Considering a Model Y

[Seminole]

I have both in the garage and would take another Y before a CX-5 again.

 

[Calliope]

It doesn't include many options/extras included on many other cars
in this price range and even lower priced.

Comments like this always make me laugh, because I think it's missing the real point and the important question: Do you want to drive an electric car, or do you want to drive a car with more extras at a lower price?

If you want to drive an electric car, then only compare it to other electric cars (because they will always have a higher sticker price than an equivalently equipped and powered ICE). If you want more amenities and options, then either pay much more for a fancier electric car, or stick with an ICE car. Driving an electric car is a better and less expensive experience than driving an ICE car (I just had to rent one - I couldn't wait to get my EV back), but the market is newer and there are fewer options available. You accept that if you want to drive electric, until the market matures and more options become available.

 

[bobbyjae]

Just got the MY this week and I have to say it feels like 3-5 years ahead of any ICE car on the market. There's no going back for me.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Just got the MY this week and I have to say it feels like 3-5 years ahead of any ICE car on the market. There's no going back for me.

Wait until you look at your sideview mirror and don't see blind spot monitoring.
Wait until you hit a parking lot cement parking stop because of no front camera.
Wait until you begin to miss XM radio.
Wait until you keep wondering where to put your electric garage door opener.
To me, these are BASICS that every modern car should be equipped with, EV or ICE.
Tesla seems 5-10 years behind most other cars in the most basic conveniences.

 

[Calliope]

To me, these are BASICS that every modern car should be equipped with

To me, except for the blind spot signal, they're not basics at all......they're extras that I don't really care much about and won't miss. XM radio? I've tried it when borrowing other people's cars, and I don't miss it at all. I wouldn't pay extra for it, and I probably wouldn't even use it if it were free. Front camera? I can manage not to hit a cement block without it - I've been doing that for the last 30+ years just fine. Garage door opener fob? I attached it with velcro to the back of the screen - an easy fix for < $5.

I'm not saying you're wrong for wanting those things, I'm saying that they aren't as basic or expected as you seem to think. A lot of people are more concerned with the ride, the feel, and the efficiency than they are about entertainment options or built in conveniences. YMMV.

 

[Jigglypuff]

I'm probably in the same situation many are in. I have a perfectly good car that I bought new: 2017 Mazda CX-5 GT/ AWD, with every option, perfectly maintained with 48k miles. With the current vehicle shortage my Mazda is probably worth $3-5k more than it would be under normal circumstances.

I've driven the MY Long Range a few times and I'm impressed overall but feel some of it is just odd. I'm going to list some of my concerns about the car and hope some of you here in "the community" can help to quell them.

Frame less doors- The windows roll up/down every time the doors are opened and closed to clear window trim and seal windows better when doors are closed. This seems to be something that was done intentionally to secure repairs later in the vehicle's life cycle.

Sunroof with no shade- It gets damn hot here in Oklahoma. When I test drove the MY I noticed that whatever space age glass Tesla put on this roof it simply doesn't block enough light or heat. I understand there are aftermarket shades but from what I've seen most sag in the middle and look tacky. I've talked to a couple of tint shops and one refused to tint it stating that it could cause heat to build up and crack the glass and the other said they wouldn't because they didn't have the template. This is one area that I feel Tesla really went cheap.

Spartan Interior- This is a Love/Hate thing for me. At first the novelty of it took my breath away. Then I realized almost EVERYTHING is controlled through the display screen. I think there should be either a heads-up display or a small instrument cluster. Although, I did find that I got used to using the center display for speed and other functions. My biggest pet peeve is no dedicated door lock/unlock button.

Thermal battery capacity loss- I've watched several videos discussing this topic and it looks like extreme cold can impact range by over 30%.

Electric door release- The only way to open the doors (from the outside) is thought the electric release door handles. How do you get into this car if it goes completely dead?

I'm still muddling through details and haven't placed my order yet. Tesla's site currently states the delivery date as 6 months out but a service center associate told me delivery would likely be 2-4 months.

