We like
Pace and space in spades, more settled ride and tidier body control, supportive sport seats, enormous grip, improved build quality, good real-world efficiency, intuitive cabin tech and app connectivity, impressive extra-cost Full Self Driving (Supervised) tech

Room for improvement
Reticent steering feel prevents a close driver-car connection, difficult to justify over Long Range AWD model, short vehicle warranty, absence of smartphone mirroring, FSD-S is not cheap to acquire

Overview

 

A drawback of early success is the view of ascendant rivals in the rear-view mirror, nipping at one’s heels. That’s the situation at Tesla: having enjoyed strong demand for its attainable Model 3 and Model Y, the American brand is under siege from BYD, legacy rivals, and others.

 

While Tesla executives acknowledge that it would never have been able to own a majority slice of the battery electric (BEV) pie forever, various strategies have been deployed by the manufacturer in recent years to shore up demand for its key models and to lure in new audiences.

 

While no second-generation Tesla model has ever been released, the carmaker has rewritten the rules of how facelifts and mid-life updates can work by altering its existing cars much more extensively under the skin (down to the body in white) even without dramatically updating styling.

 

Such ‘deep facelifts’ were rolled out to positive reception for the Model 3 in 2024, and the critical Model Y midsize SUV earlier this year. More efficient construction methods promised upgraded build quality while common complaints about harsh ride quality were addressed.

 

Buyers appear to like the changes, with the Model Y finding 20,241 buyers this year (to the end of November), and the SUV appears on track to eclipse its full-year 2024 result of 21,253 sales. The nearest rival, the BYD Sealion 7, is half as popular, moving 10,864 copies this year.

 

While the bulk of Model Y buyers opt for the value-laden Rear Wheel Drive ($58,900 plus on-road costs) or the twin-motor Long Range All-Wheel Drive ($68,900 + ORCs), Australia’s pinnacle Tesla variant—the Model Y Performance has returned in facelifted form at $89,400 + ORCs.

 

The Performance benefits most from Tesla’s upgrades. The apex ‘Y’ is $20K dearer than the Long Range; it is more powerful (461kW vs 378kW), quicker from 0-100km/h (3.5 sec vs 4.8 sec), and has 21-inch wheels (vs 19”), adaptive dampers, 16-inch screen, and sport seats.

 

That spec’ builds on the Long Range (which nabs a front motor and 16-speaker stereo) and the base RWD, which is fitted with PVC upholstery, heated/cooled front seats, 15.4-inch screen and 8.0-inch rear display, extensive connectivity, and basic ‘Autopilot’ safety functions.

 

With all six colours (including exclusive Marine Blue) included at no-cost for the German-built Performance, options are limited to a white interior ($1500) and a license for Full Self Driving (Supervised) for $10,100, though the latter can presently be subscribed to for $149/month.

 

From the Model Y Performance’s 79kWh LG 5M nickel manganese cobalt battery pack, Tesla claims efficiency of 13.6kWh/100km for 580km range (WLTP). At its peak, DC charging can hit 250kW speeds, but a 10-80 per cent session averages 120kW, requiring 29 minutes to replenish 406km.

 

Tesla persists with its relatively short vehicle warranty of four years/80,000km, though the drive units and battery pack are covered for eight years/192,000km in this trim. Servicing is condition-based.

 

Driving impressions

 

There’s no kidding around when Tesla calls this the Model Y Performance. Unlike some rival pretenders, this ‘Performance’ is genuine: not only is it blisteringly quicker to accelerate than before, thanks to a new rear motor, astonishing grip means it devours corners. It covers ground fast.

 

While Tesla is clearly philosophically related with BEVs, the Model Y Performance is one of those powertrain-agnostic sporty cars that is better compared with other cars of similar capability, rather than simply other EVs. In that light, its circa-$100,000 driveaway price is quite reasonable.

 

Still, that’s a lot more money than the well-regarded Long Range trim. The key is this: while the Model Y Long Range is a very powerful and fast family SUV in the scheme of things, the Performance elevates those traits while adding substantially enhanced grip and control for spirited driving.

 

It wasn’t always this way. The previous Model Y Performance was fast, yes, but it was also frenetic and totally neurotic thanks to a seriously hard ride and a whiplash-inducing steering ratio that didn’t back off, even at high speeds. It was also vertically loose in the rear, so you’d back off.

 

Tesla has listened to feedback about those issues, and the upgraded Performance is a far more settled car in all environments. Suspension has been altered fundamentally with new two-stage adaptive dampers, and in ‘sport’, body control is night-and-day improved, increasing confidence.

