- 6 months ago
Tesla has officially unveiled the refreshed 2025 Model Y, delivering key updates to its best-selling electric SUV. In this video Steve Fowler takes a first look at the new model.The latest Model Y features sleek new light bars, an overhauled interior with ventilated seats, rear passenger screen, and quieter, more comfortable ride quality thanks to suspension and insulation improvements.Is this Tesla’s most polished SUV yet?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00For me, it's gone back to the top of the class, but it's a competitive class.
00:04What I like is all the little detail stuff that Tesla has done to improve this car.
00:09So, the big news with the new Model Y is a whole new look.
00:31At the front, at least, you've got this fancy light bar, which I'm told is one of the biggest you can get.
00:36Inspired, of course, by the Tesla Cybertruck and also the RoboTaxi and the RoboVan.
00:43Sorry, that's what Elon Musk called it.
00:45So, yeah, new look. It's more aerodynamic. It's slightly longer.
00:50To be perfectly honest, the one thing that disappoints me is this car hasn't quite changed enough apart from the look.
00:56The structure is stiffer, so apparently the ride is better. Let's find out in a little while.
01:01But it's pretty much the old car, same battery, more efficient, the aerodynamics help.
01:05At least it does look different. If you look at the old Model 3 versus new Model 3, sometimes it's difficult to spot the new one.
01:11You won't have any difficulty spotting the new look here.
01:14There's also a new camera down here. Of course, Tesla's big on sensors and self-driving.
01:20But if you look down the side of the car, you've got new aerodynamic wheels, but it's pretty much the same.
01:26Mirrors are different, apparently. Again, more aerodynamic.
01:29But the profile, other than being longer at the front, a bit longer at the back, is very similar.
01:35The back as well. You've got this new ducktail spoiler on the back, but another light bar.
01:41The thing I love about this is how this lights up. And it's reflective light, so it kind of reflects down on where it says Tesla.
01:48Now, this car is one of the first in the UK. The rest of the models come out in about June time.
01:53This is a launch edition model, so you get the fancy launch edition badge down there.
01:58But this new lighting means that when you actually lift the trunk, as they say in America, all the lights go up with it.
02:06So you have to get special lights down here, which will light up later, that show up just so you can see the car in the dark.
02:15The boot is actually a tiny bit smaller than before, and there's a bit of space, as you can see, down there.
02:21So, you know, it's a decent size, and I think there's over 2,000 litres of space in the car in total.
02:28If you've got the seats down, there's a frunk at the front. As well, there's always a frunk.
02:32They should call it a fruit, shouldn't they? A front boot rather than a front trunk.
02:36We're in England after all. But yeah, that's pretty good.
02:39So let's just have a look and see how things have changed inside the car, shall we?
02:45There's never been a problem with space in the back of the Model Y.
02:48Why this is a family SUV? After all, and look, loads of knee room, lots of head space.
02:55And this is glorious, although it's a bit damp on this cold, frosty morning, this glorious full-length panoramic roof.
03:03You never get the benefit of it when you're sitting in the front, but sitting back here, this is lovely.
03:08If you're driving around the city, you'll get great views upwards and out.
03:12New seats, which are really comfortable, heated seats as well. We like heated seats.
03:17And they adjust so I can go back. A bit like the dentist. Or forwards. Not like the dentist.
03:26And in the boot, you can put these seats flat at the touch of a button.
03:31Also new back here. Oh, those lucky rear seat passengers. Not only do they get new, more comfortable seats, they get this screen.
03:38Now on this screen, you can adjust the temperature settings. You can put the heated seats on back here.
03:44You've got heated seats back here. Or you can actually play games or stream things from here.
03:49The other thing I really like from a tech point of view is you can sit here, watch a movie on that eight inch screen down there.
03:55And you've got your own Bluetooth connection. So you can sit back here, put your headphones on.
04:00You're not going to disturb the people in the front who could be listening to whatever they like.
04:04I think that's really clever. So from a family SUV point of view, sitting back here, let's see how that ride comfort is in a little bit.
04:11It's always been a bit bumpy back here, but it's a thumbs up. Let's have a look in the front, shall we?
04:16Now at first glance in here, nothing much has changed, but there are loads of little details.
04:23The seats, again, are all new, heated and cooled. We need cooled seats that often in the UK, but useful anyway.
04:31The touch screen here, which dominates, let's be honest, there's very little else to look at.
04:37The touch screen is the same as it always has been. So I think it's 15.4 inches.
04:42And this screen is pretty much unchanged.
04:46You get updates on the old model wise to bring it up to the standard of the new one.
04:50You obviously get the graphic of the new car there, which you can spin around quite cleverly.
04:56And you've got the navigation system on there, which works really well.
05:02There's no Apple CarPlay on here.
05:05And I always think that's just not good enough because everything else, every other car, every rival has Apple CarPlay.
