Today the time had come and the first Tesla Model Y in Switzerland was unveiled. Pre-orderers have already received collection dates for the end of August 2021 and will then be able to receive their Model Y. The electric cars do not come from the USA, but from the gigafactory in China. This means that the American manufacturer’s in-house “S3XY” line-up will also be complete in Europe and, with the exception of a small vehicle, Tesla now also has a simple, but nevertheless wide range of products to offer.
Why Model Y?
It is no coincidence that Model Y, with its vehicle height and design, can be classified as an SUV. Every second car for new redemptions in Switzerland is an SUV, so there is enormous demand in this vehicle category and Tesla wants to offer an alternative to the combustion engine with an electric drive. Tesla Switzerland assumes that Model Y will quickly become Tesla’s best-selling model.
Which model is there at the start?
For the launch in Switzerland, the Tesla Model Y Long Range is currently available as a 5-seater. Further model versions and variants will follow at a later date. The Model Y comes from the Gigafactory Shanghai and will be delivered to Swiss customers in this form from the end of August.
Technical data for the Model Y
Tesla gives a value of 16.9kWh / 100km for the consumption of Model Y, this was determined according to WLTP. How this works in practice will of course be tested in detail as soon as possible. At least theoretically a range of 507km is possible with it. The acceleration of 0-100sec in 5.0s is of course impressive for the design.
At 4.75m long, 1.9m wide and 1.6m high, the car is significantly smaller than the big siblings S and X, despite a lot of storage space. Exactly this combination should be well received in the market. The latest litter from Tesla offers a total interior volume of 2100L, there is no official information about the trunk.
The trailer hitch on model Y is installed manually (cannot be folded out electrically) and can pull 1600kg. Such values are rare for electric cars and offer a lot of potential at the starting price.
In contrast to Model 3, the Y also has a HEPA filter that is otherwise only known from S / X.This enables germ-free air in the interior, particularly useful in traffic jams and tunnels.
First impressions
The presentation of the Model Y in Zurich was unfortunately not a driving event, the homogolation of the Model Y has not yet been completed for Switzerland. Nevertheless, you could get first impressions, especially the higher interior and the more upright seating position will please many who have declined with the Model 3. This also includes the trunk opening with rear window, which now offers significantly better loading options. The space available in the opening below the double floor and in the frunk offer an impressive amount of additional storage space. In terms of seating position and space, the Model Y should get the most out of the available space in the entire Tesla product range.
Since there is currently only the 5-seater variant, I could not examine the third possible row of seats. But think here that it will clearly be about rarely used seats, the space is then already very tight. The continuous glass roof gives a lot of space inside, especially in combination with the raised seating position and more height in the vehicle compared to the Model 3, this is another increase. Especially for tall people like me, this increases comfort a lot.
Connectivity
Like the Model 3, the Model Y does not require any keys, but instead connects to the smartphone for seamless entry and exit, with a single 15-inch touchscreen interface inside for all of the car’s controls. The Model Y also connects to the Tesla Mobile App for easily accessible features like remote unlocking, the summon function, climatic preconditioning, location tracking, speed limit mode and much more. As with all Teslas, the Model Y continues to improve over time with frequent over-the-air software updates.
Laden
The Model Y is of course compatible with the current Supercharger network of almost 7,000 Superchargers across Europe and offers a charging power of up to 250kW. This makes it possible to charge V3 superchargers with an electric range of up to 270 km in around 15 minutes. An 11kW AC charger is installed for charging at home, which can also be used ideally with solar power from your own roof, for power supply from renewable sources.
Prices
The Tesla Model Y is available in Switzerland from CHF 62,000. Click here for the Tesla Model Y Design Studio or the Product side.
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