
Tesla Model Y Road Trip Review: a no-compromise electric SUV - evo_9
https://electrek.co/2020/07/22/tesla-model-y-road-trip-review-no-comprise-electric-suv/
======
unethical_ban
>In the meantime, I took a Model Y on a road trip from Oakland, California to
Sonoma and Napa over the last week to get a first impression and road trip
test.

That is not a road trip. I had to look it up: 40-50 miles.

I'm considering a drive from south Texas to northern Colorado next month.
That's a road trip.

I'm gatekeeping because I saw the title and thought it would be covering
charge duration, long term comfort, etc. This is a day trip, and it isn't a
bad review to do - let's just label it properly.

~~~
Sohcahtoa82
Engineering Explained did a good video on what it's like to road trip in a
Tesla. It was a nearly 2,000 mile trip from Boise, ID to Detroit, MI.

[https://youtu.be/uC95WACQhCY](https://youtu.be/uC95WACQhCY)

~~~
sliken
That was expensive, I definitely don't recommend the tiny sidewalls the model
3 performance comes with. Fortunately there's Tesla and 3rd party 19" wheels
that come with much more reasonable sidewalls.

~~~
Sohcahtoa82
Yeah, I'm on the factory 20" wheels. If I ever break them, I'll likely replace
them with 19".

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mrpippy
Compared to the Model 3, this has:

\- _one extra inch_ of ground clearance \- hatchback instead of trunk \- a few
more inches of head/leg room

And because of that, it's an "SUV".

This positioning is not at all exclusive to Tesla, but it's still annoying.
Call them "CUVs", "crossovers", "lifted, less-practical wagons", whatever.

Ultimately the problem is that Americans all want "SUVs", but most (rightfully
so) don't want the downsides of an actual body-on-frame SUV (poor mileage,
ride, packaging), or have any need for off-road capability. As a result, our
most competitive auto segments are "lifted, less-practical wagon/minivan".
Sigh.

~~~
bbeekley
To give an example, the Subaru Crosstrek is a lifted Subaru Impreza hatchback.
They share nearly all parts, and have the same interior and cargo space. The
differences are:

1\. Crosstrek costs more ($22,145 vs $18,695)

2\. Crosstrek is less efficient (33/27 mpg vs 36/28 mpg)

3\. Crosstrek is taller (64" vs 59")

4\. Crosstrek outsells the Impreza in the US (131k vs 66k)

Americans love feeling tall and are willing to pay for the extra few inches.

~~~
stagger87
Do you have any data that shows Americans are buying the Crosstrek because
they "love to feel tall" and not because of all the differentiating factors
between it and the Impreza?

~~~
bydo
It may be more that that's what the dealerships stock and push, but there
really are very few other differentiators.

The Crosstrek comes stock with a 6-speed manual instead of the Impreza's
5-speed (though 90% of them are sold with the execrable CVT instead); the
Crosstrek only comes as a hatchback while the base Impreza is a sedan; the
Crosstrek has intermittently been available with a hybrid system.

------
martythemaniak
For a great picture at the Model Y, I recommend Sandy Munro's complete
teardown:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br9luPS5VsE&list=PLkiDlGyJnp...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br9luPS5VsE&list=PLkiDlGyJnprdFftxAZ85a5Rp1LlET4Wbr)

Overall the Model Y seems like a far better car from Tesla's perspective -
much simpler design, cheaper to build, tons of under-the-hood improvements to
make it more efficient.

From a consumer perspective, you really do get larger Model 3 - you pay a bit
more, get a lot more volume, higher seating position and worse driving
performance. Most of the improvements would probably only show up in
comparison with similar cars ie longer range, cheaper price etc.

~~~
mandeepj
> worse driving performance

So, why to buy it then ?

~~~
minhazm
It's very slightly worse since it sits higher up and is heavier. But it's not
like it's bad. And most people aren't buying the car to take it on a track.
The larger size and higher seating position likely greatly outweigh any hit to
performance for most people.

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xeromal
I love my tesla as much as the next guy but take electrek articles with a
grain of salt. He's pretty biased.

~~~
blinding-streak
Electrek authors own stock in TSLA, so they are about the most biased source
there is on the topic. Certainly nothing here should be confused with
journalism.

[https://electrek.co/about/](https://electrek.co/about/)

~~~
oh_sigh
They also don't call out that their links to amazon are referral codes,
meaning they take a little slice of whatever you purchase if you follow that
link.

~~~
cosmie
They do, it's just an abbreviated disclosure and in small text, at the very
end of the article:

 _FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More[1]._

Also fun fact: Amazon's affiliate program pays out for _any[2] purchase made
within 24 hours of clicking the link_. So even if you don't immediately
purchase anything during that visit, if you purchase anything within the day
after clicking it, the affiliate still gets a cut of the transaction.

[1] With More linking to
[https://electrek.co/about/#affiliate](https://electrek.co/about/#affiliate)

[2] "any" purchase that's not for a product in an excluded category for the
affiliate program, such as digital downloads.

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S33V
What are some good, unbiased reviews of the Model Y? Other than Doug
DeMuro([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAXDcTH6hPw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAXDcTH6hPw)),
every other YouTube reviewer I've found has some stake in Tesla or is a
Tesla/EV fanboy.

~~~
ra7
I recently came across
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DaZxZDYh8Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DaZxZDYh8Q).
I thought it was pretty neutral and discusses the major issues extensively.

And if you want an insight into Model Y build issues:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhvT6OIq7XE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhvT6OIq7XE)

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galkk
Since when drive from Oakland to Napa is road trip?

