Model Y - Initial Impressions - Delights, surprises, disappointments and concerns

Bought a 23 Model Y without a test drive (no test drive available, but have test driven an older MY 3 some time back). Some initial perspectives after a week.

Delights:
1. Very spacious- doesn’t look like it from outside. Leg room and head room are pretty good.
2. Smooth app experience in-car and on phone
3. Plenty of storage

Surprises:
1. Ride quality is not bad at all. Much better than the Model 3. Comparable to other EVs. Not as soft as Hyundai Sonata Hybrid that we have but does soak up bumps reasonably well
2. Good turning radius for a car of its size

Disappointments/Annoyance
1. Regen levels are not adjustable
2. No 360 view for a 65K+ car in 2023
3. Not the best implementation of blind spot safety. No visual or audible alerts with turn signals on for the left side. Audible when there is a car in blind spot is the safest implementation despite minor annoyance. Now I have to get used to looking right and then looking left to turn.

Concerns:
1. Heavy low frequency resonance- just figuring out this is a problem that many are facing - just hoping it’s fixable and not really a torsional rigidity design flaw - Set up service appointment in 2 weeks
2. No rear safety- no cross traffic alerts, no auto brake for objects or pedestrians- almost ran into another reversing BMW but fortunately that car had better tech to stop
3. . Lane departure warning / assistance doesn’t work reliably. Low end cars give warning when straddling or drifting lanes.

Overall well built car and drives well. But certainly some concerns and disappointments.

"Tesla Model Y Dual Motor Solid Black (4)" by Damian B Oh is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog feed thumbnail

 

[schen72]

Even without those features, I still prefer driving my car over hers. I’m in my early 40s and have been driving since the mid 90s. So my base driverset was formed before all of this newfangled tech came around.

Same for me. For many many years my cars had zero of these assistive features. The only feature I think is truly necessary is the rear view cams, because the rear window is so tiny. But this is an issue with many modern cars.

 

[RedY23]

Maybe I haven't driven enough new cars but the way you guys describe them make them sound like an annoying beepfest. My six year old VW has no such features and I manage to change lanes without issue though I do think having the little light in the mirror would be nice.

I think the car is so awesome that peeps find little things to pick on. I love the handles. I just push with any finger in the thumb slot and the door partially oppens than you can just pull on it. Sooooo Easy. The great thing about this car is aftermarket parts to make every nitpicking fella (I am one also) happy. You can mod the door handle, put S3XY buttons and 100s of other items in the car so it more like a Ford or Chevy...but I personally love the complex simplicity this car offers. I think its a matter of getting used to a completely new platform.... I think with time they will continue to improve and will continue to dominate the EV market. If we find little crap annoying in this car drive a MachE for a week. Crappy battery life, useless buttons and headache to figure out what package you want to pay for...pick the wrong one and you will miss a front camera.
I love that the Tesla comes with all the hardware you need regardless of price.

Now the Camera and lane sensing and turning issues..is real. I HOPE I AM NOT overly optimistic but I hope that they will improve that with upgrades once the work out all the kinks of the new system. I didnt buy any of the AP packages because right now they dont work properly. I think thats an incentive to get it right sooner than later.

 

[schen72]

I think the car is so awesome that peeps find little things to pick on. I love the handles. I just push with any finger in the thumb slot and the door partially oppens than you can just pull on it. Sooooo Easy. The great thing about this car is aftermarket parts to make every nitpicking fella (I am one also) happy. You can mod the door handle, put S3XY buttons and 100s of other items in the car so it more like a Ford or Chevy...but I personally love the complex simplicity this car offers. I think its a matter of getting used to a completely new platform.... I think with time they will continue to improve and will continue to dominate the EV market. If we find little crap annoying in this car drive a MachE for a week. Crappy battery life, useless buttons and headache to figure out what package you want to pay for...pick the wrong one and you will miss a front camera.
I love that the Tesla comes with all the hardware you need regardless of price.

Now the Camera and lane sensing and turning issues..is real. I HOPE I AM NOT overly optimistic but I hope that they will improve that with upgrades once the work out all the kinks of the new system. I didnt buy any of the AP packages because right now they dont work properly. I think thats an incentive to get it right sooner than later.

I love the door handles too! I think it's an elegant method of having flush handles. And not being powered, they will be more reliable. I also don't live somewhere where it snows, so no issues with frozen handles.

 

[bangsar1]

Bought a 23 Model Y without a test drive (no test drive available, but have test driven an older MY 3 some time back). Some initial perspectives after a week.

