- Tesla has opened the order books for the extended-wheelbase Model Y in China.
- The model features individual seating for six, extra cargo space and additional comfort features.
- The Model YL costs around $3,500 more than the regular Y and has almost exactly the same range.
Tesla is desperately trying to stay competitive in China, where its Model Y crossover is falling in popularity. To counter that, it has now launched a stretched-wheelbase Model Y, with more interior room and individual seating for six, hoping it will appeal more to Chinese buyers, who have plenty of homegrown alternatives to pick from.
The Model YL starts at 339,000 yuan ($47,180) and comes with a single choice of 19-inch aero wheels and only the black interior. The light interior will be available later, but it’s not specified when. The only options you can tick on the Model YL are Enhanced Assisted Driving and Intelligent Assisted Driving, for 32,000 and 64,000 yuan, respectively.
Tesla has increased the Model YL’s wheelbase from 113.8 inches (2,890 millimeters) to 119.7 in (3,040 mm), and the overall length has gone up from 188.5 in (4,790 mm) to 195.9 in (4,976 mm).
Some unique YL features include heated seats in all three rows, as well as ventilated seats in the first and second rows. It also has powered armrests in the second row, which rise out of the seat base to the desired height for optimum comfort. Having armrests in the second row is something owners of the larger Model X have been complaining about for years, but the larger crossover is unlikely to get them, since it looks like Tesla is winding down production as it prepares to discontinue the model.
Photo by: Tesla
People sitting in the third row get air vents on the C-pillars, and Tesla promises there’s ample room to carry adults in the back comfortably. To get out of the Model YL’s third row, occupants have buttons to electrically swing second-row seats forward to allow for an easy exit.
Fold down all seats in the second and third rows, and the YL is genuinely cavernous, with a maximum load volume of 89.7 cubic feet (2,539 liters). That’s up from 72.1 cu-ft (2,041 liters) in the regular model, and it’s all thanks to the extended wheelbase that frees up more interior room.
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Source: Tesla
With the added weight of the stretched body, the YL is marginally slower than a standard L with the same long-range battery and dual-motor powertrain. The Chinese Tesla website quotes it at 4.5 seconds to 62 mph (100 km/h) compared to the regular-length model’s 4.3-second sprint time. It has the same 125 mph (201 km/h) top speed, and it actually gets one kilometer of extra CLTC range, which goes up from 750 km (466 miles) to 751 km.
Tesla says it’s also upgraded the YL’s suspension over the regular Y, which already featured revised springs and dampers that put much more emphasis on comfort than before, completely transforming how it rides. The manufacturer says it features shock absorbers with “continuously variable damping,” which aren’t active (you can’t stiffen or slacken them up) and sound a lot like the frequency-selective dampers that the Y got as part of the Juniper facelift.
The Model YL is 25,500 yuan ($3,550) more expensive than the regular model, but if Tesla decided to sell the six-seater in the U.S., the difference would likely be greater, probably around the $5,000 mark. With the Model X likely going away in the not-too-distant future, the prospect of seeing the Model YL sold in the U.S. seems high, although the manufacturer has yet to announce its plan. Meanwhile, it’s preparing to launch a stripped-down, no-frills version of the Model Y, which is expected to carry a price tag of around $35,000.
