Considering buying a Model Y and Tesla were kind enough to provide us with an overnight test drive.
Some thoughts feelings but some disclosure first:
- I am a 'young-ish middle aged' woman (been driving for over 25 years, will leave it at that)
- I don't currently own a Tesla
- I do own a PHEV and am used to one pedal driving. This PHEV is currently our only car and we have a Level 2 charger in the garage.
- We are looking to stay a one car fam
- I am not an Elon Fan Girl
- I am not a luddite
- I typically own cars for 4-5 years
- We live in Southern Ontario (hot summers, cold and snowy winters).
- Most of my daily driving is sub 100km but with summer and weekend holidays as far as 350-400km.
As our PHEV starts to creep up km on the odometer we are due to make a decision on a new car. Hubs and I have decided we are ready to take the plunge into full BEV. This automatically narrows down our choices substantially. Polestar2, Bolt, All 3 Teslas, Mach-E, Etron, Kona, I-Pace have all been considered. The Mach-E is exceptional and frankly after test-driving it anyone who writes it off because it is a Ford is really being silly. It's not only a super fun car to drive but it is far more relatable for most coming from an ICE setup (cluster in front of driver, superb interior finishings). The drawback with the Mach-E is the inferior DC Fast charging network in Ontario (probably most of Canada) and frankly some very questionable supply/allocation issues to our local dealers. One doesn't need to document the inferior experience in a Big 3 dealership but yeah, it's stone-age like, still.
So fast-forward to my Model Y experience.
I have VERY bad motion sickness. I can't read on trains or as a passenger in a car and I usually take to driving as it occupies my mind and I have always found it helps with my motion sickness. First day was horrific. The one pedal driving in a Tesla is not like a PHEV. I narrowed this down in the end to the acceleration and I found "Chill" mode helped me a tonne. Also, I should note here that the acceleration in this mode is still plenty and anyone who tells you otherwise I would question.
I also should mention that I think some of the unsettling feeling I experienced may have come from the movement on the screen. The left side portion of the screen with the image of your car in relation to other cars on the road, road signs etc I'm sure some people love; I do not. It would be great if in future iterations you could have this disappear with your speed posted in a larger font or maybe have the map take up the whole screen. I'm actually sort of surprised that people find much purpose to this dual screen within a screen. It's distracting without a doubt.
Voice controls should help reduce the screen distraction although there were next to no music voice controls -- perhaps that hasn't come out yet or I didn't say the right thing? Not sure. But it would be nice to have "change music to X." The functionality seems a bit nascent still.
I have owned Audi's, BMW's, Mercedes, VW, GMC, Ford and I can say, the steering wheel stinks. It's small and toy like and not in keeping with the cool factor of the vehicle. Honestly cannot understand how there isn't more outrage about how silly it feels in your hands when you drive. I wasn't expecting a BMW M sport wheel but my god for $80,000 please come out with a wheel that makes the driver feel they are getting some interior value other than a screen.
Suspension is firm, like driving an X5, but it's almost too bumpy and I cannot figure out if it was the stock tires or the way the car is tuned?
Now for the good stuff...
LOVE the sound system. Far and away one of the best I've ever experienced. Really just wanted to listen to music the whole time and not my husband (who was riding shotgun).
LOVED the supercharger experience. Would imagine most of my charging to be at home but I really like that you have peace of mind that you can charge quickly if you are on a road trip. So called 'range anxiety' is a non-issue.
The cargo capacity in the Model Y is really ample. I was really surprised. The rear seats fold nearly flat and that is such an important thing not to overlook as I have found that most car manufacturers do not have rear seats that fold anywhere near flat.
The driver and passenger seat are ridiculously comfortable. I herniated two discs last year and I have to be honest, these seats are dreamy. I could easily see myself driving for 3 hours with no problems and no need for a stretch break (same cannot be said about my Big 3 PHEV).
The Model Y corners brilliantly for a vehicle that size. Sometimes you forget you are in a Crossover/SUV. I took it on tight country roads, narrow two lanes, up and down hills and it handled really well in all those conditions (albeit it was dry).
I have some concerns about the exterior and interior fit and finish which makes me have some concerns for the wellbeing of those Space-X astronauts. How can a car manufacturer be satisfied delivering a car to dealer where there were no less than 4 visible issues inside (2 with the fabric around the glass roof and 2 with the rubber seal around the interior passenger doors). On the exterior of our demo there were 3 visible issues (paint disclouration, panel misalignments). And again, let's pause here to remember this is a $80,000 CAD car on the road. For that money I could buy a BMW M2. Perhaps I'm being anal but that is a lot of money for most people and it's pretty discouraging to know that the only response Tesla has is "well take notes at delivery and we will try and fix it and if not you can get a new VIN or get your deposit back."
So all told, it's a real contender for us. The cargo room would fit our one-car needs. It's fun to drive. The screen and functionality takes some getting used to but the same could be said for every new car purchase. But I can't shake that head vs heart dichotomy that is at play. Something tells me that all these finishing issues are not something to brush off and that I should be listening to my head here before purchasing.
