Follow us It’s easy to hero-worship Tesla cars or be dismissive of them as hype. Driving one put me firmly in the middle. “I booked one several years ago, my refund should’ve doubled by now!” jokingly said a sharply-dressed gentleman who walked into the Tesla Mumbai experience centre, having parked his Neptune Blue Porsche Taycan right in front of it. I witnessed this interaction moments after completing a short first drive of Tesla’s first launch for India. Many Indians pre-booked the Model 3 as early as 2016, so the wait has been long to put it lightly. For context, their actual first launch for India, the Model Y, didn’t even exist at the time! Tesla’s hype in India is old enough to get its learner’s permit by now. We even made a video on the subject 4 years ago when Tesla India Motors & Energy Private LTD was incorporated. The name makes it apparent their plans only begin with cars and more will follow. For now though, let’s get down to brass tacks and into our assessment of where hype meets reality with the Model Y. Looks Deceptive. At least when you look at the Tesla Model Y in images, it looks a lot smaller than it actually is. Measuring just under 4.8-metres long with nearly 3-metres within its wheelbase, it’s a sizable bit of machinery that does stand out on the road. However, its simple lines and the clean detailing on the sheet metal makes it look like a car that you’d see in the movie i-Robot. The connected LED DRLs almost get hidden with the white paint job of our shoot car. The headlights are integrated into the minimalist slits of the bumper, that are so slim and opaque that they look like piano-black garnishes. The Model Y rides on 19-inch black alloy wheels draped in fat 255/45 section tyres. And here, you see that while the Model Y can be categorised as an SUV, at least in India, you’re better off thinking of it like a sedan, considering the car does still ride a bit low (no ground clearance figure disclosed). My favourite bit of this ‘Juniper’ Model Y would have to be the new rear end with a connected LED tail light. What’s cool is the secrecy in styling. There are cameras in the B-pillars, a camera on the front fenders and even the charging port is tucked away under an electrically-released flap integrated into the tail light cluster. There’s only one colour as standard though - Stealth Grey. White or black set you back by an additional Rs 95,000, blue is a Rs 1.25 lakh option while red and silver cost Rs 1.95 lakh extra. Interior Tech Yep, this black and white interior is an optional extra too (Rs 95,000), with all black given as standard. The first question you may find yourself asking is “Where did the interior go?”. Minimalist is one thing, but in the Tesla’s cabin, outside of the storage areas, steering and a single lever for the indicator, absolutely everything exists within the 15.4-inch touchscreen. Want to go from Park to Drive or Reverse? Swipe the car in the direction you want on the screen. Want to adjust the powered steering wheel for height or reach? Tap steering on the screen and use the left steering-mounted scroller. Same goes for the mirrors. Want to see your driving data, navigation or play YouTube or Netflix? It’s all on this one screen. Even the AC air flow is controlled from the touchscreen as is the glovebox. The good thing is, this is about as good as a touchscreen gets. Display quality aside, the screen processes inputs with phone-like fluidity and navigating through it is quite easy after spending a few minutes with it. Additionally, while adjusting the steering, mirrors or other settings using the touchscreen seems annoying, owners can quickly set up a driver profile with these settings saved. The profile setting will remember everything about you, including your powered seat settings. Android Auto & Apple CarPlay aren’t offered but the on-board navigation uses Google Maps in the back with TomTom navigation’s interface. The front seats are ventilated, powered and heated while the rear seats are heated only and also get electric backrest angle adjustment. You also get a 9-speaker music system and much like everything else on or in this car, Tesla makes it themselves. Rear seat occupants get an 8-inch touchscreen to themselves, which can run functions like the air conditioner and aforementioned entertainment apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and more. The good thing is you can pair a Bluetooth device to this touchscreen, so front and rear occupants can view/listen to independent media. That said, the shin level placement of the screen makes it more usable for little kids than adults. Fun Elements The ToyBox is what shows this car’s sense of humour. Tap this open and you can play sounds (including a whoopee cushion) both inside and outside the car. You can draw things with the digital sketchpad, make music or even change the display colour of the car seen inside. This is also the home of the light show feature that puts on a performance outside. Bear in mind that while you can have the horn make different sounds too, it’s not something you can use on the move, lest you make an audio file with your choicest expletives. Interior Space This is where all the tech wizard tree meets strong sensibility. Getting in and out of either row is super easy. Once inside, the sense of space is great, even for people who are tall or of a heavier build. The panoramic glass roof is triple glazed for noise and heat insulation but there is no cover to cut off vertical visibility absolutely (pigeon’s rejoice). Users who are 6 feet tall or even slightly over will have good headroom in both seats. The seats are American-friendly i.e. broad and comfortable. A six-footer behind his or her own driving position will have good room to spare. That being said, even though this is a born electric SUV under thigh support is still a bit lacking for taller users because of the proximity of the seat base to the floor. This will be more apparent to tall front seat passengers even with the seat pulled rearward and low. Practicality Yes, there is a front trunk and it’s big enough for a large soft bag and comes with a drain plug, should you want to use it as an ice-box or if you ran out of utensils to make an absurdly large cocktail. A full sized suitcase along with a medium-sized bag and some smaller bags can fit into the actual boot and there’s a deep storage bin underneath the boot floor where you can fit in another bag or fold away the parcel tray itself. Adding convenience are 60:40 split rear seats that fold down/up electrically. The door bins are big enough for 1-litre bottles plus space for some snacks. There is a deep storage area between the front passengers as well as cupholders. And while the glove box is a bit shallow it can fit a few car documents.