Tesla Model Y review: impressive battery and range let down by ride and touchscreen controls

The latest Model Y delivers strong range and impressive technology, but its ride, handling and touchscreen controls leave much to be desired

Tesla Model Y review: we test the latest electric SUV and find impressive range and technology alongside disappointing ride, handling and controls.

TESLA MODEL Y
Rating	★★★☆☆
Price	From €42,990 - €47,090 as tested
Power	Excellent electric motor and battery system
Range	505km
The Spec	Many bells and whistles but accessing them through the giant touchscreen can be frustrating
Verdict	Ride and handling issues and inaccessible tech mar an otherwise good car

It can be easy sometimes to allow your personal feelings to overcome necessary subjectivity when it comes to any form of criticism and that too can apply to even the seemingly mundane area of activity in which we are engaged.

Our thoughts on the activities of Tesla owner, Elon Musk, could therefore fill many column inches and would probably result in a lawsuit of some description. Looking specifically at the products of his car company is a different matter altogether but, even in isolation, it is difficult to separate one from the other.

And so, when it comes to doling out criticism of any of those products, it can become an exercise in controlling what might be termed base instincts.

There is no doubting the success of Musk’s automotive enterprises even if, it has to be said, that reputationally there is little logical reason to why so many people have become so entranced with what appears to be what might be called the cult of Tesla.

Universally, it would appear, people have become so captivated and fascinated by the company and its cars that normal reason appear to have fled via the window.

Indeed, the zealousness with which punters have clung to Tesla seems strangely redolent of those tech nerds who insist on having every new gadget which hits the market and then loudly proclaiming their own genius for being so prescient and ‘with it.’ 

That the company has, nevertheless, made so much ground in such a short time is impressive. New car start-ups are famously difficult to manage and finding traction for a new automotive brand is viciously difficult. But Tesla appears to have negotiated these infested waters with the help of considerable amounts of shark repellent.

Having been around the block once or twice myself, I have seen a lot of car brands come and go – go, mainly – and remain unconvinced by the drawing power (or potential longevity) of such entities. Sure, the Model 3 (the latest version of which we will be testing in the coming weeks) is a good car, but it is not without its flaws either.

This week, however, we test the Model Y Tesla and while the initial iteration might have been okay, the latest incarnation is far from satisfactory.

Credit where it is due: Tesla makes very good batteries and motors (among the best in the business) and it also has an impressive charging network which surpasses anything any other manufacturer has done.

Of the new Model Y – this is the second iteration – Tesla maintains it is more user-friendly, better to drive and more comfortable than the last one; it also says it’s more efficient than previously.

Having spent a week in this non-SUV, SUV, I have many doubts about the veracity of some of those claims. It might be more comfortable and spacious and efficient too, but it is certainly not a pleasant car to drive and its user-friendliness is certainly open to question.

Tesla-mania among the buying public has sparked a severe outbreak of plagiarism among its rivals – and particularly the Chinese, whose fondness for big-screen control systems a-la-Tesla has become nearly overwhelming.

But the Chinese Ministry for Industry and Information Technology – that part of the state apparatus that regulates car sales and type approval – is already drawing up plans to make manufacturers to include physical buttons for key functions. This could be implemented by this time next year.

It is expected the new requirements will demand that real buttons and column stalks to control the likes of lights, windscreen wipers, gear shifting, driver aids and screen demisting and defrosting. And not before time too.

Also being considered is a ban on electronic door handles – another Tesla speciality which has been widely copied.

Of the new Model Y – this is the second iteration – Tesla maintains it is more user-friendly, better to drive and more comfortable than the last one; it also says it’s more efficient than previously.

Now that the Chinese have arrived at the conclusion that overuse of touchscreens is unsafe, expect an industry-wide reaction. It will certainly impact on Tesla whose minimalist interiors focus heavily on their huge touchscreens to control pretty much everything and are damn annoying.

You get a sense from the Model Y that much of its reputation is based on hype and that is not a good thing – especially when the reality does not match it. There is no doubt that the company’s technology is excellent. The trouble is that when it is fitted to their cars it becomes overbearing.

Scrolling through endless menus trying to find how to adjust the driving position, or the wing mirrors or the climate controls is really not on and while it might seem techie and ahead-of-the-game – it’s not.

Indeed, little here control-wise is intuitive and distracting from the process of actually driving – or more specifically, driving safely. Call me a Luddite, if you will, but that’s my take on it.

Of course, much of the time of the Tesla boss has been focused on different things of late – DOGE and SpaceX, among others – perhaps to the detriment of the car maker itself. But if I was a Tesla owner, I would find few crumbs of comfort in the fact that part of a spaceship crashed into the moon recently.

Coming back to more earthly matters, however, the ride comfort of the Tesla Y left a huge amount to be desired. It strikes me that if the company were to concentrate more on its suspension systems than its tech, it might be better off.

Stray off the largely billiard table surfaces of motorways and dual carriageways and suddenly the character of the car alters completely – going from quite pleasant to quite awful in a matter of moments.

We brought the car on our usual West Cork test route (an excellent mix of sublime and ridiculous roads and surfaces) and it did not like it. The ride was brittle and uncontrolled and while the handling itself wasn’t bad, it did not inspire confidence.

Of the new Model Y – this is the second iteration – Tesla maintains it is more user-friendly, better to drive and more comfortable than the last one; it also says it’s more efficient than previously.

There was a lot to recommend about this car – spaciousness, comfort, range and so forth – the deficiencies in ride and handling showed it in a very poor light indeed. We had the Rear Wheel Drive spec version and you expect it to be an oversteerer rather than an underesteerer, but it’s not. I found it to have near terminal understeer.

On top of that, the difficulties it presents in driver interaction with the technology on offer, made it a driving experience you’d rather forget. Oddly – and as we’ll see in a few weeks when we test the new Model 3 – the Model Y feels seriously out of step.

At 505km, the range of the car is perfectly acceptable and the 7.2 second 0-100 km/h time is not as neck-snapping as earlier Teslas we’ve driven and so in these areas it is an appealing companion.

Another thing I didn’t like was with all the connectivity, climate and other controls concentrated within the 16” touchscreen, the feeling when you’re behind the wheel is similar to that of being in a bumper car – there’s just the steering wheel and bugger-all else.

And then there’s something else again. We have often described the ‘fuck you’ factor that comes into play when you’re driving a fancy-dan Mercedes or BMW, whereby other road users will refuse to let you out into traffic or try and carve you up on a motorway. With the Tesla you can multiply that animosity to near extraordinary levels.

It seemed to me that everyone who doesn’t own or drive a Tesla wanted a piece of my rear end while I was driving the Model Y. The apparent levels of hate were extraordinary.

To sum up, then, this was a very flawed experience for yours truly and one we won’t be repeating in a hurry.