MotorTrend Lived With A Tesla Model Y For 2 Years And Hated Every Second Of It

Even before Elon Musk got into government to get rid of regulators, he had a well-documented track record of creepy behavior, in addition to operating wildly unsafe factories where a culture of racism was allowed to flourish. But at least his cars are still the best cars ever made, right? Not necessarily. MotorTrend is about as apolitical as automotive media gets, and it just wrapped up a two-year test of its long-term Model Y. The conclusion? It sucked, and they hated every minute of it. 

As with any car review worth reading, it wasn’t all bad. In fact, the long-term wrap-up opens with a list of everything positive there was to say about their 2023 Tesla Model Y. This isn’t pulled from the end of the review, either. This is literally the first paragraph:

Here’s what I enjoyed about the 2023 Tesla Model Y MotorTrend bought for its yearlong review program: Its audio system was good. Not incredible or anything, but good. There’s abundant space to stash things. Every EV should have a frunk like this Tesla’s. In the Chill setting, the accelerator’s tip-in responsiveness is very smooth. Using the Tesla app to integrate with vehicle features was convenient. That’s all.

From that point on, there’s nothing positive left to say. If it were coming from Jalopnik, the transportation site that thinks it’s bad to cause babies to be born with HIV, that might be one thing, but again, we’re talking about MotorTrend here. The same MotorTrend that secured an exclusive first drive of the Model 3 and basically had nothing but great things to say about it. In the interest of full transparency, I also worked there at the time and got early access to the Model 3 at that year’s Car of the Year testing. So clearly, we aren’t talking about a bunch of long-time Tesla haters here. 

But…

After opening its long-term review with a paragraph about the positives of the Model Y, MotorTrend got right into it with the second paragraph:

To me, our Model Y is antagonistic to enjoyable driving. I dreaded getting in it and often pushed the speed limit so I could get out of it sooner. Few things have tested my patience like this car, and I have two younger brothers. If it were a person, I’d face charges for all the times I kicked its tire or punched its steering wheel out of visceral frustration.

Yeah, that doesn’t sound great. And maybe they would have liked the newer, refreshed version better, but that version wasn’t available back in 2023, and the overwhelming majority of used Model Ys are the original version, so maybe consider this your warning not to go the pre-owned route to Model Y ownership. And while the complaints are numerous and specific, a lot of it boils down to the fact that the Model Y makes a great first impression if you’re new to EVs, only to disappoint you later, once you get more time behind the wheel and compare the experience to other EVs. 

The chassis tuning eliminates any notion that this is a precise or premium vehicle. Its ride quality alone is reason enough to disqualify it. Our car’s suspension, which feels like it’s filled with hard rubber, reacts nervously to slight road imperfections and pounds across large ones. Although the ride is rarely harsh (like a sports car’s can be), it’s also never smooth (like a luxury car’s should be). This abrupt, jostling sensation only ends on perfectly smooth pavement.

Even if you’ve never driven a Model Y, those of you who have gotten an Uber ride in one can definitely relate there. They also complained about their car’s “twitchy, unduly sensitive handling,” as well as “the chassis gradually flopping into understeer when pushed.” On top of that, “the pedal is touchy and over gained, causing jumpy departures and wavering speeds.” Not great.

In addition to hating the Model Y’s driving dynamics, MotorTrend also complained about Tesla’s terrible door handles, the phone-as-a-key feature that only worked sometimes, the car randomly forgetting to lock itself, the glass roof making the cabin too hot and the distractingly large center screen that you’re forced to use for everything, since there’s no driver display and close to zero physical controls. As the review put it, “This setup proves why people want real buttons back.”

Some say Tesla’s screen takes getting used to. But just because something can be acclimated to doesn’t mean it’s good—cars should be set up around their drivers, not need adaptations to their shortcomings. There’s no need to imagine what having some—or any—information placed in the driver’s line of sight would be like because that’s how nearly every other car does it.

Beyond those issues, there were also issues with the build quality. The materials themselves seem fine for the price point, but in only two years, the car got “preposterously creaky.” As they put it, “The sound of various pieces vibrating and rubbing persists through every drive from the first press of the accelerator. That’s on top of the subtle droning that permeates at highway speeds.” Oh, and “the automatic windshield wipers don’t do diddly, letting significant precipitation accumulate before they activate to clear the view, maybe.”

You also can’t forget Tesla’s so-called “Full Self-Driving” feature, which MotorTrend declared “a dangerous farce.” The reviewer also reportedly quit using it “after it drove [them] across solid double yellow lane lines into the oncoming lane of traffic.” But hey, it’s still a Tesla, which means you get access to the automaker’s exclusive Supercharger network. Except, you know, it isn’t actually exclusive anymore, and you now have plenty of options for non-Tesla EVs that come with Supercharger access. 

It’s your money, and you can spend it however you want, sure, but even if you can somehow set aside Tesla’s CEO building a “MechaHitler” AI chatbot, that really doesn’t sound like a car anyone should buy. Even if you don’t need more convincing, the original post is a great read, so head on over to MotorTrend to check it out.