 

Because the actual ride quality doesn’t seem to differ by very much, we were content to leave the Model Y’s dampers in ‘sport’ all the time. And despite its low-profile Pirelli P Zero tyres (275/35 R21 rear, 255/35 R21 front), comfort is reasonably similar to a Long Range on optional 20s.

 

The chassis is controlled, and the Pirelli boots are grippy as heck. But Tesla has overshot the mark on solving the other problem—the steering. The updated Model Y’s electric rack has backed off the sensitivity at speed (good) but there is now a dullness under load that dampens out feedback.

 

What that means is that when you’re attacking a B-road like the Model Y Performance now can, striking a mid-corner bump no longer unsettles the rear end (as before) but it can induce a bit of ‘lolling’ from the steering wheel which seems to enter a bit of a dead zone. You feel detached.

 

Having banked genuinely creditable dynamic improvements to the ride and the body control with even more accelerative impact than before, it would be great to see Tesla steering engineers look to the greats of this segment (such as the old petrol Porsche Macan) for a future change.

 

In any case, the next leap forward—and associated bump in demand—will probably come from the fact Tesla has switched on Full Self Driving (Supervised), or FSD-S, in Australia. This cost-optional tech can drive the car hands-off—under supervision—even on city streets.

 

Tesla has concluded that FSD-S it’s legal on Australian roads under the proviso that drivers must always remain fully attentive, with an in-cabin camera and other inputs helping the computer to determine whether the driver is, in fact, poised to take over at a moment’s notice.

 

This being the Model Y Performance, three-quarters of our test was driven manually (or using the included, but excellent, ‘Autopilot’ adaptive cruise and lane-keep assist on the highway), but for the final quarter, we embarked on a Sydney-Canberra return road trip using FSD-S.

 

Colour us very impressed, with the technology able to conservatively but capably handle nearly all driving situations including complex junctions, roundabouts, highway entries/exits, and even courtesies like moving over a lane to allow another car to seamlessly join from an on-ramp.

 

Turn your nose up all you like at FSD-S, it’s a Nokia-to-iPhone moment for the car industry and, until matched by a rival brand in Australia, a nice exclusive for Tesla that may help the brand stave off rivals for a time.

 

Frankly, we found it really compelling to let the car take on most of the duties for ‘boring’, monotonous driving routes and essentially delivering us to the start of a fun driving road outside the city. This might be the future.

 

With FSD-S engaged and the degree of effort expended on simply driving the thing reduced (but not removed), one also tends to pay more attention to the cabin environs—which in Tesla style are starkly minimal, but thanks to the underlying Model Y’s recent update, are well-built.

 

Star of the show for the Performance are shapely sports seats: extensively adjustable like all Ys, but with a power leg extender. Looking forward, a conventional indicator stalk has been retained but horn, wiper and main beam have been relegated to the three-spoke steering wheel.

 

Tesla is reportedly mulling future addition of Apple CarPlay to its in-car infotainment system but for now, the Performance’s 16.0-inch screen is one of the best out there. It might lack Waze, but it has a huge selection of other apps and legible, easy-to-understand menu structures.

 

Build quality for the Berlin-made Performance may have ever so slightly trailed the Shanghai-built RWD and Long Range versions of the Model Y we have driven in recent months but there isn’t much in it—and for a pretty silent and very fast car there are remarkably few cabin noises.

 

Packaging remains a clear Tesla strength with the Model Y’s capacious back seat accommodating tall teenagers and adults alike with air vents and access to a discrete 8.0-inch rear screen that can be hooked up to two sets of Bluetooth headphones.

 

Some passengers rued the lack of a sunshade for the glass roof. While the fixed transparent panel now has considerably more light and heat protection than before, it still lets quite a bit of warmth and glare in on summer days. Rivals seem to be adopting power shades.

 

Boot space measures, according to Tesla, 854 litres, which appears to include the vast underfloor storage area. The rear bench power-folds for long item storage, while a separate 117L frunk somehow packaged around the amazingly miniature front motor has a seal and drain hole.

 

Across our test, we didn’t quite match the official energy efficiency numbers—but we came mighty close for a 2033kg sports SUV with vast power on tap.

 

In town, we managed a frugal 14.1kWh/100km (560km range), while on the highway the Tesla drank 16.5kWh/100km (478km). The Long Range variant would do a little better, mainly because it uses tyres with less rolling resistance.

 

Speaking of the Long Range—to be honest, it will suit most buyers better. That version of Model Y is $20,500 cheaper, still extremely well equipped, fast and flexible and with full access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.

 

But when only the best will do, the Performance must be the answer. It’s simply a steering fix away from very high achievement in the sports SUV arena.