Would welcome and love to hear others opinions. Thanks!
Some thoughts feelings but some disclosure first:
- I am a 'young-ish middle aged' woman (been driving for over 25 years, will leave it at that)
- I don't currently own a Tesla
- I do own a PHEV and am used to one pedal driving. This PHEV is currently our only car and we have a Level 2 charger in the garage.
- We are looking to stay a one car fam
- I am not an Elon Fan Girl
- I am not a luddite
- I typically own cars for 4-5 years
- We live in Southern Ontario (hot summers, cold and snowy winters).
- Most of my daily driving is sub 100km but with summer and weekend holidays as far as 350-400km.
As our PHEV starts to creep up km on the odometer we are due to make a decision on a new car. Hubs and I have decided we are ready to take the plunge into full BEV. This automatically narrows down our choices substantially. Polestar2, Bolt, All 3 Teslas, Mach-E, Etron, Kona, I-Pace have all been considered. The Mach-E is exceptional and frankly after test-driving it anyone who writes it off because it is a Ford is really being silly. It's not only a super fun car to drive but it is far more relatable for most coming from an ICE setup (cluster in front of driver, superb interior finishings). The drawback with the Mach-E is the inferior DC Fast charging network in Ontario (probably most of Canada) and frankly some very questionable supply/allocation issues to our local dealers. One doesn't need to document the inferior experience in a Big 3 dealership but yeah, it's stone-age like, still.
So fast-forward to my Model Y experience.
I have VERY bad motion sickness. I can't read on trains or as a passenger in a car and I usually take to driving as it occupies my mind and I have always found it helps with my motion sickness. First day was horrific. The one pedal driving in a Tesla is not like a PHEV. I narrowed this down in the end to the acceleration and I found "Chill" mode helped me a tonne. Also, I should note here that the acceleration in this mode is still plenty and anyone who tells you otherwise I would question.
I also should mention that I think some of the unsettling feeling I experienced may have come from the movement on the screen. The left side portion of the screen with the image of your car in relation to other cars on the road, road signs etc I'm sure some people love; I do not. It would be great if in future iterations you could have this disappear with your speed posted in a larger font or maybe have the map take up the whole screen. I'm actually sort of surprised that people find much purpose to this dual screen within a screen. It's distracting without a doubt.
Voice controls should help reduce the screen distraction although there were next to no music voice controls -- perhaps that hasn't come out yet or I didn't say the right thing? Not sure. But it would be nice to have "change music to X." The functionality seems a bit nascent still.
I have owned Audi's, BMW's, Mercedes, VW, GMC, Ford and I can say, the steering wheel stinks. It's small and toy like and not in keeping with the cool factor of the vehicle. Honestly cannot understand how there isn't more outrage about how silly it feels in your hands when you drive. I wasn't expecting a BMW M sport wheel but my god for $80,000 please come out with a wheel that makes the driver feel they are getting some interior value other than a screen.
Suspension is firm, like driving an X5, but it's almost too bumpy and I cannot figure out if it was the stock tires or the way the car is tuned?
Now for the good stuff...
LOVE the sound system. Far and away one of the best I've ever experienced. Really just wanted to listen to music the whole time and not my husband (who was riding shotgun).
LOVED the supercharger experience. Would imagine most of my charging to be at home but I really like that you have peace of mind that you can charge quickly if you are on a road trip. So called 'range anxiety' is a non-issue.
The cargo capacity in the Model Y is really ample. I was really surprised. The rear seats fold nearly flat and that is such an important thing not to overlook as I have found that most car manufacturers do not have rear seats that fold anywhere near flat.
The driver and passenger seat are ridiculously comfortable. I herniated two discs last year and I have to be honest, these seats are dreamy. I could easily see myself driving for 3 hours with no problems and no need for a stretch break (same cannot be said about my Big 3 PHEV).
The Model Y corners brilliantly for a vehicle that size. Sometimes you forget you are in a Crossover/SUV. I took it on tight country roads, narrow two lanes, up and down hills and it handled really well in all those conditions (albeit it was dry).
I have some concerns about the exterior and interior fit and finish which makes me have some concerns for the wellbeing of those Space-X astronauts. How can a car manufacturer be satisfied delivering a car to dealer where there were no less than 4 visible issues inside (2 with the fabric around the glass roof and 2 with the rubber seal around the interior passenger doors). On the exterior of our demo there were 3 visible issues (paint disclouration, panel misalignments). And again, let's pause here to remember this is a $80,000 CAD car on the road. For that money I could buy a BMW M2. Perhaps I'm being anal but that is a lot of money for most people and it's pretty discouraging to know that the only response Tesla has is "well take notes at delivery and we will try and fix it and if not you can get a new VIN or get your deposit back."
So all told, it's a real contender for us. The cargo room would fit our one-car needs. It's fun to drive. The screen and functionality takes some getting used to but the same could be said for every new car purchase. But I can't shake that head vs heart dichotomy that is at play. Something tells me that all these finishing issues are not something to brush off and that I should be listening to my head here before purchasing.
Would welcome and love to hear others opinions. Thanks!