How about something like Seattle to San Diego and back via 2 different routes,
like I did on my forester . Or longer?

~~~
brianwawok
There are tons of reviews out there for such trips. They are typically a
blast! Planning to go cross country as soon as we get past the plague again ;)

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yumraj
Is it _really_ an SUV?

Regardless of whether most people use an SUV for offroading or not, it doesn't
matter. Most SUVs conform to some basic features, especially around wheel
clearance being higher than a typical car.

This is just a roomier Model-3 or a Smaller minivan.

~~~
brianwawok
It has more wheel clearance than a car (compare to model 3 specially).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_classification#SUVs_/_off-...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_classification#SUVs_/_off-
road_vehicles)

Wikipedia hints you can pretty much call anything a SUV, it has no black and
white definition.

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sandworm101
Lol, I love the title: "no-compromise" and "SUV". All SUVs are monuments to
compromise.

~~~
carabiner
RAV4 Prime

\- hybrid motor + battery

\- 500 mile range on gas hybrid, 40 mile range on battery

\- AWD

Commute to work during the week without touching gas, then on the weekend take
roadtrips to the mountains at 50 mpg. And get cheap Toyota repairs/maintenance
for everything. It's the quiver of one.

~~~
brianwawok
Except:

* Still need oil / change spark plugs / timing belts / all the ICE junk

* But have a degrading battery like an EV

* Have weight of both ICE and EV at the same time

* Deal with legacy dealer network (slimey sales, have to pay a big cut to dealers)

* There are an entire 5k being made for the entire US (vs 400k? Model Ys), so you can't even get one if you want one (source: [https://electrek.co/2020/06/30/toyota-cuts-output-of-rav4-pr...](https://electrek.co/2020/06/30/toyota-cuts-output-of-rav4-prime-plug-in-hybrid-for-us/)) . IF you can find one, expect to pay 5-10k over sticker price.

So a little bit of worse of both worlds.

I will gladly take my model Y, thanks ;)

~~~
Sohcahtoa82
> ICE junk

Significantly less often. If 90% of your driving is on the battery, then you
might be able to go the life of the car without replacing belts and plugs.
You'd still need to change the oil, but could probably get away with only
doing it once a year.

> But have a degrading battery like an EV

Depends on the battery. Also, even if it degrades a whopping 50% (Which would
probably take 20+ years), you still have the ICE to keep you going.

> Have weight of both ICE and EV at the same time

With only a 40 mile battery, not a big deal.

> Deal with legacy dealer network

Yeah, that's pretty stupid. Dealers just get in the way, and I really wish
haggling wasn't a thing at all.

> There are an entire 5k being made for the entire US

I'm guessing that they don't profit much if any on each car sold.

I'm a Model 3 owner, but I don't expect everyone to be able (or want) to drive
a BEV. Honestly I wish more plug-in hybrids were being made. They can be
electric for most people's commute, yet have the ICE to prevent range anxiety.

~~~
carabiner
The 5k units is due to COVID affecting battery manufacturing, there's no
question this is circumstantial and nothing inherent to the vehicle itself.
They say 20k vehicles for the next year. With the current crazy dealer markup,
that's supply & demand.

~~~
brianwawok
So 20k Rav4 primes vs 800k? Teslas made in 2021 (not sure exact date Texas
will start producing)?

If the car is any good, 20k should mean you can't really get your hands on it
without paying over MSRP. If the car is a dud.. well, you won't want it anyway

------
robomartin
50 miles. Hmmm. Now, that's a test I can pass on a bicycle.

Joking aside, we were ready to go all-in this year with electrics. I even
installed an oversize solar array in order to be able to solar-charge at least
two vehicles.

And then the fires happened here in California. This changed my mind.

What became brutally apparent during the fires was that the fuel/energy
infrastructure comparison between liquid and electric energy isn't even a
comparison. People had all kinds of problems when their standard 30 to 50 mile
commutes turned into 300 mile commutes. The charging network simply wasn't
ready and, if I remember correctly, power outages caused additional issues.

The fact that gas stations exist pretty much at every freeway exit is a
massive strategic advantage during an emergency.

One mental tool that came to mind was to imagine that we had to evacuate and
we had two vehicles in front of the house: An electric Suburban-like SUV and
the electic powered version of exactly the same vehicle. Which keys would I
take?

The answer was simple; I would leave the electric behind.

Another interesting data point is that, due to the pandemic, we've had a
couple of cars almost parked 100% of the time for since, say, March. Let's put
it this way, last time I went to drive my little sports car it had spider webs
between the tires and the ground. I've never seen that before.

Without constant charging this would be a massive problem for electrics. It
hasn't been an issue with our IG cars, although, yes, there's a practical
limit to how long gasoline can be stored without consequences.

Frankly, I don't know what it will take to spin my head back around. I
absolutely do want electric vehicles in the future, and that future was going
to be 2021 or 2022. Now that timeline is pushed to until such time as the
infrastructure and practical realities of running electric cars become
equivalent.

This is also why I believe the future of electrics has to lie in some kind of
a liquid-based battery charge technology rather than conventional charging. In
other words, you would pump a liquid into your battery pack in 5 minutes
rather than electrons.

There's a question about whether or not the electrical grid could handle
having tens of millions of electric vehicles charging at one time. I haven't
done any math on this, which means it is hard to have a valid opinion. Gut
feeling? I am not sure we can support mass adoption of electrics.

~~~
zimpenfish
> 50 miles. Hmmm. Now, that's a test I can pass on a bicycle.

Hell, I've done it on foot multiple times.

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brianwawok
Tis a great car. Take a test drive if you are on the fence.

