as the Model 3, along with the 15 inch (38.1 cm) do-everything touchscreen that delights half the world and bewilders the other three-quarters.
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At the risk of veering back into car review territory, it’s worth pointing out that Teslas score extremely well on crash tests, and that over the last decade their batteries have proven robust. Such things are vital if Tesla is to fulfil its mission to, as its employees repeat endlessly, accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, but I suspect many Model Y buyers here are more interested in a different kind of acceleration altogether.
Tesla Model Y Performance
Electric motors 513 hp (total), 660 Nm (total)
Battery Lithium ion, 90 kWh
Charge Time / Type 7 to 8 hours (to 100 per cent) / Wallbox, 20 minutes (to 80 per cent) / Tesla Supercharger
Range 514 km
Top speed 250 km/h
0-100 km/h 3.7 seconds
Efficiency 17.3 kWh/100 km
Price S$190,195 without COE
Agent Tesla Singapore
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