It's a good time to sell a car!
Frameless doors are not an issue, and they're not Tesla specific.
A sunshade helps, but I'm going to wrap my roof in vinyl to cut heat. It's an issue but not a dealbreaker unless you're like 6'6" and all torso.
The interior is mediocre. The whole interior ergonomics situation is pretty awful.
All EVs suck in the super cold.
The electric doors are stupid and constantly frustrate my kids. Ingenext has a sort of solution.
I don't regret the Model Y purchase. It's just far from car perfection.

 

[dino007]

Okcharge72: Honestly, if I had a list of concerns that long, I would have walked away from the MY months ago. Your concerns are legit, but based on the tone of your post, you "...have a very bad feeling about this."
Keep your Mazda!

^ this

but my 2 cents i guess

i live in desert in texas the roof glass wasn't bad compared to fishbowl around, I got the front and entire windows tinted(not the top already comes with a tint) and had basically no problems with A/C cooling the vehicle at 100+ degrees

Frameless is a design choice so dw about it plenty of cars have it and hold up fine

spartan interior if you like buttons you probably won't get used to it

i got used to it in like a week

otherwise keep the mazda and wait for more Evs which honestly theres a couple already u may wanna check out ioniq, mach e, polestar etc,

 

[Okcharge72]

It's a good time to sell a car!
Frameless doors are not an issue, and they're not Tesla specific.
A sunshade helps, but I'm going to wrap my roof in vinyl to cut heat. It's an issue but not a dealbreaker unless you're like 6'6" and all torso.
The interior is mediocre. The whole interior ergonomics situation is pretty awful.
All EVs suck in the super cold.
The electric doors are stupid and constantly frustrate my kids. Ingenext has a sort of solution.
I don't regret the Model Y purchase. It's just far from car perfection.

Yes. The current used car market is one of the reasons I'm considering a MY. I also think I was a little off on the current "inflation" of my Mazda. It's probably $7k over valued because of the current market.
The glass roof is still a sore spot for me. I'm actually going by personal experience driving a MY three times..and coming away each time thinking Tesla could have done better. There's a huge opportunity for an aftermarket company to come up with an easily installed electric shade or an electrochromatic tint.
Sometimes while considering a vehicle you walk away with certain perceptions that are difficult to explain. One word that kept coming up in my mind was "delicate". This thing just seems fussy. I'm fussy enough, maybe I don't need my car to be as well.

 

[Jigglypuff]

Yes. The current used car market is one of the reasons I'm considering a MY. I also think I was a little off on the current "inflation" of my Mazda. It's probably $7k over valued because of the current market.
The glass roof is still a sore spot for me. I'm actually going by personal experience driving a MY three times..and coming away each time thinking Tesla could have done better. There's a huge opportunity for an aftermarket company to come up with an easily installed electric shade or an electrochromatic tint.
Sometimes while considering a vehicle you walk away with certain perceptions that are difficult to explain. One word that kept coming up in my mind was "delicate". This thing just seems fussy. I'm fussy enough, maybe I don't need my car to be as well.

I'm not a fan of glass roofs in cars. I love a good skylight in a house, though. The sunshade I added helps some, but when the roof heats up, there is a layer of hot air or sure. Hence me planning on a wrap, to stop the roof from heating up so much. No amount of tint would stop the absorption of heat, since that is not the issue.

It is most definitely a car with many a design mistake. There are some nice strengths here and there, though. Once this whole pandemic mess calms down, which may be 2-3 years from now, I'll look at the other options out there. For now, there's nothing that has the range and charge network.

