The new Tesla Model Y is the best electric car I’ve ever driven. It’s a complete redesign of the brand’s electric SUV electirc, and is perhaps Tesla’s most complete car yet. You can bag it for a price that will put electric SUV rivals on notice. But now there’s an option to get an even cheaper Model Y.
- Read more: Here’s why Tesla’s New Model Y is the best electric car I’ve driven
Tesla has swapped out the Rear-Wheel Drive variant for a new “Standard” Model Y, priced at $39,990/£41,990 or $299/£299 a month. It’s now the most affordable Model Y you can buy. It takes out a lot of the extras from the regular version. But after diving into the details, I think it might ditch too much. I can’t help but ask: are we really getting a good deal, or just less car for less money?
On paper, it sounds tempting. You get 314 miles of range, the lowest insurance group ever assigned to a Tesla, better residuals, and a monthly lease that won’t completely annihilate your bank account. It even gets 19-inch Crossflow wheels in the UK, which are at least something we get that other regions don’t.
Tesla says this is the most efficient Model Y they’ve ever made, sipping just 22.2 kWh per 100 miles. That’s 4.5 miles per kWh, which will save you pennies over time. You still get many of the usual Tesla perks: Sentry Mode, Phone Key, Autopilot (the basic one), and over-the-air updates that promise to make your car better as it ages. The big screen is still there, the boot is still cavernous, and it’s ready Full Self-Driving when it arrives.
But Tesla’s done quite a bit of “streamlining” here, and the list of what’s missing is enough to make even a cost-conscious EV buyer flinch. So while you are paying less, you’re also getting a lot less. Here’s what’s been axed:
- Panoramic glass roof
- 7 speakers
- Subwoofer
- AM/FM radio
- Ambient lighting
- Closed centre console
- Power-adjusted steering wheel
- Suede décor
- HEPA filter
- Bioweapon Defense Mode
- Vegan leather seats
- Ventilated front seats
- Second-row touchscreen
- Second-row touch-controlled air vents
- Second-row power-folding seats
- Second-row heated seats
- LED front light bar
- LED rear indirect light bar
- Adaptive high beams
- Power-folding side-view mirrors
- Auto-dimming side-view mirrors
- Frequency-dependent shock absorbers
- Autosteer (the more advanced version of Autopilot we get in the UK)
It’s hard not to look at that list and feel like you’re buying into the idea of a Model Y rather than the real thing. You’re still getting the shell and the badge, but quite a few of the features that make the Tesla experience genuinely premium have been removed – including some of the best parts of the redesign. It’s not so much “affordable luxury” as it is “just affordable.”
The Model Y Standard is available to configure now on Tesla’s website. In the US, you won’t have to wait long for one to turn up on your driveway. In the UK, test drives are expected to start in January, with deliveries from February.
- Related: buy or lease a Tesla Model Y here
