I received my red Tesla Model Y in June 2021. I had to wait about 6 weeks for it. As the car turned 4 this year, I’ve been thinking about my next car in 1-2 years. Also, with the Elon Musk craziness I started to consider other EV car options out there that could be a good replacement for my car.
As background, I am a woman who loves techie gadgets and cars, especially EV cars. I am also big on sustainability and clean energy. My last two vehicles were a 2014 Toyota Rav4 EV and a 2006 Toyota Prius 2nd generation. I loved my Prius. I never thought I would every enjoy a car as much as I enjoyed my green Prius. I liked my Toyota Rav4 EV because it was an EV and a Toyota, but I didn’t love it. They didn’t really embrace it as an EV, they just put an EV motor in a gas car. I believe it was a compliance car, so I didn’t feel that Prius love for the Rav4 EV. I love my Tesla Model Y!!. I love my car more than I loved driving my Prius. My husband thinks this is a ridiculous statement. He doesn’t understand because he was never a Prius driver – haha. While there are some features missing and design choices I question, I would definitely buy another one.
What do I love about my Model Y?
Audio System
This is not the reason why I bought the car, but it plays such a big part of why I love driving the car. I’m not sure when I realized the music was so clear and with a hearty amount of bass. I love high quality, clear music, but I also LOVE bass. I believe I was listening to the song August by Taylor Swift and it was so clear, it was almost painful. I then tested Ave Maria by Celine Dion because I listened to that song in a 1999 Acrua TL with DVD Audio years ago and I hadn’t heard anything sound so good since. I was happy to switch to MP3 and streaming for convenience but I did miss DVD audio. Now, when I drive home from the BART station in the SF Bay Area, it is so enjoyable. I turn the music up and the drives ends in no time. Any new car I buy requires this level of audio system or better. I will need to connect my iPhone to the car and listen to specific songs to know if the car meets my new audio criteria. Obviously, my streaming service is set to the highest quality even for downloads.
Braking (or the lack of need to use the brake)
I love that I barely use my brake. The car brakes so well by just taking my foot off the accelerator pedal. I only use my brake when a car stops suddenly or I want to come to a complete stop (instead of slow creep – my setting). This is the most disconcerting change when I am back in a gas car, like a rental car. Most gas cars just don’t brake as well. I find that I need to be more on top of my braking on the highway. Part of this is just the fact that the car is not braking quickly when I take my foot off the accelerator, but also I need to press more on the brake than in the Tesla.
Calendar Syncing
I didn’t think I’d like this but I do. l am a planner and I do put all the kid & personal activities in my family Google calendar with the location specified. Now, every time I get into the car, it knows where I’m going. So useful. So so useful for me. It auto starts the navigation and we are on our way. Even if I know where I’m going, having the car take traffic into account has me going in unexpected routes sometimes and usually for the better.
No key needed
I love that I only need my phone or watch to access and drive the car. This is so reliable that I do not carry the Tesla card key with me. Ever. A year ago, this got a bit flaky but even then just killing the app and restarting it fixed the issue.
Just walk away
I LOVE that I don’t need to turn the car on/off. I just walk away and the car will lock itself once it realizes I’m gone. I really love this feature. However, this is the biggest readjustment I need to make when I rent a car. The number of times I have walked away from a gas car and realized I didn’t turn it off is funny (but not funny). I’ve gotten better at reminding myself “turn of the car”.
So Pretty
I may be techie, but I am still a woman. This car is so stylish. It is the perfect size and look for me. I love the idea of the Rivian R1S. I actually considered that vehicle as a possibility to walk away from the Tesla, but I don’t want an SUV that big. It just isn’t as stylish as the Model Y, in my opinion. The Model Y is just a beautiful car. I cannot imagine an EV that is more stylish than the Model Y.
Acceleration
I have this last on my list. This is a given for most EVs. The car just takes off when you need it to. A few months after getting my Tesla, I had to drive my brother’s car. I actually thought something was wrong with the car when it takes a second to respond the the hard press on the accelerator. I started to wonder if all gas car are like this. Yup! The Tesla Model Y has instant response and it is zippy. How do you ever go back to a gas car when you have driven a Tesla?
What do I not love?
There are so many things to love about this car and the newer version of my car, but there are things where Tesla prioritizes fashion over function. The car also doesn’t have all the best techie features that a LOT of the new vehicles have. Why Tesla? Why?
Estimated Range is not accurate
I am a former Prius driver. I am a former Toyota Rav4 EV driver. I know how to get a lot out of range and really take advantage out of a battery. No matter who well I drive, I cannot get the stated range for this car. It is very frustrating because the car is more 250ish range than 300 range. It made me so angry for awhile that it seemed Tesla was well overstating their range, but I have now let that go and just enjoy everything else about the car.
Blind Spot Detection
Why don’t you just put the blind spot detection in the side mirrors??? My version of the car doesn’t have this in a useful way. It will now beep if it detects a car in the camera view when I put on the indicator, but I’d like to see some indicator before I start my merge to another lane. The new version of the car, put it near the interior speaker at the front of the door. Why? Why? JUST PUT IT IN THE SIDE MIRROR LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!
Missing Techie Features
Okay, I helped my Mom buy the last model year of the Toyota Venza with all the features. I’d expect the Tesla Model Y to be just as techie as a Toyota Vena. My Mom’s car has:
- Digital rear view mirror – why do we have to look into the back seat to see out the back window when we can have a camera view of the back of the car in a nice wide view. Such a great feature. Especially when you have the ability to go back and forth.
- HUD – the heads up display is really useful. It would be especially useful in a car like the Model Y where the big screen is not in front of you. Having some information in the heads up display are would be an excellent feature for the Tesla.
So, in summary I LOVE MY CAR. I am such a happy driver in this car – even four years later. This has replaced my Prius as my favorite car ever. EVER. You would have to own a Prius to understand the joy of driving one. Now, I wonder if there could ever be another car in the future that brings me such joy. I am hopeful cause I thought the same thing in the first 4 years of my Prius and here I am loving this car more. So, you just never know.
Wishing For A Holiday 