2025 Tesla Model Y RWD Review

A new look and even more minimalist interior along with extra power and range have sent EV enthusiasts on a Model Y bender. 

Despite Tesla share gloom overseas, the brand is doing okay here. Totals for the half year are down about 200 on 2024 but the Modeal Y is still the best selling EV (636 units). And that’s mainly on the back of the newly facelifted model Y. In June, Tesla found new homes for 407 of them, showing pent-up demand for the newbie. 

The comprehensively facelifted Model Y is available as a base RWD variant or an AWD dual-motor option. Expect a Performance model soon too.

Visually upbeat

The RWD version you see here costs $70,224 including ORCs. The look is much improved with its new lightbars and hidden headlights below. They’re of the matrix variety too, so can be left on full beam, ‘dipping’ automatically by turning off pixels. Bumpers at each end are reconfigured, with small air ducts up front to divert the air around the 19-inch alloys. These have black caps that Tesla claims reduce energy use by 2-3 per cent. At the rear is a new three-piece fifth door – evidently simpler to repair – and there’s a small ducktail-style spoiler and a new diffuser. The original Model Y had a Cd of 0.23. This is now 0.22, adding a few kays of range. That’s one of the lowest Cd figures for any SUV.

Minimalist interior 

There are also significant interior changes. There’s still the big 15.4-inch central touchscreen that commands all. The wheel is new, though the spokes are set a touch high, mandating a 10 to 2 hand position. It’s comfy enough though, with adaptive cruise controls on the right side. Above there’s a panoramic sunroof, with a silver coating to prevent overheating.

Mirrors and steering column positioning you set in the central screen. Oddly it’s the same for selecting gears. So the cabin is largely devoid of buttons, the only exceptions being on the wheel for the wipers and front camera (also a new feature). Push the wiper button once and a menu comes up on screen or you can cycle through the menu by repeated stabs of the button. It works okay but a rotating controller on the indicator stalk is so much simpler. Like a gear selector on a right wand would be…

Most of the other stuff is relatively straightforward. The powered seat controls are in the conventional place – hooray – and the lumbar pump is solid. Seat ventilation is new, along with heating and there’s a heated wheel too.

Changing between the two drive modes is easy (chill=eco, standard=normal). Same essentially with recuperation, low or standard. We liked both. On tight stuff, standard is good, no brakes required. For other roads, low is fine, gently braking you almost to a halt. This has one of the best crawl modes I’ve ever encountered, so smooth. Autonomous drive works well too, though it does seem to favour the left side of any lane. Attempts at steering right often lead to ACC cancelling itself. 

Winter weather

It was raining much of the time we had the new Model Y on test. There’s a slippery driving mode that amps up the TC, and also prevents really heavy braking. You can stomp on the brake pedal and it doesn’t seem to go near the ABS intervention point. Slip back to normal drive mode and regular brake transmission resumes. Clever stuff. 

So are the electronics; they intervene only when necessary. So you can press on even in the wet and this just responds faithfully. 

Helping is a low centre of gravity, an even weight split, and not too much of it, just over 1900kg, not bad for a sizeable EV. It is almost 4.8m in length, our model featuring a single, rear-mounted motor. There’s generous luggage space up front (117L, and a drain for wet gear) and an equally larger underfloor hold at the back. You can store the magnetic cargo cover under there too if you want. We probably would – or just leave it in the garage – as it’s quite sizable and makes viewing stuff at the front of the hold a little tricky. 

Anyhow, there’s piles of room back there, with 854L when all seats are in use, and 2138L after splitfolding. There’s generous leg and headroom for the folks in the back too. They get new heated seats and an eight-inch touchscreen to which you can pair two Bluetooth headsets.

The split folding is a powered set-up, activated in three different ways. There’s also an accessory Tesla mattress, should you choose to have a weekend away in the wilderness. It’s that roomy inside!

Ride and handling impress

Tesla said the improvement in ride quality is palpable. That’s soon evident – this is just outright pampering at urban speeds. It also flattens speed bumps effortlessly so long as you’re not attacking them like a bull at a gate. The suspension isn’t active but uses frequency dependent dampers. Hence, the comfy ride at urban speeds, and the firmer, controlled progress through corners. We appreciated the prompt turn in and good feedback at the helm, though the turning circle is nothing to write home about (12.1m). 

And from the driver’s perspective there is great forward visibility, even if it’s more restrictive out the rear window. The seating position and comfort are noteworthy, except for the hard edge against which your left knee rests. Build is sound, not an untoward noise to be heard. If you like minimalist interiors, this will appeal. There’s not even a stop/start button.

As to the numbers, the Rear Wheel Drive model features a 220kW motor (torque not state, estimated around 400Nm) powered by a 63kWh LFP battery pack, giving it a claimed 466km of range according to WLTP. Its sprint time drops by 1sec from the previous model (6.9 to 5.9sec, which we met). At no time did we feel this needed any more power. Overtakes are achieved easily, quickly.

Add $10k for the Long-Range AWD variant ($80,224 drive away). This has a 78kWh NMC battery and a heap more grunt (336kW/639Nm). It is said to run 0-100 in 4.3sec. The claimed range is up a tich on its forebear at 551km. When either variant hooks up to a 250kW Supercharger, up to 283km can be added in 15min. There are evidently 28 Supercharger locations nationwide. On a wallbox, a 60 to 100 per cent recharge takes 4.5 hours. 

Teslas come with a four-year/80,000km warranty. Battery cover is over twice that. And Tesla has a mobile tyre repair service.

Up with the best in class?

Well yes, really. On road it’s fast and fun. And inside it feels more premium than its asking price. That’s perhaps partly a reflection of new acoustic glass and low rolling resistance rubber used; evidently it reduces wind and road noise by around 20 per cent. 

And the design is (mainly) clever too, particularly the amount of occupant and storage potential it offers. 

Rivals in this area include Leapmotor C10, Kia EV5, Ioniq 5 and BYD Sealion 7. Generalising they are either slower, more expensive or both. Inbound rivals include Smart #5 and Cupra Tavascan, among others. 

Most will love the base car but $10k seems not a lot for an upgrade to AWD and more pace and range. Why not indeed?  

Tesla Model Y RWD
$67,900+ORC  /  15.7kWh/100km  /  0g/km
0-100 km/h 5.83s
80-120 km/h 3.50s (100.3m)
100-0 km/h 35.01m5
Speedo error  98 at an indicated 100km/h
Ambient cabin noise  69.2dB@100km/h
Motor output  220kW/n.a. Nm
Battery  62.5kWh
Range  466km
Drivetrain  Single-speed auto / RWD
Front suspension  Wishbones / swaybar
Rear suspension  Multilink / swaybar
Turning circle  12.1m (2.3 turns)
Front brakes  Ventilated discs 
Rear brakes  Discs
Stability systems  ABS, ESP
Safety  AEB, ACC, BSM, LDW, RCTA, ALK, AHB
Tyre size  f/r-255/45R19 
Wheelbase  2890mm
L/W/H  4750 / 1982 / 1624mm
Track f-1636mm  r-1636mm
Luggage capacity f-117 r-854-2138L  
Tow rating  750kg (1600kg braked)
Service intervals 12 months/20,000km
Warranty  4yrs / 80,000 km
ANCAP rating   (2022)
Weight (claimed)  1921kg