Delights:
1. Very spacious- doesn’t look like it from outside. Leg room and head room are pretty good.
2. Smooth app experience in-car and on phone
3. Plenty of storage

Surprises:
1. Ride quality is not bad at all. Much better than the Model 3. Comparable to other EVs. Not as soft as Hyundai Sonata Hybrid that we have but does soak up bumps reasonably well
2. Good turning radius for a car of its size

Disappointments/Annoyance
1. Regen levels are not adjustable
2. No 360 view for a 65K+ car in 2023
3. Not the best implementation of blind spot safety. No visual or audible alerts with turn signals on for the left side. Audible when there is a car in blind spot is the safest implementation despite minor annoyance. Now I have to get used to looking right and then looking left to turn.

Concerns:
1. Heavy low frequency resonance- just figuring out this is a problem that many are facing - just hoping it’s fixable and not really a torsional rigidity design flaw - Set up service appointment in 2 weeks
2. No rear safety- no cross traffic alerts, no auto brake for objects or pedestrians- almost ran into another reversing BMW but fortunately that car had better tech to stop
3. . Lane departure warning / assistance doesn’t work reliably. Low end cars give warning when straddling or drifting lanes.

Overall well built car and drives well. But certainly some concerns and disappointments.


View attachment 896494
"Tesla Model Y Dual Motor Solid Black (4)" by Damian B Oh is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog feed thumbnail

I paid 70k otd in Dec 2023 for my mylr. I have very similar concerns. Was under the impression that visit only was the way to go. All indicators point to sensors again for the newer cars. Sucks to feel like I paid a higher price for a car that barely worked as promised and in a few months. It's end of life for vision only cars. I bought the car for the advance tech. Did not mind paying that price fir it. Now I'm stuck with 70k car with no advanced tech. Since MY is not a luxury car by any means. Car is pretty much worthless to me.

 

[RedY23]

I paid 70k otd in Dec 2023 for my mylr. I have very similar concerns. Was under the impression that visit only was the way to go. All indicators point to sensors again for the newer cars. Sucks to feel like I paid a higher price for a car that barely worked as promised and in a few months. It's end of life for vision only cars. I bought the car for the advance tech. Did not mind paying that price fir it. Now I'm stuck with 70k car with no advanced tech. Since MY is not a luxury car by any means. Car is pretty much worthless to me.

I would guess that if they change anything it will be to add radar, not USS. Which means everyone may need to upgrade or mod the system to add that. When you buy anything in life its as is. I am very happy with mine and not even using Autopilot. Having too much fun on the freeway self controlling.

Anyhow I do see that paying 70,000 instead of 57000 for the same car would piss off people...feeling that you got ripped off. Human psych 101. I payed 57000 for mine so am willing to overlook some of the deficits. But to be fair I'd be upset also if I had paid so much more. On the other hand Ive made some bad stock decisions that have lost more money and I dont think twice about that....so it is a total head game.

Keep in mind however, that there is nothing out there that can compete with it. You still have one of the coolest platforms ever made. The competitors are quite expensive once you have similar features (That dont evencome close), and most keep talking about "ALMOST" Having a car ready that they will price at 30,000 with tons of miles etc. ITs a joke. And they cant even give you a EDD because its more than a year.
Thats the same BS I Get from my wife. I almost got some some Tuesday, almost Wend., Almost Thursday.

 

[mylapore]

Anyhow I do see that paying 70,000 instead of 57000 for the same car would piss off people...feeling that you got ripped off. Human psych 101. I payed 57000 for mine so am willing to overlook some of the deficits. But to be fair I'd be upset also if I had paid so much more. On the other hand Ive made some bad stock decisions that have lost more money and I dont think twice about that....so it is a total head game.

Some good stuff here. I like how you chose to go with empathy rather than using the "You knew what you were getting when you bought the car - stop complaining and suck it up." lines that more than a few users on the forum choose to go with which benefits no one.

On the paper loss on having the bought the car a higher price, like you, I have lost far more on bad bets in the market. So when I think about those numbers, this one doesn't really sting.

At this point I would urge all new buyers to push Tesla for updates/upgrades such as a working USS alternative or improvements to AP in our cars rather than worry about loss in car value. This is actionable and in the long term is worth more than any loss due to recent price reductions.

 

[sfRonH]

How are you opening your door handle? It's supposed to be left thumb on left side of car and then the rest of your hand comfortably grabs the handle. Vice versa for the right side of the car.

It’s supposed to be convenient! I also have trouble finding the door handle in the dark. Sometimes I’m carrying something , or for whatever reason, it’s hard to unlatch the door. Never had this issue with my 2006 Prius.

 

[SkyDog]

It’s supposed to be convenient! I also have trouble finding the door handle in the dark. Sometimes I’m carrying something , or for whatever reason, it’s hard to unlatch the door. Never had this issue with my 2006 Prius.