 

[gleearch]

I had a Mercedes B class as my first EV. It had a range on a good summer day of 120 miles, if you were lucky, and in the winter, maybe 90 miles. Nothing is more stressful trying to get home from a long drive with the guess-a-meter blinking red and saying you are empty. No supercharger ability and sketchy chargepoint or other third party charges than may or may not work and when it does, it's slow. But you get used to it and learn to drive around the limited range and push the car to it's limits. Even a compliance EV was better than driving ICE. I switched to an Acura RDX and hated everyday I drove that monstrosity.
I got rid of it and waited through Covid before getting a MYLR.
It's a drivers car. My wife does not like not having the lumbar support and no oh sh*t overhead grab handles in the passenger seat (the car is fast). She does not like being a passenger in the MY but she does like driving it but I make sure I drive it more. As drivers both of us adapted to the single screen from day one. Single pedal driving is easy too. There are somethings irritating about having to use the screen for everything but once you figure out voice commands, it's fun. I sometimes try guessing voice commands not already on the extensive list on Googledocs and am always surprised when something happens.
The frameless windows are not an issue because there are plenty of cars with frameless windows. Tesla did not invent them.
The heat is uncomfortable but we use a heatshield for the windscreen when parked and leave a suncreen for the sun roof up all the time. It's a two piece and not the single piece. I'll take it down when it cools off. I have not tinted my windows yet and will do so when the time is right. I will not tint the sunroof because it's expensive and I'm not sure how much better the tint will be. There is some UV and IR protection in the sunroof glass but none in the side windows. Watch the Tesla Youtube channel for the one about the glass.

The car makes me smile every time I drive it. Driving in the heavy commute of the Bay Area that has returned much worse than pre-Covid, is not an issue. I look forward to driving. I can work in my car and do so for hours when I need to. There's so much room. I would not do this in any other car. There are so many accessories for the car, that I can make it feel like Christmass every week, just buying stuff to try out in the car. I recently receive the latest software update and the waiting, anticipation and eventual endorphin rush when I realize it's updating was gratifying. The car gets better with each update.

Get this car only if you feel you can live with it's differences. Not everyone will enjoy this car. Tesla has a tendency to keep improving their cars. The early MYs did not have the functionality and options today's MYs have. Given the choice, I would buy a MY again. Who knows, it may come from Texas Giga and have cast front end with structural battery pack with 4680 batteries. Each iteration gets better.

Test drive the car a few times and make up your own mind about it. I tested the M3, MY, Bolt, Leaf, Mustang Mach-e, etc. Then placed my desposit for the MYLR in Jan 2021 and have no regrets. Prices were lower then.

 

[Calliope]

Sometimes while considering a vehicle you walk away with certain perceptions that are difficult to explain.

Never go against your gut feeling, in my opinion. If your concerns are intellectual and can be put into questions, then consider pros, cons, and work out what you think the balance is, but if your concerns are a gut feeling, then go with that. At least, that's been my experience in life.

 

[EVready]

Interesting thread: I am also in the research mode. Having taken the MYLR, Mach-e and ID.4 for test drives, there are clearly compromises to be made. I didn't seem to mind the single large display in the MY, but I was surprised with the fairly harsh ride in an SUV. The Mach-e rode better but a little more vague in its steering. The ID4 rode the best but frankly was less then inspiring in its overall feel plus a ho-hum interior.

I mention this because no matter what decision any of us make it comes down to a compromise. The process I have used for the last 50+ years in car buying is to develop a stack-rank spreadsheet of important (to me) decision factors and then drive each car several times until the ranks don't change any more....decision made! of course YMMV

Good luck....

 

[DanDi58]

Wait until you look at your sideview mirror and don't see blind spot monitoring.
Wait until you hit a parking lot cement parking stop because of no front camera.
Wait until you begin to miss XM radio.
Wait until you keep wondering where to put your electric garage door opener.
To me, these are BASICS that every modern car should be equipped with, EV or ICE.
Tesla seems 5-10 years behind most other cars in the most basic conveniences.

Used car prices are very high right now. If you're this dissatisfied with your car, maybe you should sell it?

 

[bobbyjae]

Wait until you look at your sideview mirror and don't see blind spot monitoring.
Wait until you hit a parking lot cement parking stop because of no front camera.
Wait until you begin to miss XM radio.
Wait until you keep wondering where to put your electric garage door opener.
To me, these are BASICS that every modern car should be equipped with, EV or ICE.
Tesla seems 5-10 years behind most other cars in the most basic conveniences.

