2022 Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive Review

Tesla’s rise to sales success has been nothing short of extraordinary. While the Model S and Model X did a lot of the brand building in the last decade, the smaller and more affordable Model 3 has been responsible for the majority of the brand’s sales over the past year and this is obvious because they are everywhere. Well, after a few years of delays, the new best-selling Tesla is here: the 2022 Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive.

The Model Y – essentially a taller SUV version of the Model 3 sedan – has finally been released in Australia to much fanfare: the waiting stretches out to almost a year, and since its release just a few months ago, the company has sold more than 5,500 of them locally (and that’s from an overall sales tally of just over 14,000 in 2022). It’s easy to see why as both the Tesla brand and SUVs are very much in vogue, so a combination of the two is surely a recipe for success, right? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 9/10

For now, there are just two Model Ys on offer in Australia: the entry-level RWD and the top-spec Performance. We tested the entry-level 2022 Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive, which is priced from $72,300 plus on-road costs (or from around $75,000 drive away, depending on location and any state electric vehicle incentives).

For the money, even the entry-level Model Y is very well equipped with automatic all-LED lighting, auto wipers, 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, synthetic leather upholstery with front and rear seat heating, a heated steering wheel, 10-way electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory functionality, a power adjustable steering wheel, dual-zone climate control with rear air vents, a 15.0-inch touchscreen with an inbuilt SIM card, satellite navigation with Google Maps integration, FM and digital radio, inbuilt apps like Spotify and games for when you’re charging, two wireless phone chargers, a 15-speaker sound system, heated and auto-folding mirrors and keyless entry and start with an electric tailgate.

Safety kit includes six airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with with pedestrian monitoring, lane departure warning with lane trace assist, blind-spot monitoring through a camera feed that’s projected onto the centre screen, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, lane trace assistance for what Tesla calls Autopilot when combined with the adaptive cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, auto high beam, a reversing camera and a multi-camera feed that Tesla calls Sentry Mode, which records multiple views when driving and when movement is detected when the car is parked. Thanks to all this safety kit, the Model Y has a five-star ANCAP rating.

In terms of colour options, the Model Y is available in ‘Solid Black’, our test car’s ‘Deep Blue’ and ‘Midnight Silver’ for $1,500, ‘Red Multi-Coat’ for $2,900 and ‘Pearl White’ for no extra cost. It comes with a black interior but is also available in white for $1,500 extra, while 20-inch wheels ($2,900) and either ‘Enhanced Autopilot’ ($5,100 – navigate on autopilot, auto lane change, auto park, summon and smart summon functionality) or ‘Full Self-Driving Capability’ ($10,100 – enhanced autopilot and traffic light and stop sign control) are also available.

Performance & Range: 8/10

While Tesla doesn’t officially release information regarding its battery sizing and motor outputs, quick internet research suggests that the entry-level Model Y’s electric motor pumps out around 220kW of power and 440Nm of torque, and that power is drawn from a 62.kWh lithium ion battery pack mounted under the floor. That’s good enough for a quick 6.9-second 0-100km/h sprint time and the claimed range for the entry-level Model Y is 455km.

Charging the Model Y from 10 to 80 per cent can be done in as little as 18 minutes using one of Tesla’s Supercharger network, around 73 minutes using a 50kW charger or around eight hours using a wall box. Tesla’s Supercharger network is huge – there are 51 sites across Australia with more than 260 individual DC fast charger, with another 20 sites coming soon.

Tesla claims that the Model Y RWD will travel up to 455km on a full charge, and while we didn’t have the car long enough to test the full range, our previous testing with the Model 3 suggests that Tesla’s claim is fairly accurate. Having said that, we wish that the Model Y Long Range – which is on sale overseas – were offered in Australia as it would give buyers an all-wheel drive option without having to go up to the Performance. In Europe, the Model Y Long Range’s claimed range is 532km, a full 77km more than the RWD that we have here.

