- The revised Tesla Model Y is now available for order in Europe.
- Three variants are currently on offer with marginally improved range and performance ratings.
- The range-topping Model Y Performance will be revealed later this year.
Over a month after virtually unveiling the refreshed Model Y, Tesla is finally telling us exactly what has improved and by how much. The most obvious changes are what we can see, but Tesla has done a lot of under-the-skin work whose improvements aren’t clear just by looking at the car.
We got a chance to see a German-made Model Y a few weeks ago and we thought all of the changes came together to make the vehicle feel quite different. However, we still had no information on efficiency improvements, range gains and anything other than what we could see on the static car they were showcasing.
Tesla made several improvements that apply to all powertrain variants, such as lowering the drag coefficient from 0.23 to 0.22 and improving its real-world efficiency by a claimed 10%. It’s also around 20% quieter inside and its interior feels better built and of higher quality than before.
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InsideEVs/Andrei Nedelea
In Europe, the base rear-wheel-drive Model Y with a 62.5-kilowatt-hour LFP battery pack now starts at €44,990. Its single 275-horsepower motor pushes it to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 5.9 seconds and up to a top speed of 124 mph (201 kph). Its quoted WLTP range on 19-inch wheels is 311 miles (500 kilometers), up from 282 miles (455 km) in the pre-refresh model.
Photo by: Tesla
Next comes the 304 hp long-range single-motor variant, which gets a larger 78.4 kWh NMC battery whose WLTP range has increased from 372 miles (600 km) to 386 miles (622 km). The range rating doesn’t seem to change if you keep the standard 19-inch wheels or select the larger Helix 2.0 20-inch wheels, although they add €2,200 to its €49,990 price tag.
The current top-of-the-range model is the €52,990 long-range dual-motor Model Y, which has the same battery but with 66 more horsepower. Its acceleration time to 62 mph drops from 5.6 seconds to 4.8 seconds. The range also takes a hit with the extra performance, with a rating of 364 miles (586 km). This drops to 353 miles (568 km) if you get the 20-inch wheels.
Large-battery Model Ys have the same maximum charging power as before, 250 kilowatts, as do ones equipped with the smaller LFP pack, which top out at 175 kW. Even though the values remain unchanged, we don’t know what the charging curve is like for the refreshed model, so we’ll have to wait for charging tests to see what it’s like and how it differs.
Still no word on the refreshed Model Y Performance, though. We can speculate what sort of changes Tesla has planned for this more athletic version, but Tesla has surprised us before, so we’ll have to wait and see. There’s also currently no seven-seater option on offer and it will likely be added to the lineup later this year.
The world’s best-selling EV, and best-selling car, has been waiting for these updates for some time. It arrives at a time when Tesla’s sales are sinking globally and when CEO Elon Musk’s activities in the U.S. government, and beyond it, are also sparking widespread protests. Tesla is surely hoping the updated Model Y can reverse those fortunes.
We will also soon get behind the wheel of a refreshed Model Y to review in Europe, so if you have anything you’d like us to look at more closely or try with the car, let us know in the comments.
