Tesla launched its bigger, six-seat Mannequin Y L in China one week in the past, and now we’re beginning to get an thought of what it’s able to from the earliest opinions.
Right here at Electrek, we normally choose to conduct our personal opinions for automobiles, quite than reporting on the opinions of others. Nevertheless, the Mannequin Y L is out in China, and we’re not in China proper now, so… that is what we get.
And, heck, we might not even ever get an opportunity to take a look at it within the US, provided that Tesla CEO Elon Musk lately mentioned that the Mannequin Y L may by no means come to the US due to autonomy (huh?)… although frankly, that appears extra of an effort for Tesla to not Osborne impact itself, inflicting customers to delay purchases till the Y L comes out, when the corporate is already battling gross sales.
So, what are they saying concerning the new Mannequin Y L in China? Effectively, there are a number of factors that appear to be coming collectively thus far.
Particularly, despite the fact that the primary function of the brand new mannequin is a 3rd row with two seats, these seats appear quite compromised on the subject of holding adults.
Various Chinese language media have visited Tesla showrooms to check out the seats within the new mannequin, and whereas they will squeeze into the again, it’s just a little bit tight for a grown grownup.
One of many earliest showroom visits mentioned that “the third row can’t be the brand new promoting level of Mannequin Y” (article in Chinese language; quote was machine-translated).
The reviewer is 170cm, or 5’7″ tall, which isn’t all that tall, significantly from a Western perspective. Whereas he had affordable knee house within the again (the place foot room is considerably cramped as a result of ground being about 10cm/4in increased within the third row), he was involved about his head being fairly near the glass when sitting up, probably inflicting a strike if using on a bumpy street.
Additionally, whereas this take a look at occurred inside a showroom, having a window proper over your head may very well be uncomfortable on a sunny day, even by Tesla’s UV- and infrared-resistant glass.
The obvious lack of rear seat headroom is notable provided that the one actual visible distinction between the Y and Y L is that the rear seems to be a lot taller within the Y L – and but, the headroom continues to be iffy for even a not-particularly-tall grownup.
Different opinions concur that whereas knee room appears okay within the third row, the raised ground means little to no thigh help for grownup passengers, and little headroom as nicely.
That mentioned, opinions state that the seats are nicer than within the authentic Mannequin Y, with extra snug seat cushions, adjustable headrests, extendable thigh cushions, 2nd row adjustable armrests, seat heaters for all three rows and ventilators for the primary two, and air vents in every row.
So, it looks like the final consensus is that the third row will largely be utilized in emergencies, or for youths, or for brief journeys, however that the automobile is good for a household – so long as these children aren’t too large. Although to be honest, that’s the case with many third rows.
Rear trunk house appears… wonderful, however there’s solely a lot room you’ll be able to count on while you’ve crammed one other row into the automobile. And each the second and third row fold down, with the third row providing a comparatively flat ground when folded down, although the second row has gaps and bumps and doesn’t provide a flat ground when folded.
For comparability, the Mannequin Y L is 180mm, or about 7 inches, longer than the common Mannequin Y – and a seat is rather a lot longer than 7 inches, so one thing has to provide. The rear trunk space nonetheless has Tesla’s conventional under-floor cupboard space, which appears fairly ample, and the “frunk” space can be equally deep to the Mannequin Y.
When in comparison with direct opponents accessible in China, the competitors tends to be bigger and have extra third row house. For instance, the Onvo L90 is $8,000 cheaper however bigger and extra snug within the third row. The Mannequin Y L is in actual fact the smallest automobile amongst its direct opponents, which I truly admire Tesla for doing (automobiles are simply too large). However this does make the automobile really feel like a little bit of a compromise.
It’s additionally lacking a few of the newer options that Chinese language customers have gotten used to, like a fridge, massive rear-seat TV or seat massagers. Which makes the Mannequin Y L appear just a little dated for the Chinese language market – however in comparison with what the remainder of the world is used to, it appears fairly good. Such is the tempo of innovation driving the EV market in China proper now, whereas we in the remainder of the world actively attempt to ship ourselves again to the stone age.
And but, regardless of it evaluating much less favorably on options to its Chinese language opponents, and evaluating extra favorably to these automobiles outdoors of China, Musk nonetheless claims it received’t come to the US (although we nonetheless assume this may very well be deception to guard present gross sales of the Mannequin Y within the US). He’s simply so full of fine concepts these days.
Past the problem of third-row house, the primary driving dynamic take a look at we noticed appears fairly optimistic. Youtube channel GeekLaii goes over the checks, the place the automobile did fairly nicely regardless of being absolutely loaded with adults, including 500kg (1,102lbs) value of human cargo.
The automobile did nicely on this impromptu “moose take a look at,” a sort of take a look at that analyzes a automobile’s capability to swerve round a sudden impediment within the street at excessive velocity. Regardless of being full of individuals and having numerous physique sway, the automobile remained steady. This was probably helped by the Mannequin Y L’s comparatively low weight in comparison with the competitors, which helps driving dynamics considerably.
And even after the sway, the automobile settled itself comparatively nicely, probably as a result of addition of CDC lively dampers to the suspension system (that is adjustable by the touchscreen, with “stability” and “rear seat consolation” settings). The brand new suspension system additionally gave improved velocity bump consolation.
Though, the automobile’s longer size, and lack of rear-wheel steering (which the Cybertruck has, for instance), imply fairly a big turning circle. And braking efficiency was good, however bought worse when the automobile was loaded with individuals (as you’d count on).
All in all, it looks like the automobile is a reliable step ahead with quite a lot of enhancements, however that it’d fall quick when in comparison with the remainder of the market in China, significantly by way of third-row usability. However it nonetheless maintains the great driving dynamics that somebody would count on from a Tesla.
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