Tesla Model Y rear-wheel-drive review: EV impresses at every turn

The world’s most talked about EV brand is copping a hammering from commentators at the moment as sales slide, stock mounts and prices are cut.

Tesla has been in the crosshairs recently: price cuts, falling sales and dockyards allegedly full of cars that can’t be moved.

Add to that an owner who has an uncanny knack of rubbing people up the wrong way and it looks like the perfect storm.

But none of that changes the inconvenient truth for Musk/Tesla haters – the Model Y is the best electric car on sale.

Here are five things you need to know about the popular SUV.

Tesla has slashed the price of the Model Y RWD by almost $10,000 in recent months. Picture: Thomas Wielecki.

The price is right, unless you bought one two months ago

Tesla has slashed close to $10,000 from the price of the most affordable and popular rear-wheel-drive Model Y in the past two months, which is great news for those in the market for an EV and really bad news for those who took the plunge earlier. Depreciation is the single biggest cost of owning a car and you don’t need to be a mathematical genius to work out what these kinds of discounts do to the price of a used Tesla.  There are Tesla owners out there who paid roughly $17,000 more for their Model Y two years ago. Ouch! At roughly $61,000 drive-away, the Model Y is a steal, especially when you consider that the second-best EV on sale, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, costs about $12,000 more. The Tesla also costs peanuts to run. The most you’ll pay to fill up is roughly $40 at a supercharger. It costs half that to charge at home, while Origin Energy customers can pay as little as $5 a refill. Unlike its rivals, Tesla also has a dedicated charging network that takes the range anxiety out of road trips.

 

Tesla’s charging network is something rivals haven’t replicated. Picture: Supplied.

It’s great fun to drive

Tesla’s advantage over the rest of the car industry lies principally in its EV tech, but the company does the basics of car engineering and design really well. The RWD model delivers strong, silent and smooth acceleration off the mark, reaching 100 km/h in a brisk 6.9 seconds. It backs that up with impressive composure, sitting flat through corners and disguising its heft well when asked to change direction in a hurry. There’s plenty of grip on offer, the steering is sharp and accurate and it settles better than most EVs over mid-corner bumps. It’s not perfect, though. The brakes lack a little feel and the ride can be jarring over rough roads at low speeds.

 

The Model Y is engaging to drive. Picture: Thomas Wielecki.

It’s got loads of room inside

The Tesla’s cabin is cavernous. Second-row passengers have loads of legroom and the flat floor means that three people can be accommodated in comfort. The seats themselves aren’t the last word in comfort – you sit on them, rather than sink into them – but they are all heated. The Tesla’s biggest trump card is its ability to swallow luggage. The rear load area is big enough, but there’s more underfloor storage and a frunk – front trunk – under the bonnet that is lined in plastic, making it ideal for storing wet, sandy towels. Toyota’s top-selling RAV4 SUV has 542 litres of luggage space and the Model Y has 971 litres.

The rear seat has plenty of room. Picture: Supplied.

It’s a safe as houses, but a little annoying

The Tesla is one of the safest cars on the road. It aced the physical crash barrier tests in 2022 and scored 98 per cent for its crash avoidance technology. Its lane-keeping assistance and radar cruise control are better calibrated than most but it doesn’t have rear cross-traffic alert, which is handy for backing out of driveways. Our test vehicle didn’t like tunnels for some reason. On several occasions it slowed dramatically for no apparent reason. It’s simple to override but annoying nonetheless.

The crash avoidance tech can be annoying. Picture: Thomas Wielecki.

You’ll either love or hate the tech

Everything in the Model Y is accessed via an iPad-like centre screen. And when we say everything, we mean it – if you want to open the glovebox you have to do it through the centre screen. The speedo also resides in the centre screen and it takes some getting used to. Rather than Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, Tesla allows you to log in to your Spotify account, if you have one. It’s well worth the effort, as the sound system is a cracker. You can also watch Netflix and play arcade games while you’re waiting to charge.