It's odd the car doesn't come with blind spot or 360 view but those aren't deal breakers for me. It's made driving fun again which I appreciate the most.

 

[Zythryn]

My primary concern with an EV is the ability to drive 100 miles (on 100% charge) from home and then back again with out having to worry if I'll make it home. This is with driving normal highway speeds of 65-75 mph.

Your location is listed as Oklahoma. With your climate you should have no issues.
I say this as a Minnesotan with 11 winters of driving Teslas.

Also, the longer the drive, the less the efficiency hit. The biggest loss comes from warming up the battery after it gets cold soaked.
But 100 miles is a very comfortable range, even in Minnesota in January

update:
Apologies, I reread and see it is a 100 mile drive each way.
I would still be comfortable with 200 miles with some caveats.
I would get the smaller 19” wheels.

Or, if you have anywhere to charge at work (even a 110 plug) and can add a few miles while at work, that will help.
Or, if you are starting from charging the car overnight, that will also help.
In your situation, I would not get the car if you don’t have a way to charge at home.

 

[Jigglypuff]

It's odd the car doesn't come with blind spot or 360 view but those aren't deal breakers for me. It's made driving fun again which I appreciate the most.

The lack of blind spot monitor is idiotic. Just move the cameras back, you guys.
The lack of 360 view doesn't matter. I think that's a toy at best. Probably useful on a boat, but not on a car or even a truck. I find all the MY's cameras to be useless.

 

[ecarfan]

They just keep raising prices, and people keep ordering.

Yes, very strange how that has been going on for years now. Demand for Teslas consistently exceeds supply even as Tesla adds production lines in Fremont and a huge new factory in China. Tesla keeps increasing prices and has sales growth rates every year that are the envy of all the much older car companies. I guess Tesla makes pretty damn good cars; who knew?

 

[brian.c]

To me, most these complaints/concerns don't out weight not having to stop and get gas each week. We have owned now for almost 1yr, just passed 10k miles and have no regrets. I came from an older Lexus rx400h, so not the best comparison. Once I got used to the single screen, I have learned to love it. Now anytime looking at other brands, I hate all the buttons and vents etc. I would agree with most, if you want an EV, its the best option for now.

 

[Jigglypuff]

To me, most these complaints/concerns don't out weight not having to stop and get gas each week. We have owned now for almost 1yr, just passed 10k miles and have no regrets. I came from an older Lexus rx400h, so not the best comparison. Once I got used to the single screen, I have learned to love it. Now anytime looking at other brands, I hate all the buttons and vents etc. I would agree with most, if you want an EV, its the best option for now.

Our Jaguar I-Pace is superior in every single way except range and charging infrastructure. I also don't like the extra width, but it's not like the MY is narrow.

 

[pbcsd]

I'm also in the camp for you to keep your Mazda.
The Tesla is an oddball car imo.
It doesn't include many options/extras included on many other cars
in this price range and even lower priced. Can't get XM radio. No blind spot monitoring on
sideview mirrors to alert of other cars. No front camera. There are many more
examples I just can't think of this second. Oh yeah - sun visor mounted garage door opener.
You can't even order one in your new Tesla - you must order it "ala-carte" and have a mobile
tech come out to install it ($325 at last look). Many cars in this price range include this.
I bought mine only due to the fact I'm always buying and selling my cars. I usually keep them maybe
2 years and want to try something else. The Tesla was my "next venture". I like the fact I don't have
to visit the gas station. This is also my first SUV, albeit a compact SUV, it is much easier entering/exiting
than my last car (2019 Kia Stinger GT2). Here in FL, got ALL glass tinted right away. Still feel the heat
coming in through the roof. Radio sounds very nice. A/C works well.
There are so many simple upgrades that can be made to this car to make it MUCH more enjoyable.
Too bad Tesla doesn't feel the same way. They just keep raising prices, and people keep ordering.
Good luck with your decision.

The lack of standard Homelink and vented seats at this price range is almost inexcusable. I just keep hoping the 2022 Y will come with ventilated seats but I highly doubt it?