05:11And this is brilliant. The usability is brilliant.
05:16But Apple CarPlay is just easy and Android Auto.
05:20And yes, you can get Apple Music and all that sort of stuff.
05:22But when it comes to text messaging and using Siri, it just works better.
05:27But what you do get on here is the toy box with this light show.
05:32Light show and we'll show you the light show in a bit.
05:37But also you get emissions mode, which is just hilarious for the schoolboy and me.
05:51You can make it do it outside as well.
05:53Sorry, that's just so wrong.
05:57It makes me laugh.
06:00But it's the little detail stuff.
06:02So there's a strip of material across the dash and on the doors, which has just kind of made the quality feel a little bit better.
06:10We're told this car is built a lot better.
06:12Of course, build quality has been a Tesla foible in the past.
06:15These sliders on the dash here are now made of aluminium, which feels really nice.
06:21They're as deep as ever before.
06:23Look, I can lose my hand down there.
06:25So loads of storage space.
06:27Storage space down there are plenty.
06:30You've got the cup holders, as I mentioned.
06:32Nice suede finish on the phone chargers, which are here.
06:37It says launch on there because this is a launch series car, of course.
06:41It also says it down on the doors at the bottom.
06:44But, you know, you use the touchscreen for everything, as you can see at the moment.
06:49There's a graphic of the Model Y on there and you can open the boot and open the charging port and everything else.
06:54Let me talk about the steering wheel as well.
06:56It's a new steering wheel, which feels really good to hold.
06:59It's the same as the Model 3.
07:00It's very simple.
07:01You can select these buttons to do anything you want.
07:04You can customize them.
07:05On here, you've got a flash of the lights and a wipe of the windows and volume.
07:09And at the side, this is the indicator stalk, which they've put back in the Model Y rather than the Model 3,
07:18which has really difficult to use buttons on the steering wheel.
07:21I think it's been a good job of just subtly updating this car.
07:25But the real thing I want to know is what it's like to drive now.
07:29We know it's going to be more efficient, but the reason I wouldn't have bought an old Model Y
07:33is the ride was just too firm for a family car.
07:38So let's see if they've sorted that out, shall we?
07:41Before we get on to how this car drives, let's talk about the numbers.
07:44Now, the entry point to the Model Y range is the standard range rear drive car, which will go 311 miles.
07:50It costs you £44,990.
07:53Now, you do get stung by the expensive car supplement for that, which means your vehicle excise duty, your road fund licence, your road tax for year two.
08:02It's going to cost you over £600.
08:05Whether that changes, well, a lot of people lobbying the government will see.
08:08Anyway, I reckon the sweet spot in the range will be the long range rear drive car, which goes 387 miles for £48,990.
08:19Now, if you want a long range all-wheel drive car, you're going to have to pay £51,990.
08:25This car is a launch series car. You've spotted the badges that pointed out it's a launch series car.
08:32It's based on the long range all-wheel drive car.
08:34I think the range of this one's about 350-something, slightly less than the long range all-wheel drive car, which is 360-something miles.
08:42And that's because it's got bigger wheels, basically.
08:45You get fancy 20-inch wheels rather than the standard 19-inch wheels.
08:50And that means it's not quite as efficient.
08:53But what you do get with a launch series car is an acceleration boost.
08:59That means this car will do 0-60 in 4.1 seconds.
09:05So it's quick, of that there is no doubt.
09:08It's also quiet.
09:09Now, I'm coming along the A40 heading into London and it is pretty hushed.
09:16Now, Tesla have made a big thing about the body structure in this car.
09:21It is much stiffer.
09:22And that means that they're able to control the ride.
09:25They're also able to control the noise.
09:28And there's a lot of sound deadening that's gone in.
09:30Double glazed windows.
09:31And it is much, much quieter in here.
09:35Now, that's impressive.
09:36But I know what you want to know because I've always gone on about the really terrible ride in the Tesla Model Y.
09:42And the new Model Y, as I just go over a drain cover there, it actually rides quite nicely.
09:48Hey, a Tesla that rides nicely.
09:51It's been a while, but they've got there at long last.
09:55And again, that's down to the stiffer body structure.
09:58It might look like a similar body, but they've changed an awful lot in here and a lot of things on the suspension.
10:04Don't want to get too technical, but I'm going over all sorts of potholes here that I would be bouncing around.
10:11My jiggly bits would be jiggling away, but not so much in the new Model Y, which I absolutely love.
10:17I'd go as far and say certainly dynamically way better than the BYD C-Line 7.
10:22And probably just ahead of the X-Peng G6, which I still like.
10:26It's still great value.
10:27But this does ride really nicely.
10:29The steering wheel, it just feels meatier to hold.
10:33And the steering generally feels a bit meatier.
10:36You know, it's never going to be a sports car in spite of that 0-60 time.
10:40You're never going to be throwing it around, but it just feels more secure on the road, I guess.
