Tesla has announced that the single-motor, rear-wheel-drive version of its Model Y SUV is now available to order in Ireland.
While the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive model has been open for orders here for a while, the Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive provides a lower-cost alternative to the rest of the line-up with prices starting from €59,490, but with a still-substantial range between charges of up to 455km.
Standard spec
As standard, the Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive comes with Tesla's Autopilot advanced cruise control system (functionality upgrades are available), a 15.0-inch touchscreen dominating the cabin, the Premium interior package - which includes heated front and rear seats as well as a heated steering wheel - and a 13-speaker audio system. This is in addition to the same spacious and airy interior as the rest of the Model Y range with 117 litres of room in the front luggage compartment (some refer to this as a "frunk"), aside from the boot behind the split-folding rear seats. The latter can fold down to create a cavernous 2,158 litres of total luggage capacity throughout the car.
Owners can connect with their car using the Tesla smartphone app for features such as remote unlocking, cabin pre-conditioning to warm or cool the interior before entering, location tracking and plenty of other functions besides.
That 455km range is dependent on owners optioning the smaller 19-inch alloy wheels rather than the larger 20-inch rims - the latter cut the quoted range by around 25km. A range of anything more than 400km is still very useful on longer journeys though, as is access to Tesla's Supercharger network. The Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive is rated to charge at up to 170kW, meaning top-ups from 10 per cent to 80 per cent capacity in around half an hour or so. In the absence of a Supercharger, a CCS outlet will also work.
Think of the Model Y as the SUV equivalent of Tesla's big-selling Model 3 saloon and you're just about right, with both cars sharing approximately 95 per cent of their running gear and very similar styling. Beyond the SUV design, there are a few improvements though, most notably a new, more efficient heat pump that dispenses with the Model 3's older system.
Shipping from China
With order books for the Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive open now, the first Irish deliveries are expected in February 2023.
Do bear in mind a few things on that front though: the Model Y for Europe is built in Tesla's Shanghai plant and car production and shipping from China are currently being affected by a range of factors including the prevailing Covid-19 situation, drought in central China (affecting the supply of hydropower to car and component plants in the east of the country) and the impact of the war in Ukraine on the flow of freight between China and Europe. That's all on top of the global semiconductor shortage, which remains an issue hampering the supply of cars worldwide.