Like other electric cars, the 2022 Tesla Model Y has a few switchable driving modes, though they’re much simpler than competitors with just ‘standard’ and ‘chill’, with chill mode acting as a sort of eco mode with a duller throttle response for less performance. There’s no adjustable regenerative braking, while the steering has three different modes. We left both settings in the regular mode as a good mix between the different scales of adjustability.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

As we found out in our recent Model Y versus Kia EV6 comparison, the 2022 Tesla Model Y is entirely competent in the ride and handling department, though it’s not perfect, with a firm ride quality that makes it feel heavier than it is. Bigger bumps can crash into the cabin and it can fidget at lower speeds – even on the smaller wheels of our test car – but the body control is great, and the handling is positive as well, with its well balanced chassis. The steering is largely feel-free but it’s well-weighted and very quick.

Road noise levels are pleasingly low, while the visibility is excellent. Getting used to the speedometer being on the central screen can take some time – and one of our testers to become carsick – but having the blind-spot camera just next to the steering wheel is great. Tesla’s Autopilot system is also pretty good and we experienced no faults with it – on well lit highways with good line markings, it’s great. Just don’t expect it to drive you everywhere.

Interior & Practicality: 9.5/10

The interior of the 2022 Tesla Model Y is very similar to the Model 3 sedan – it’s very practical, good quality, very futuristic and once you’ve gotten used to how everything works, it’s intuitive and overall quite premium feeling. It’s a more pleasing space to spend time than the Kia EV6’s cabin, and in this writer’s opinion, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 as well.

The quality inside the Model Y is generally quite good. Soft touch materials cover most of the interior, while the switchgear – although quite minimalist and some would say plain – also feels great in hand. While we think the synthetic leather would get hot in summer, the seats are comfortable and the visibility is excellent thanks to its huge windows. The standard panoramic glass roof does not have a sun shade, but it does filter out 99 per cent of UV light, according to Tesla.

Centre of the Model Y’s cabin is a huge 15.0-inch touchscreen that controls almost every single function of the car. It’s very much like an iPad in its operation and can take time to get used to – particularly as that’s where the speedometer and lane keeping assistance menu are – but it’s also a big part of why the Tesla range feels unlike any other car. Really, our only complaint with it is that there’s no heads-up display or screen directly in front of the driver, which is an issue in speed camera-obsessed Australia.

The touchscreen houses Google Maps satellite navigation, FM and digital radio (but no AM), Bluetooth connectivity to phones, inbuilt apps such as Spotify and Netflix (the latter for when you’re charging) and even cool features such as a fire place, a dog mode that turns the air-conditioning on so you can leave your pets inside while you’re shopping and even games to play while charging. There’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but the screen will still read your text messages and so on.

The Model Y’s cabin is quite practical. Beneath the screen are two wireless phone chargers and deep centre bins, the glovebox is large, as are the door pockets and rear passengers also have door pockets, map pockets, a rear centre arm rest with cupholders, two USB-C charging ports and air vents as well.

Rear seat space is excellent, despite the sloping roofline. The floor is nicely flat, it’s nice and wide and three people should fit without a problem. The seats are nicely sculpted and comfortable, and there are ISOFIX points on each outboard seat. All three seats are heated as well, though you can only control that from the centre screen in the front cabin.

The boot of the Model Y is quite large and measures 895-litres (to the ceiling, including the large under floor storage) with the seats up and 2,158L with the seats folded. The boot is well finished and has side storage and buttons to fold the rear seats, though no hooks or nets. There’s also no spare wheel, which is annoying. At the front of the Model Y is its frunk, which adds another 119L of storage space.

Service & Warranty: 8/10

In Australia, new Tesla products have a four-year/80,000km warranty with four years of roadside assistance, while the battery pack is covered for double that: eight years or 160,000km, whichever comes first.

Tesla products have no official service intervals or service costs, though this is dependant on items like brakes, tyres, etc needing replacement. The car’s software updates automatically with over-the-air updates.

The 2022 Tesla Model Y RWD DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.4/10

It’s no wonder why the 2022 Tesla Model Y has already become a massive sales hit with Australian buyers as it takes the best bits of the already popular Model 3 and adds a more spacious and practical body with the SUV look that is very much in style with buyers. It’s also relatively good value for money, quite well equipped, drives pretty well, very practical, good quality and is a great all-rounder.

There isn’t much we’d improve on the Model Y – we wish a long-range version were offered like the Model 3 and the North American Model Y, the ride quality could be improved and a heads-up display and smartphone mirroring like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would help usability and also lessen distractions while on the road. But aside from those minor issues, we think the Model Y is a great all-rounder and it’s very easy to see why Tesla has such a big order bank for them.