I agree - the door handle is fine in daylight, but at night it's sometimes hard to find the handle. I'm also tired of having to explain how to open the door whenever I give someone a ride. I'd really prefer a more traditional door handle.

 

[exxxviii]

I agree - the door handle is fine in daylight, but at night it's sometimes hard to find the handle. I'm also tired of having to explain how to open the door whenever I give someone a ride. I'd really prefer a more traditional door handle.

If they would auto present, they would be perfect. I looked at one of the aftermarket kits that can do auto present, but the installation was more than I wanted to tackle.

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

We should all be perfect drivers and eschew safety features, lest we fall from perfection.

Exactly when did we reach perfection? I must've missed it

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

I don't want to be labelled a Hyundai troll but here's is what is included in Ionoiq6. I checked to see what AP actually does. My previous Prius did more than that
Here's Ioniq 6 specs 2023 IONIQ 6 Trim Details - USA

I'm with you. Ioniq 6 does it all. And I've had 4 Prius prior to Tesla. Better than AP. All these people saying we should be safe drivers anyway implies that FSD will never be finished otherwise why have it at all?

 

[exxxviii]

Exactly when did we reach perfection? I must've missed it

You repeat yourself. See this response to your original miss:

Model Y - Initial Impressions - Delights, surprises, disappointments and concerns

Bought a 23 Model Y without a test drive (no test drive available, but have test driven an older MY 3 some time back). Some initial perspectives after a week. Delights: 1. Very spacious- doesn’t look like it from outside. Leg room and head room are pretty good. 2. Smooth app experience in-car...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

You repeat yourself. See this response to your original miss:

Model Y - Initial Impressions - Delights, surprises, disappointments and concerns

Bought a 23 Model Y without a test drive (no test drive available, but have test driven an older MY 3 some time back). Some initial perspectives after a week. Delights: 1. Very spacious- doesn’t look like it from outside. Leg room and head room are pretty good. 2. Smooth app experience in-car...

teslamotorsclub.com

Hey, these are just bytes of data on a cloud. Sorry for repeating myself.

 

[Yelobird]

I'm with you. Ioniq 6 does it all. And I've had 4 Prius prior to Tesla. Better than AP. All these people saying we should be safe drivers anyway implies that FSD will never be finished otherwise why have it at all?

Always love when you reply and agree with your own posts lol. Certainly adds value

 

[416 Realtor]

"
Disappointments/Annoyance
1. Regen levels are not adjustable
2. No 360 view for a 65K+ car in 2023
3. Not the best implementation of blind spot safety. No visual or audible alerts with turn signals on for the left side. Audible when there is a car in blind spot is the safest implementation despite minor annoyance. Now I have to get used to looking right and then looking left to turn.

Concerns:
1. Heavy low frequency resonance- just figuring out this is a problem that many are facing - just hoping it’s fixable and not really a torsional rigidity design flaw - Set up service appointment in 2 weeks
2. No rear safety- no cross traffic alerts, no auto brake for objects or pedestrians- almost ran into another reversing BMW but fortunately that car had better tech to stop
3. . Lane departure warning / assistance doesn’t work reliably. Low end cars give warning when straddling or drifting lanes.

Overall well built car and drives well. But certainly some concerns and disappointments. "

I agree 1000% with your observations and list above. These are my feedbacks / concerns as well.

 

[babakiltoe]

I wasn't commenting on American manufacturing and labor. My key point is the Hyundai has MANY more safety features than Tesla without adding EAP 6K or FSD 15K

And they produced a whole 10 of them on the continent. Their tech is awful, too. Their markup makes them ~15-20k more expensive as well

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

And they produced a whole 10 of them on the continent. Their tech is awful, too. Their markup makes them ~15-20k more expensive as well

I think they are planning to make many more......as for the tech, what's so bad? You do know I can run over a pedestrian in front (and back) of me without it stopping. How tech is that? The markup is due to crook dealers. I read somewhere they MIGHT take the Tesla route and order online. I also recently took out a warranty extension till 2025. I can wait for a hopefully a "glut" of cars

 

[RedY23]

I'm with you. Ioniq 6 does it all. And I've had 4 Prius prior to Tesla. Better than AP. All these people saying we should be safe drivers anyway implies that FSD will never be finished otherwise why have it at all?

We are all guilty of finding one single thing we liked, or reminisce, about some old car and wishing it was on the Tesla. We do forget that we bought a Tesla cause the old car was overall a POS by comparison. I cant believe that there are so many comments on the super cool door handles. and the decent albeit imperfect AP.