Introduction
Tesla has been one of those brands in India that's been steeped in a sort of aura that you can see but can't really put your finger on to point to any one factor supporting the aura. It took an awfully long time to reach our shores, and even now, its presence is limited in cost, locations, and buyer profile. It looks otherworldly, and with its minimalist interiors, many have wondered how anything gets done at all. So when Tesla handed us the Model Y Long Range RWD, the chance to peek behind the curtain and see what makes its microprocessors fire was one that was too good to pass up. In fact, we decided to up the ante and live with the car to tell you what it is like if you plan to buy one!
How Practical Is It?
On the face of it, when you step into the car, it's a strange sight as you are suddenly transferred into a minimalist space with clean surfaces, smooth lines, and what appears to be no practicality at all. But once you start prodding around, everything suddenly appears!
The first thing that catches your attention is that the centre console is designed uniquely. It has some slots and cutouts for various cup holders, but one of the biggest advantages of the centre console is that you can either close it up to make it a flat space or when opened, offers a massive sort of cubbyhole. It's huge, easy to access, and is illuminated so you're not hunting for stuff inside. However, you don't get any slots, hooks, or lockable spaces inside and if you were to place something especially like maybe a water bottle and you were to brake hard, it's just going to roll up and down.
In front of the storage space are your dual wireless felt-lined charging pads. One of the charging pads will always go as the key slot, the other one is for your phone. Because they are felt-lined, even if you were to spill something on it, it would not be a problem. The glovebox is angled slightly so even though it's deep, you're reaching down into it.
Moving over to the second row, you get two seatback pockets and you also get a mobile phone slot, something that's pretty useful. However, the mobile phone slot is on the left rear. All four occupants get large 1.0-litre bottle holders with additional slots in the doors, adding some important storage in the minimalist design.
The boot at 822 litres is massive, but with a high loading lip. You can place a lot of stuff inside, and the rear seatback folds down remotely. This is a large car, so you get a lot of storage space inside, and you can pack things as tightly as possible. The rear visibility is poor, but you get a pretty decent 360-degree camera package, which means that you're not going to miss the rear view if you pack things tightly inside. Lastly, the frunk at 117 litres is compact and is best used for some small bags or the emergency charger pack.
What's on the Feature List?
In a minimalist world, having a centre point as a focus is a philosophy that often works well and that's what Tesla has gone with for their layout of the Model Y. Everything originates and is controlled from the massive 16-inch display dominating the cabin. It is very bright, surprisingly intuitive to use, and your only way to interact with the car.
The UI is very easy to use as you quickly get to whatever function you want within a few steps, and some of the more detailed ones are not accessible when the vehicle is in drive. Even the drive, park, and neutral functions are all on the screen. This feels strange and a bit dangerous at times, but it's a major step towards liberating more space inside the vehicle, and it is something that you will get used to quickly. The Model Y also gets a really good 10-speaker sound system, which is really important as many of the functions run on audio cues and you must be able to hear each one of them. It should be noted, though, that whilst the screen and the OS are lovely to use, they do not natively support Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and if that's something you are very used to, then this will be a bit of a learning curve.
The other bits are exactly what you expect in a vehicle of this price category, with things like multi-zone climate control, full-LED light package, and even something called a Party Mode, which is essentially a light show set to some pre-defined music. However, there are some oddities with the feature list. There is no phone mirroring and you have to buy an aftermarket cover for the massive glass roof, which might not be an issue in colder climates but in a country like India, it multiplies the effect of the sun's heat without you even realising it.
What's the Range Like?
Tesla has officially published a WLTP range of 661km for this Long Range RWD model. It comes with a 78kWh battery pack, which is one of the largest on offer among EVs sold in India. Officially, Tesla wouldn't let us test the real-world range of this model, quoting that it is still working on calibrating the powertrain for Indian conditions but we can tell you that it is very good at range management and will easily be able to achieve 75 per cent of its claimed 661km which is 496km, a pretty massive figure considering the size of the Model Y. However, that figure is also dependent on how heavily you flex your right leg, something that's easy to give in to due to the zippy nature of this behemoth.
How Does It Perform on the Daily Commute?
If you can afford a Model Y, at least at the time of writing this review, then you are in a higher band of the car-buying crowd that values brand, presence, and performance. You want something that's large and will get you eyeballs wherever you go, and that's a lot if you are in this Model Y. The aura that we had spoken about in the beginning, well this is one of those that you can actually place your finger on. Once you have got used to the attention that the car gets, its actual performance as a city car is exactly what you expect from a large SUV of this size. It's surprisingly nimble for something this large, and thanks to the power figures, quick overtakes even with something as big as a trailer truck are not an issue at all. It stops as quickly as it goes with the ability to have regenerative braking almost to the point of intrusion if you keep it at the highest setting.
The low-speed ride is incredibly firm, and you can feel every bump and imperfection displacing the car when you pass over them. Across the big cities in India, it is more than you can imagine. If you are someone who's capable of investing in a Tesla, then chances are that you have been at the wheel for a while now, and this will not be a pleasant experience but hey, that's the price of the badge if you want it.
Despite the less-than-optimum rear visibility, parking is not difficult and for the most part, the 360-degree camera and sensors all around should keep you free of dings and scratches. One bit to be careful of is the fact that the boot door opens pretty high and long, which means that you need to do a bit of visual maths before opening it up, especially if you are parking in the bottom half of a stacked parking system.
How Is It for a Weekend for the Gang?
It's pretty obvious by now that a Tesla is a good kilometre-muncher, and with a claimed range of 661km (C75 of 496km), it can be efficient if you drive it with a bit of planning. But is it kind to its occupants on the highway? Well, space is not an issue as you can see from the photos, three people can sit comfortably in the back and with space to keep their mobile devices. Like the front, the rear is concentrated around a screen that controls all its functions. It even has two-player games like chess and backgammon, which should be helpful, especially if you have a slightly younger crowd in the back.
The ride quality improves as you pick up the speed but does tend to get noisy due to the low-profile tyres. However, the insulation is pretty strong, and it makes you realise that it could have been a lot noisier if Tesla hadn't spent extra on the insulation. For an additional charge, you can get Tesla's FSD (full self-driving) package but given our road conditions, especially when crossing urban centres on expressways, it is best to stay cautious and maybe only keep some percentage of faith in the system. One of the oddities of the Model Y's safety pack is that it reads rickshaws as motorcycles; perhaps by the time this review is published, a software update might have come along.
What's the Deal with the Warranty?
The basic Tesla Model Y warranty is for four years or 80,000km whilst the supplemental restraint system has a warranty of five years or one lakh kilometres. The all-important battery warranty for this Long Range version stands at eight years or 1.92 lakh kilometres with a minimum 70 per cent retention of battery capacity over the period of the warranty.
Can You Live with One?
The Tesla Model Y is a surprisingly capable package. When you look beyond the aura of Tesla and its products in their current India narrative, there is ease of use, intuitiveness, practicality, and some decently delicious and very usable performance. Yes, we would have liked access to the Ludicrous mode but that too will come to India, we are sure. On the flip side, the usage takes some getting used to, the ride is way too firm for Indian road conditions, and lastly, our charging infrastructure, whilst growing, still has a long way to go in terms of matching up to what a car like the Model Y can offer.
Photography: Kapil Angane
