As it begins its fifth year on sale, Tesla’s most popular model gets a big refresh. This is the new Model Y, which first appeared on Tesla’s Chinese website yesterday and goes on sale there in March, as our colleagues at InsideEVs report, other Asia-Pacific markets soon after. There’s no word on when we’ll get this updated model in America, but it shouldn’t be too long.
Visually, the Model Y changes a lot at the front, with a full-width light bar that takes cues from the Cybertruck and the Cybercab. The actual headlights move lower down into the bumper. It also looks like Tesla changed the shape of the front hood, so this facelift goes a bit further than the auto industry norm of changing the cheap plastic parts like the bumpers, but not the more-expensive metal bits. At the back, there’s another full-width lightbar with the Tesla script underneath. There are new wheel designs and color choices as well. Visually, it’s not radically different overall, but it is distinct from the original Model Y.
Photo by: Tesla
Inside, the Model Y adopts the cleaner aesthetic first shown by last year’s updated Model 3 with new seats, a new steering wheel and an ambient light bar. There’s also a separate screen for rear-seat passengers. Notably, the car also retains its turn signal stalk.
The mechanical updates here are similar to what we got with the Model 3. Tesla retuned the suspension for better ride comfort, addressing the biggest shortcoming of the previous version. As InsideEVs points out, the new Model Y appears to be a bit more efficient, posting better range figures on the Chinese testing cycle.
This update comes as Tesla posted its first sales decline in a decade. The Model Y is still one of the top-selling cars in the world, and the best-selling EV, but there is more competition than ever from Chinese upstarts and legacy automakers alike. In other words, this Model Y is arriving not a moment too soon.
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