10:46So, yeah, it's a thumbs up at long last.
10:50Your family won't be sitting in the back in danger of throwing up.
10:55This is a comfortable car to live with.
10:59Probably even more so on the slightly smaller wheels than the 20-inch wheels that this Thor Series car gets.
11:05Other than that, this is just an easy car to live with.
11:08The view out forwards and up is good.
11:11Through the back, it's a bit like peering through a letterbox.
11:14Again, the rear window is small and no rear wiper.
11:18Oh, how people would love a rear wiper on some of these SUVs.
11:22The aerodynamics are supposed to keep it clean.
11:25Not when you're not really moving much in the stop-start traffic or when you first get into the car.
11:30Anyway, that's my beef.
11:32In terms of the tech in here, there has been a real upgrade in a lot of the important things.
11:38So, the microphone is more responsive.
11:41So, when you're having a phone conversation, that's going to be a lot better.
11:46The Wi-Fi is better.
11:47The cellular signal is better for the software over the air updates.
11:51And the audio system, this has got, I think it's something like 14 speakers, maybe more, plus a subwoofer in this version.
11:57Nine speakers in the standard car.
12:00And for a sort of proprietary Tesla system, and I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to audio.
12:07As I used to edit, what a hi-fi.
12:09This is a really impressive audio system.
12:12This car hasn't done many miles for the audio system.
12:14So, pretty green needs to be running like the car itself.
12:16And the audio system is pretty good.
12:19So, the drive, the cabin environment, things are much better.
12:23The little improvements that Tesla has made all around this car add up to a whole lot.
12:29Being a Tesla, of course, the tech is really advanced and you have autopilot.
12:33Unfortunately, in the UK, you can't get full self-driving.
12:36And I've tried it in America.
12:38It is fantastic.
12:39You can literally just sit here with your hands in your lap and the car will take you from A to B off at junctions, stopping at traffic.
12:46It's brilliant.
12:47You can't get that here.
12:48But autopilot is really good.
12:50You now operate it from on the steering wheel.
12:52And if you have a look on the screen here, you can see that everything that the myriad cameras are looking at.
12:58There's a truck that's just gone past us, the pickup in front of us, the car on the outside.
13:03And I'm just sitting here.
13:05Really, the car is doing the work for me.
13:07And in terms of autopilot systems, it will change lane as well.
13:11It will watch out for that car that's not going to put out in front of me.
13:14You'll even spot cones on there.
13:16I reckon this is one of the best autonomous systems that you can get in a car.
13:20When it comes to charging, it really couldn't be easier in a Tesla.
13:23You can charge it anywhere.
13:24You can charge it at home.
13:25But there's also the supercharger network.
13:27Now, this car will charge at up to 250 kilowatts.
13:30So that's pretty fast charging.
13:33But the seamless way that this car works with the supercharging network, I can put a destination in here.
13:39It will tell me, oh, you might not have enough charge to get there.
13:42So it will route me via a supercharger.
13:44It will prepare the car for a charge.
13:46So it instantly fast charges.
13:48You connect it, it instantly charges to your, literally financially charges to your account.
13:54It just works seamlessly.
13:56Very much like the engineering in this car, generally.
14:00You just feel as though it's a cut above other electric cars.
14:04It's a car that is built around a computer.
14:07Whereas so many other electric cars, other car makers to play and catch up, are cars with a computer stuck in it.
14:15And that's what makes a Tesla quite special.
14:17So the new Tesla Model Y.
14:20What's my verdict?
14:21Well, I reckon it's gone back to the top of the class.
14:25I really like what Tesla have done.
14:27Little improvements here and there.
14:29A whole new look.
14:30You decide whether you like that or not.
14:32But most of all, I could live with it.
14:34Because it actually rides quite nicely now.
14:36It's quite comfortable.
14:37So much quieter inside.
14:39The quality has improved.
14:40Then there's all those Tesla things that it's done so well.
14:43The range is great.
14:44The supercharging network worth its weight in gold.
14:47But the competition is really hot.
14:49There's the XPeng G6.
14:51I really like that car.
14:52And it's much cheaper than the Model Y.
14:55It slips under the expensive car supplement that this car is going to suffer from.
14:59It's going to make your road fund license more expensive on this car.
15:02You've got the BYD C-Line 7.
15:04I think that car has missed the mark.
15:06Too expensive.
15:07Doesn't drive well enough.
15:08And it doesn't go far enough.
15:10Then you've got the Changang D-Pal S07.
15:12That name just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?
15:14That's coming in the next few months.
15:16It's going to be cheaper than this.
15:17Let's see how good that is.
15:19The one thing I'd say is I'm not sure Tesla have really stretched this car.
15:23They haven't moved the goalpost far enough.
15:25It's top of the class for now.
15:27But how long can it stay there?
15:29For now though, I really quite like this.
Comments