“Not just downhill, tailwind and café in sight”
The Tesla Model Y is about to be crowned Europe’s best-selling car of 2023. It has undoubtedly won over many drivers with its space offering and increasingly lower price, but the range also undoubtedly plays a role. After all, the maximum distance between two charging sessions remains a hot topic. How far does the Tesla Model Y get in practice?
To answer this question as best as possible, we rely on several sources. Of course, the Tesla Model Y was allowed to appear several times in comparison tests, where we recorded the power consumption, but we also include user data. We find this in the ‘user reviews’ section on this site, where no fewer than 74 Model Y drivers share their experiences. A large number of drivers share their consumption. In fact, the average consumption and outliers are shared more often than the total range. That is why we do the necessary sums in this article.
Range and consumption Model Y Long Range
The most common Model Y in our review section is the Model Y Long Range. With a net battery capacity of 75 kWh, Tesla promises a maximum driving range of 533 kilometers. The quick calculator shows that this requires a maximum consumption of 14 kWh/100 km. And a good dose of courage, because in practice no one will squeeze the very last watts out of the battery pack. Maintaining a safety margin of about 10 percent makes electric driving considerably more comfortable.
The practical average for the Tesla Model Y Long Range is a considerably lower 410 kilometers. Slightly lower than the average consumption of 17.1 kWh/100 km suggests, which would lead to a range of 438 kilometers. But then again, hardly anyone drives a battery pack completely empty.
There are also outliers, as one driver reports a consumption of 13.6 kWh/100 kilometers, resulting in a range of 551 kilometers. “Not just once, not every now and then, not just under ideal conditions, not just downhill, with a tailwind and a café in sight, no, on average over almost 18,000 km.” On average, the lowest consumption that drivers report is 14.6 kWh/100 km, which should result in a range of 514 kilometers. This is usually achieved in the summer months and at speeds of 100 km/h or lower. If we subtract a 10 percent safety margin, about 460 kilometers are possible under these optimal conditions.
Tesla Model Y
Driving range Model Y RWD
The entry-level Tesla Model Y, with a net battery capacity of 57.5 kWh, is now simply called ‘Model Y’. According to the factory, you should be able to cover 455 km, for which this variant may not consume more than 12.6 kWh/100 km. Our figures also show that this standard version actually consumes less energy than the Long Range, although an average of 16.2 kWh/100 km is not sufficient for the promised range. A quick calculation shows that it has a maximum of 354 kilometers. If we take the 10 percent safety margin into account, we are talking about about 320 kilometers.
If we look at the minimum reported consumption figures, achieved under optimal conditions, they are considerably more favorable at 13.7 kWh/100 km. In the best case, there is about 420 kilometers of range – so a safe 380 kilometers. The bandwidth? From about 200 kilometers for a brisk driver to a maximum of about 450 km for those who drive very calmly.
Tesla Model Y
We understand that such figures sound somewhat abstract to non-EV drivers. Although we have little comparison material in this section, we can already say that the Tesla Model Y, with an average of 16.2 kWh for the standard version and 17.1 kWh for the Long Range, is quite economical. Keep an eye on this section if you want to know more about energy consumption and range!
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl