Hi all,
sorry for the bad English sometimes... I speak Dutch.
I have my Model Y Performance for 35 days now and driven it 2000km in Belgium (Europe).
I like to give you my honest opinion of this car coming from multiple BMW's, and why I want to switch to BMW again.
Probably already a zillion posts about this, but if it helps someone making a decision between a Tesla and a BMW...
I bought the Tesla after I had a Model 3 as a company car for 6 months and I was looking to go electric with my personal car.
What made me buy it was the supercharger network, the looks of the car, the infotainment and the acceleration.
I watched maybe a hundred Youtube videos before making the decision and I had driven a Model 3 before.
The Model Y looked like the perfect car.
Paid 70k for the Quicksilver Performance version and white seats.
I will start with my conclusion after just 2k km... In the end it comes down to the fact I come from a line of BMW cars and I can't help but compare every time I ride the Tesla.
I like parts of the Tesla of course, but I miss too many things that were just standard in the BMW. For me sitting in a BMW is much more relaxed, has a premium feeling to it and I feel more confident riding them without having to think about small issues that frustrate me in the end. So I'll be switching to a BMW again.
I did not test drive an electric BMW before making the Tesla purchase. Just because the BMW was more expensive and we drive to the south of France every year and BMW does not have the supercharger network. I realize that when going on holidays the Tesla would have been superior in terms of experience. But it does not make up for the frustrations on a daily base.
Overall rating Tesla Model Y Performance 6,5/10.
Here are some of the things that I used most and rated them good/ok/bad.
I like to start with the bad.
The Bad
DELIVERY
- Oh man... I had my fair share of stress. Tesla probably has the worst customer experience of any car maker in Belgium for taking delivery.
Long story short my delivery date was rescheduled 3 times and my car was used at a Belgian car show AFTER I already paid the full amount!
Did not receive any compensation for the trouble, they just said sorry we need to use your car for a week and lied two times about the whereabouts of the car.
TESLA ONLINE STORE
- Bought a 210 euro keyfob and they (Musk?) decided to save money on the batteries. Watched several Youtube videos where they all unbox and first thing under the keyfob are batteries. A person in the community noticed they stated on the website it comes without batteries, but WHY??? The keyfob is useless without batteries. So I had to drive to the store first to get 2032-type batteries.
USS
- Removing USS was the worst idea without a fix through Vision only. I ordered the car in July 2022, the car had USS parking sensors then.
I received my car in 2023 without them. It was a deal breaker but salesperson said the fix was arriving soon. Hoped to receive it every single day since!
Not having decent parking aid is the most frustrating thing of this car.
Maybe in USA all parking spots and garages are huge and don't require them, but in Europe it's almost impossible to park without them and not worry about scratches.
When it's dark outside it's even worse. I just push the brake so my brake lights show what is behind me.
I mean, I always rear parked with the Tesla because at least I had the camera to somewhat rely on, I don't know how others do this.
But parking front first is just guessing nothing is sticking out that will hit your bumper.
It was so frustrating everyday that I made the conclusion that I do not want any car without them at this time. I'm just so used to them now.
I do not wish to wait for a fix that will probably not tackle every frustration while parking.
BUILD QUALITY
- Build quality is still far from a premium European car imo.
It's improved compared to the Model 3 I had before, but it's just not premium or luxury.
And let me say that I am really forgiving in terms of panel gaps, which I shouldn't be on a brand new car.
Yes, this 2023 Model Y has a fair share of them, but I just did not want to send it back.
Opening en closing the frunk gives a flimsy impression. After a month the frunk is already squeaking.
There is a noticeable difference between the front doors and the rear doors in weight and quality. Rear doors feel like a 25 year old Toyota. There is no weight in those doors.
Front doors are ok but not what I'm used to. The interior is ok but just doesn't feel premium.
RIDE QUALITY
- Can't get used to this car honestly. Steering wheel shakes when driving +150km on highways. I live in Belgium, we have the worst roads in most parts of the country.
I feel shaking of the wheels or steering wheel when driving when it should not. Roads I have driven for the past 7 years with other cars and never noticed anything. Could be because of the suspension/tires. I don't know. I just really notice it in this car.
This is a sportscar that has a speed limit of 250 km/h, but how anybody can feel confident driving +150 km/h in this I just don't understand.
PAINT
- 2k km and I have 3 spots missing paint from chips on a car coming from the "best paint facility in the world" (according to Musk).
So I check my 5 year old black BMW for comparison... it has them but not that deep into the paint.
It's a Berlin model and a Quicksilver, so it comes from their brand new paint facility.
Yes, the overall paint is better and it's a nice color, but it chips so fast and deep that you can see white spots.
No, I don't wish to spend another 5k on PPF.
Also, upon receiving my car there was blemish in the paint on the rear door. Did not notice it until I was at home and really did not want to go back and service the car. And the frunk has two paint imperfections where a bubble or something had formed under the paint (+- 2mm).
DOORHANDLES
- Personal opinion but I think they are stupid. Whenever I pick someone up, I have to open the window and explain what they need to do.
Also, they are black and already show scratches from people wearing rings. Also in this area not a nice paint quality or finish.
CRUISE CONTROL
I name it cruise control because that's what you at least want from a car this expensive.
Tesla Autopilot is the worst system I have used in a long time. Why call it even Autopilot because it clearly is no autopilot.
It looks promising and its cool looking at the visuals and all, but it just does standard stuff wrong and worse than competitors. In Europe at least.
I feel that the Model 3 I had was better with autopilot than the one I'm driving now.
It's good at taking corners on highways on autopilot, but just regular cruise control with good speed recognition is nowhere near as good as my previous cars.
It feels like someone is driving the car that just has their drivers license and not confident about driving. Braking and slowing down all to frequent.
In the end I just don't use AP anymore just because I don't trust it. The speed limit is always off and people behind me must go crazy with the brake lights popping up all the time. It also can't recognize speed limits above highways in Europe.
I'm not saying it should adapt to the speed limit, but just showing the correct information isn't even possible.
So probably good in USA on wide roads, long trips and less congested traffic maybe.
AUTOMATIC WIPERS
Please don't start by saying I could just replace them with Bosch wipers. I know ok.
But for a car this expensive you expect better wipers and sensors that actually work.
I have never owned a car with automatic wipers where I had to engage the wipers manually so frequently. Really, I have the car for such a short time and use the manual mode for wipers almost everyday because they would not function when they needed to.
The OK
RANGE
Range is not what is advertised, but it is ok. I get around 340km out of my 90% charge and it's still cold outside so I guess that's good.
SOUND SYSTEM
The sound system is ok but it can't compare to Harman Kardon for example in a BMW.
Much more defined and better spread in the car.
STEERING WHEEL
The steering wheel is ok but feels a bit cheap. The two buttons on the steering wheel also. This has not changed since the Model 3 I drove so I was already used to them. When pressing the buttons for the next song, sometimes I would slide of or not push hard enough. Side pressing is not my favorite, I prefer the actual downward push buttons.
KEYLESS ENTRY
Keyless entry with smartphone worked almost all of the time.
The keyfob on the other hand I had to reconnect twice already.
The Good
LOOKS
The Quicksilver Performance model looks cool, I really love the looks of the car.
The white interior gives you a spacious feeling, I like the color.
ACCELERATION
The acceleration is insane, but I thought I would be using it more frequently when in fact I only truly use the full power when going on highways and no one is in front of me.
Driving the car feels fun, it reacts immediately. Yet ride quality is not the best.
REGENERATIVE BREAKING
Regenerative breaking is really good, almost never use the brakes.
CHARGING
Good charging experience. Automatic port opening when the charger is near is nice to have. Went to a supercharger once. Was nice to watch Netflix for 30 minutes.
INFOTAINMENT
The infotainment system is the best. Really responsive and good visuals. I love the Apple Music and Spotify apps which I use most. Changing car settings is easy and intuitive. Never played games and never used any of the gimmicks.
SENTRY MODE
Sentry mode is a nice feature but could be better if you would get immediate alerts on your watch or phone through the app. Now you only see what happened when you get back to the car (I think).
CAMERAS
Camera's popping up when changing lanes and rear drive is a cool feature. Works really well.
APP
The app is good. I did have 2 times where the app just wouldn't connect. Service mode error.
Preconditioning the car every morning is really the best. Couldn't care less about the gimmicks in the app.
Charging status is clear.
Scheduling repair through the app was easy.
Watching the car in sentry mode is cool but never a reason to use this actually.
SPACE
Really a lot of storage space and good space for passengers.
I feel sad because I hyped this car so much and waited for this car for 7 months.
But in the end it just frustrates me more than my previous cars. The tech, looks, acceleration and supercharger network do not make up for all the minor flaws and stuff I miss that I had in previous cars.
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"Tesla Model Y Classic-Gala 2022 1X7A0411" by Alexander Migl is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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