Fun on the school run
FOR A car that’s taken nearly two years to arrive on UK shores, Tesla’s new electric Model Y SUV certainly doesn’t hang around. The elegantly minimalist, yet eminently practical, family crossover has a burst of acceleration that makes it one of the hottest — or perhaps the coolest? — school-run, shopping or leisure vehicles on the road today.
The car I drove was the entry-level Model Y Long Range all-wheel drive, starting at £54,990, with a range of 315 miles that should get you from London to Newcastle on one charge.
It can do rest to 60 mph in 4.8seconds with a top speed of 135 mph, so it really does shift.
And an even more powerful Performance model, priced from £64,990, is to follow, with a 298mile range and top speed restricted to 150 mph, but capable
of zero to 60mph in just 3.5 seconds — the same as a V10 Audi R8 supercar. Both can be ordered on Tesla’s website, but neither qualifies for a £2,500 plug-in car grant.
The newcomer shares its platform with the existing Model 3, but is 50mm longer, rides higher with a bigger boot and has a full-length glass roof that blocks out infra-red and ultraviolet light, reducing heat, glare and even direct sunlight overhead.
Mine was riding on 20 in wheels, with 19in wheels also available. The Performance model has 21 in wheels. It tootles nicely around town and in urban areas, with good manoeuvrability. The turning circle is 12.13 m.
You can adjust the braking resistance to help recharge the car as you drive, and enable ‘onepedal’ driving, which brakes automatically when you take your foot off the accelerator.
There’s plenty of space in the back and lots of headroom. The three rear seats fold down, together or individually, to give even more boot space.
As well as home charging, Tesla has its own national and Europewide chain of chargers.
You use your smartphone as a key or wave a bank card-size electronic key-card at it. It has plenty of rivals, from Ford, Audi, BMW and Mercedes. But I predict a lot of families will make a beeline for this, so watch out for it on the school run.