Tesla Model Y gets 3.5 second 0-60mph potential
Elon Musk completes his 'S3XY' model line up with Model 3-derived seven-seat crossover
Love him or hate him, Elon Musk has certainly shaken up the automotive world when it comes to electric vehicles. Would the established car makers be as far down the path with their EV plans if it wasn't for Tesla? It's certainly up for debate. Now the Tesla range (no pun intended) has been bolstered further with this, the new Model Y.
A crossover-SUV-SAC creation, the Y shares 75 per cent of its parts with the Model 3 - hence the similarity in design. The key difference here, as you may have guessed, is the increase in interior space over the 3. Tesla says the Y "has the functionality of an SUV, but rides like a sports car"; that extends to having a third row of seats optionally available, the seven-seat Y available from 2021.
The rest of the interior is as you were for the other Teslas: note the lack of conventional instruments, and the main control screen that measures 15 inches across. The cabin is said to be "built around the driver", the combination of elevated seating and a low dash giving "a commanding view of the road ahead". All Model Ys will come with a panoramic glass roof, too.
As for performance, the Y will be initially launched next year with Long Range, Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive and Performance models. Long Range is said to deliver 300 miles of range, 60mph in 5.5 seconds and 130mph; the Dual-Motor AWD drops the 0-60 time to below five seconds and has 280 miles of range, while the Performance is claimed to complete the sprint in 3.5 seconds, as well as offering 150mph and 280 miles of range. A more prosaic Standard Range (120mph, 5.9 seconds, 230 miles) will join the other models in 2021.
As for charging, all Ys will be compatible with Tesla's third-gen, 250kW Superchargers, now capable of providing enough juice for 75 miles driving in five minutes. Older Superchargers are being updated with the technology, too.
Elon Musk tweeted from the launch event: "Model Y, being an SUV, is about 10% bigger than Model 3, so will cost about 10% more and have slightly less range for same battery." Therefore prices will kick off at $39,000 in the US for the Standard Range (when it's available), or $47,000 for the Long Range. Another $4k gets the Dual Motor Y, with the Performance topping the range at $60k. As is often the way with Teslas, it'll be little while before we get the Y in the UK, but who would bet against there being a glut of orders as soon as they are?
This is quite a revolutionary new pricing model , whereby cars are charged by the yard.... Does not bode well for Skoda.
I know you shouldn't judge a car by it's pictures but it does look a slightly ill-proportioned thing.
My journey was pleasant, anxious free and could not have been achieved in a Tesla. My meeting was on a downtown industrial estate and the hotel I am staying at does not have a charge point. I liked the noise the engine made in the Mercedes and I liked its slightly shonky character but these Teslas do nothing for me, and yes I have driven one, a P something or other saloon. They look cheap, feel cheap and are not cheap. All in my opinion of course.
And yes before anyone says it i do a journey like this at least once a week. Last week was Chesterfield to Cardiff and back arriving home at 2am and back in the office for 7am so again a Tesla and an Taxi May have been required!
My journey was pleasant, anxious free and could not have been achieved in a Tesla. My meeting was on a downtown industrial estate and the hotel I am staying at does not have a charge point. I liked the noise the engine made in the Mercedes and I liked its slightly shonky character but these Teslas do nothing for me, and yes I have driven one, a P something or other saloon. They look cheap, feel cheap and are not cheap. All in my opinion of course.
And yes before anyone says it i do a journey like this at least once a week. Last week was Chesterfield to Cardiff and back arriving home at 2am and back in the office for 7am so again a Tesla and an Taxi May have been required!
Peronally I think it's quite good looking, and will no doubt be ideal for the school run which can currently only be attempted in a diesel 4x4 around my parts for some reason.
My journey was pleasant, anxious free and could not have been achieved in a Tesla. My meeting was on a downtown industrial estate and the hotel I am staying at does not have a charge point. I liked the noise the engine made in the Mercedes and I liked its slightly shonky character but these Teslas do nothing for me, and yes I have driven one, a P something or other saloon. They look cheap, feel cheap and are not cheap. All in my opinion of course.
And yes before anyone says it i do a journey like this at least once a week. Last week was Chesterfield to Cardiff and back arriving home at 2am and back in the office for 7am so again a Tesla and an Taxi May have been required!
I saw my first model 3 yesterday and have to admit it looked much better IRL than on photos so I am guessing/hoping that will be the case for the Y too.
Regards
My journey was pleasant, anxious free and could not have been achieved in a Tesla. My meeting was on a downtown industrial estate and the hotel I am staying at does not have a charge point. I liked the noise the engine made in the Mercedes and I liked its slightly shonky character but these Teslas do nothing for me, and yes I have driven one, a P something or other saloon. They look cheap, feel cheap and are not cheap. All in my opinion of course.
And yes before anyone says it i do a journey like this at least once a week. Last week was Chesterfield to Cardiff and back arriving home at 2am and back in the office for 7am so again a Tesla and an Taxi May have been required!
Also, Tesla are certainly not the only ones guilty of this, but they are probably the ones embracing it the most - when is someone going to admit that massive, distracting touchscreens in cars are utterly idiotic. Sooner or later, there's going to be a massive crash and it will turn out the driver who caused it was trying to change the temperature in the car, or find a good radio station, but had to take his/her eyes off the road to look at the screen. A screen in a car has its uses, but making it control most of the major functions is mental. The great thing about a good old fashioned knob is that you can operate it by touch alone, rather than having to look to see where exactly you're touching it. Until cars have fully autonomous capability, big screens remain a bad idea.
In many ways, I admire what Tesla have achieved. They've certainly forced OEMs to make progress with EVs, but I'm not sure I see them as a long term fixture of the automotive industry. I think the big manufacturers will soon start to offer alternatives that make Tesla look a bit poor. By most accounts, the quality isn't brilliant and they are certainly struggling with mass manufacturing, both things which the established manufacturers know inside out.
What might help them is if they drop all this sub-5 second 0-60 business to impress people. Make a Golf-sized EV that does 0-60 in 8-10 seconds, looks like a normal car, is built as well as a normal car, can do 5-600 miles between charges. and is priced like a normal car. That's the EV the general market actually needs, not something with "ludicrous" mode for children in adult bodies that have money to burn.
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