Even if the other manufacturers catch up, it is difficult to displace the Tesla models from the top spots in the local registration statistics. ntv.de was on the road with the practical and at the same time fast Tesla Model Y Performance.
Do you actually know what Tesla fighters are? Never heard? That's what insiders in the local automotive industry call the models, more or less jokingly (the degree of joking varies depending on the success), that are supposed to teach fear to Tesla. Nevertheless, no German brand has managed to sell more electric cars in this country than Tesla. Well, now one can rightly doubt whether this is such an important quality feature. But still, the brand has managed to gain a certain nimbus that you obviously won't be able to beat very quickly.
But why? After all, Tesla was the first newcomer car brand with purely electrically powered models that also supplied the charging infrastructure. In this way, the Americans have made electromobility more or less suitable for everyday use. And no question, the Supercharger network is still fine today thanks to constant growth (Tesla promises to add six stations a week worldwide). However, the Tesla superchargers are usually only at key locations along various long-distance routes and do not go deep, so they are not represented all over the country in contrast to the general fast charging network, which is currently growing just as dynamically.
But that's just a side note, after all, the vehicle is supposed to be evaluated. Tesla has an excellent marketing department and, thanks to the personality cult surrounding Elon Musk, has managed to largely do without advertising. Chapeau!
But is Tesla still beaming when you take a closer look at the products? Let's put it this way, it depends. Tesla at least has the unique product advantage of building particularly high-performance vehicles in - shall we say - bourgeois segments. The Model Y is the best example. Which brand offers an SUV in the middle class that can reach a top speed of 250 km/h? Not that this ability is used all the time, but it is a signal: to the car fans. But reason enough to win crowds for Tesla models? Hardly likely.
No, it seems to be the mixture of the level of awareness that the brand has now gained and the quality of the products. The Model Y driven by ntv.de comes from the Gigafactory in Grünheide (Brandenburg) and makes a pretty solid impression. At the end of the day, Tesla models are just US cars, so something is allowed to wobble or creak. But it doesn't even do it.
Of course, interior design doesn't win any aesthetic prizes now. And the bit of wood optics can hardly overcompensate for the impression of the steering column, which is covered with a lot of hard plastic. But no matter, the Model Y does not look cheap in the overall view. And as far as the human-machine interface is concerned: a good solution! Would you like an operating manual? Forget it, you don't need it. Give a new user half an hour and he'll quickly fly through the menus, works really intuitively. Whether you like the central giant touchscreen (15 inches) or not is a completely different matter.
But even more interesting: How does the Model Y Performance drive? With the exception of the latest model, the Model S Plaidt, Tesla always keeps the specs a secret. So you have to trawl through secondary sources to get behind the power and torque of the strongest "Y". It's a pretty massive 534 horses and 660 Newton meters of torque - no wonder that two motors (and a corresponding number of driven axles) are obligatory. Accordingly, the SUV catapults its passengers up to speed without delay and is said to break the 100 km/h limit within 3.7 seconds. Absolutely believable.
But since you can't constantly strain the neck muscles of your passengers (that causes a lot of trouble), your senses quickly focus on how the Stromer, which is equipped with 21-inch wheels, rolls. A tad too taut for a large touring vehicle that doesn't have any appreciable cornering ability. The extremely low cross-section (35 series) also gives the suspension a lot to do - bumps hit through more clearly with such tires. But the black Alus look just chic. And - if you want to be beautiful, you know that.
The performance variant crouches a little lower than the other models, which affects the center of gravity and thus also the driving dynamics. Despite the 75 kWh battery in the underbody, the Y is not a curve robber, but a very decent highway hunter that really only gets a little more nervous above 200 km/h. Then, by the way, the propulsion also decreases noticeably. You need a very long straight to reach the top speed of 250 km/h.
But that's okay, because an SUV is not a racer and such speeds should rarely be called up. The point is: the vast majority of battery-electric vehicles do not have change-speed gearboxes, but instead achieve every speed range with a single gear ratio. As a result, the electric machines leave their torque plateau at some point and therefore weaken.
And otherwise? The Model Y spoils you with generous space and, thanks to the obligatory panoramic roof, with a light-flooded interior. In this respect, this Tesla is a very fine travel car. And then the question of the charging performance arises - 250 kilowatts should be possible, but the charging curve flattens out noticeably after ten minutes. On the other hand, the twin-engine Tesla shines with a rather ambitious consumption of just 17.1 kWh in the combined discipline. A highly efficient, permanently excited synchronous motor is used at the rear, while a less efficient asynchronous electric motor (separately excited) is used at the front.
Nevertheless, the duo is cleverly chosen, because if the load is reduced, the front unit can simply run along without resistance when switched off and does not generate any energy-sapping drag torques like a permanently excited machine. Why do you sometimes end up well beyond 20 kWh in practice? Because it's just so much fun to let the two-tonner accelerate under full power.
Keyword travel planning: Here you really have to break a lance for the easy-to-use charge management. Simply enter the destination and the on-board computer calculates exactly which Supercharger should be stopped at - even with the predicted remaining range. If you are going too fast, the computer warns that you should reduce the speed (the exact value varies) if you still want to reach the next supercharger. This is particularly attractive for newcomers to electromobility who are not yet very familiar with the charging network. Incidentally, the factory-specified range of 514 kilometers can certainly be achieved, but only with restrained use of the right pedal.
In addition, the Model Y is a practical journeyman with a trailer load of 1600 kilograms. In this case, a surcharge of 1350 euros is due. The luggage compartment volume of up to 2158 liters is also quite impressive for a car whose dimensions aren't all that expansive. Its length of 4.75 meters means that the driver will not despair when looking for a parking space. But the width of 1.92 meters is proper and can cause sweaty hands in narrow construction sites.
The purchase price of the Model Y is rather reassuring - especially since Elon Musk has made it back into the business media with sudden, unexpected price reductions. The website is now talking about 64,990 euros for the performance version of the Y. And don't forget: there's also a further 4500 euros in funding. Overall, this is not a cheap undertaking, but nowhere else at such a price is there this level of utility and performance in equal measure, so you can think of Tesla what you want. Incidentally, the customer can safely save up to 7500 euros expensive packages for assisted driving. First of all, driving autonomy is still a thing of the future and doesn’t really work well on the road. Second, the Model Y Performance is an active car anyway.
Conclusion: Tesla models are still successful, although there is by no means a lack of competition. On closer inspection, however, one realizes that no competitor can offer what Tesla offers. In any case, in the case of the Model Y Performance, it is a useful SUV with driving performance that is unparalleled in this segment. The same applies to the loading volume. In addition, the chassis and workmanship are quite appealing.
