Tesla recently opened orders for the Tesla Model Y L in Australia and while the official deliveries don’t start until May, I’ve had the chance to get behind the wheel and experience the car this weekend.

Something I’m keen to evaluate is if this version of the popular all-electric mid-sized SUV, is the right fit for many larger Australian families.

The Model Y is already Australia’s favourite EV, often topping the monthly sales charts for electric vehicles, and for good reason, it offers a great blend of space for occupants, advanced technology both in the interface and the driver assistance (Autopilot/FSD), and access to the largest fast charging network in the country along with third parties.

With Tesla’s Model Y L, you get all of that and the 2+2+2 seating configuration, but the variant has a surprising amount of differences between other models.

The Second Row Experience

If you’re a passenger in the second row, typically your riding experience is a little compromised, as compared to the front row occupants. This is understandable given the amount of time occupants are in each seat. The driver is in the vehicle 100% of the time it’s being driven, while the second row may be used less often, so naturaly the front row gets the priority spent on it.

In the Model Y L, this changes significantly. No longer are the second row passengers treated like second class citizens. If you find yourself in the second row, you’ll have access to:

• Virtually the same seat as the front row, heated/cooled (Adjustable headrests)
• AC, controls via touchscreen and vents from the B pillar and center console (below display).
• Cup holder (push button extends from below the display)
• USB-C Charging ports
• Arm rests (electronically retractable).
• Interior lighting and coat hook
• Control video / audio for the second row display
• Ability to move front-row seats (front seat can go forward a long way, great for comfort (i.e. using a laptop etc).
• Large glass roof.

As special as all that is, I would like to see a couple of tweaks:

• Somewhere to stow your phone while charging (seat back pocket is possible, but a magsafe mount in the back of the seat so the phone display was visible would be amazing.
• Adjustable seatbelt position

Third row seats

Climbing into the third row of seats is often a clumbsy experience at best, often over the top of a folded second row, leaving dirty shoes to mark the interior.

With the 2+2+2 seating configuration of the Modlel Y L, there is a corridor created in the second row that allows those entering and existing the 3rd row to do so with relative ease (the smaller the easier).

There are a number of options to control the seats, which includes the touchscreen in the front, the touchscreen in the back, the mobile app and if you have the boot open and need more space, you can leverage the buttons in the boot to fold the rear 2 rows of seating.

The headrests fold down automatically, but are manual to fold back up, which I don’t see as a big issue.

Something I appreciate in the way Tesla implements their seats and technology, is the understanding of physics. The seat control system understands positionally where each seat is, and is smart enough to move the other rows forward to accommodate the fold or unfold function.

When it comes to the safety aspect, it may allow a bag to be squashed, so look out for that, however a passenger detected by the pressure sensor in the seat, will throw a warning before adjusting the position. If you decide to proceed from there, that’s a difficult conversation you’ll need to have with your fellow occupants.

In terms of space, the third row is surprisingly accommodating in its height, with me being around 6’2 or 192cms, my head was clear of the glass. This is achieved by Tesla spending considerable efforts to restructure the rear end of the vehicle, including lengthening to achieve exactly this outcome.

In terms of leg room, it’s up to your front 2 rows of passengers to accommodate your needs and unless you’re a jerk, you’re not going to have your chairs in the normal seating position, you would move them forward slightly, albeit still comfortable, to provide additional space at the back. With this done, it’s possible you fit teenages in the back without issue. Is it possible for a full adult to be back there, sure, but I doubt that anyone is taking serious road trips with 6 adults.

What I like the most about the Model Y L is it’s ability to accommodate 4 adults in an incredibly comfortable, almost luxurious way, with lots of space for storage.

With the third row folded down, you still have the sub trunk and frunk to hold even more, which feels really generous. This means that while the 6-seater may initially scream the target audience is large families, I could easily see this being a popular option for 2 adults, 2 teenagers, or 2 adults who travel with parents, or 2 adults that pickup work colleagues on daily commutes.

This would also make a great vehicle for ride share like Uber, although they nearly need another tier to appreciate the 2nd row experience.

Performance and handling

Driving the Model Y L feels very much like the Model Y, despite the changes, Tesla has done a great job at improving the comfort and handling of the vehicle as such it still feels performant with rapid acceleration (not as fast as the Performance obviously).

The handling around the twisty turns of the Dandenong ranges shows the car is still insanely fun to drive when you step outside the metro traffic and despite it being longer and heavier, that’s really countered by the tweaks they’ve done to the suspension.

Real-world range

The headline figure for range is 681km which uses the WLTP testing to derive that rated range. In the real world, I charged to 100% this morning at a Supercharger and the display reads a real-world range of 563km.

This range will be impacted by a number of factors, include how the recent drives have been, forecasting that forward based on efficiency figures. If you drive conservatvely, this number is likely to increase. It can also be influenced by the temperature with colder temps reducing the range a little.

There’s also an element of the range forecast being conservative, and a recent radio program in Melbourne put this to the test, showing a Model 3 drove for close to an hour (metro speeds) once the display read 0kms.

Price and Availability

The Model Y L is priced competitively for the premium SUV segment. In Australia, the Premium All-Wheel Drive variant starts at A$74,900.

This base price includes the black interior, which now includes the black headliner which I love over the previous grey. There are a range of paint options like Cosmic Grey or Ultra Red range from A$1,900 to A$2,600.

Tesla recently updated their vehicle warranty to be 5-year unlimited-kilometre for standard use. This also includes a battery warranty for up to 8 years or 160,000 km/192,000km based on which model you select. The warranty means that if you aren’t getting 70% of the battery range inside the warranty period, they’ll replace it.

As you travel around Australia, with it’s often challenging pot holes and no spare tyre, it’s reassuring to know the car comes with a 5-Year, 24/7, 365 Roadside Assistance package.

Overall

My initial impressions are very good and this is definitely going to draw many who were chasing a 5 seater up to this higher price point, to access the updates available with the Model Y L, even if you never need 6 seats.

For more information, head to

https://www.tesla.com/en_au/modely