Tesla recently started production of the right-hand drive Model Y at its Berlin factory and reports suggest that these cars will be manufactured for export to the Indian market. Given the Indian government’s recent policy that allows automakers to import a certain number of cars at reduced tax rates after investing in the country, Tesla is working hard to launch its cars.
The video uploaded to YouTube by Bunny Punia shows a walk-around and driving report of the Tesla Model Y. The car shown here is the range-extended version of the crossover SUV. The car has not officially arrived in India yet and this video shows the Thai version in a beautiful charcoal gray color.
As usual, the video starts with the exterior design of the car. The Tesla Model Y comes with a typical Tesla design. The car has its own distinctive design without a front grille. Instead of adding aggressive curves and lines, Tesla kept the design very minimalistic. The car doesn’t exactly scream performance, but it certainly delivers.
From the side, the Model Y features frameless doors and flush door handles. The car also does without conspicuous elements at the rear, such as connected taillights. The placement and design of the taillights are traditional. Another important highlight of the vehicle design is the all-glass roof, which makes the interior more airy. The glass starts at the windshield of the car and continues to the trunk door.
The Tesla Model Y has plenty of storage space, including 854 liters of trunk volume, which can be further increased to 2041 liters by folding down the power seats in the 2nd row. The car has 117 liters of storage space at the front, commonly referred to as frunk.
The car is equipped with several elements to improve aerodynamics. These include front spoiler, 19-inch aero alloy wheels, flush door handles and a specially designed windscreen. Behind the steering wheel there are two levers and two switches to control some important aspects.
Now let’s talk about the interiors. Similar to the exterior, the interior is also very minimalist. The car has no buttons, air conditioning controls or instrument cluster. The entire operation of the vehicle is controlled via the 15-inch infotainment screen. The car features hidden air vents, adding to the minimalism.
The presenter mentions that the interiors look futuristic and the car, which is based on EV architecture, offers a lot of space. Some necessary controls like trunk and trunk opening, air conditioning control, ORVM setting, glove box opening and much more are controlled from the touchscreen itself. However, some people might find the lack of buttons annoying.
Now the driving report of the Model Y.
The host mentions that he has driven several cars throughout his career as an automotive journalist, but driving a Tesla will always be a fond memory for him. The car has two driving modes: Chill and Standard. He also mentions that it has a range of around 600 km when fully charged.
He carries out an acceleration test of the Model Y from 0 to 150 km/h. The car performed excellently in this test, reaching 100 km/h in just 5.20 seconds and reaching the 150 km/h mark in 9.97 seconds.
He mentions that he was unable to activate the autopilot as it may be disabled for Thailand. In India too, the car will not have autopilot but will offer certain ADAS functions. The host feels that the steering is heavy at slower speeds, but as the speed increases it becomes lighter. The car’s suspension is stiffer.
Regarding pricing, In Thailand, the price of the Model Y starts at Rs. 40 lakhS. Internationally, the Tesla Y competes with the Kia EV6, BYD Seal and Hyundai Ioniq 5 and will also compete with the same cars in India. Pricing details are scarce, but we can expect the Model Y to be priced somewhere between 40 and 50 lakhs. Please note that this is speculation only and actual prices may vary.
The article: Tesla Model Y on the way to India: How it drives [Video] appeared first on Cartoq.