It has been nearly two years since Model Y’s first delivery. The vehicle remains as the best-selling model on the current EV market. What do the owners of the first batch of Model Y have to say about the vehicle?
The first batch of the EV SUV Model Y happened in March 2020. Now that two years have passed, how did the model perform? Is it worthy of its best-selling title? Let’s hear what owner Gjeebs has to say.
Not a lot of EV SUVs were available on the market during 2020, and 35,000 miles (approx. 52,000km) of driving within two years has constituted both good and bad opinions from Gjeebs towards Model Y, though he still believes that it is the best all-round model on the market.
Gjeebs bought a Model Y Long Range for US$54,190 two years ago, and praises the performance and space of Model Y, as well as the convenience of Tesla’s Supercharger network.
In terms of disadvantages, he believes that the suspension of Model Y is a bit too stiff, and offers less comfort in driving compared to other competitors.
As for the battery lifespan that many cares about, Gjeebs observed a remaining driving range of roughly 91% from when the vehicle was delivered after more than 50,000km of distance within two years. Unfortunately, automotive manufacturers currently lack the function of displaying battery health like iPhone, thus car owners would have to speculate from records.
Another function that is both good and bad is the numerous new improvements after software updates, which impresses Gjeebs, though major updates also comprise of UI adjustments that become troublesome for some owners.
“The option of seat warmer has been hidden at a deeper directory and cannot be moved to shortcuts, while tire pressure and energy consumption have also been moved to deeper directory”, commented Gjeebs, who said the UI is very troublesome since a lot of owners would now have to adopt to new designs, which is not too practical for automobile.
With that being said, Gjeebs said that his first pick is no longer Model Y if he were given the choice of buying another EV. “I am leaning towards Model 3 LRT nowadays”. Gjeebs believes that Model Y is an excellent vehicle, but the price tag that has now risen to US$65K is not all that worthy.
Overall speaking, he believes that the peripheral effect of Tesla has infused significant results, including Superchargers, OTA updates, and the relatively excellent autopilot capability, which is why he will still go for Tesla, even if similar models from Kia, Hyundai, or Volkswagen are about US$15K cheaper.
Hence, Gjeebs would rather save US$10K by going for the Model 3 LR instead of the more expensive Model Y or other brands. He said, “I will go for the fossil-fuel Porsche if I have to sell out US$65K.”
(Cover photo source: video screenshot)