Teslas are popular cars, for various reasons. Whether it is the image or the tech, there’s no question that the groundbreaking carmaker has a special sort of appeal for certain demographics, a group which is rather sizeable now looking at the sales figures for the brand.
However, if you fancy a Tesla but needed a car for extended family duties, you were pretty much out of luck, until now that is. Tesla Singapore has introduced a six-seater version of its top-selling Model Y to the market, meaning Tesla fans who need to drive their extended family around can rejoice.
It is the first six-seater Tesla to be made officially available here, although overseas markets have had three-row Teslas in multiple variations for a while now. The larger Model X SUV, never officially sold here, was available with a six or seven-seat option, while some countries also offered Model Y owners the choice of fitting two extra seats at added cost.
The Model Y L is different though. Rather than merely squeezing extra seats into a regular car, the Model Y L actually features an extended wheelbase and a slightly reshaped rear end to cater for the new seating arrangement. So in a sense, this is a car that’s designed to accommodate six from the outset.
It’s an idea that originated from China, where long wheelbase models are popular. But there’s clearly also demand for such cars elsewhere that Tesla has deemed it fit for export. And so here we are, with Singapore the latest recipient of Tesla’s six-seater.
At first glance, you’ll be hard pressed to differentiate the Model Y L from the regular Model Y. There is the larger rear windscreen that has been redesigned to allow for clearance over the extra seats, and that leads on to a neat but subtle rear spoiler that you don’t get on a standard Model Y.
The car is also obviously longer, with an extra 150mm tacked onto the wheelbase, but you’ll really have to look hard to tell the difference.
Likewise, the interior is typical Tesla, so we’ll just go straight into the main point of this car, which are the third row seats. It does look like a tight squeeze, but it can actually fit a full-size adult pretty well back there, provided you’re not built like a 2-metre tall NBA player.
The raised roofline and enlarged rear windscreen that now sits over your head helps to mitigate claustrophobia too, so it never feels like an unduly uncomfortable experience.
Because Tesla has opted to make this a six-seater, with two individual seats in the second row instead of a standard bench, access to the back is fairly straightforward too. All you have to do is to walk in between the seats, no need to fiddle with fussy mechanisms or resort to twisting your body this way and that just to clamber into the rear.
The seats themselves are rather nice too, with heating, ventilation and reclining abilities, and the second row seats even featuring automated armrests that rise up from the floor. They’re not quite the lavish captain’s chairs you’ll find in some large MPVs, but they’re still quite a thoughtful touch in any case.
Typically though, a three-row car does come with a compromised boot space. While the Model Y L’s cargo compartment is indeed not as commodious as the regular Model Y, there’s still a decent 420 litres available with all the seats up.
There’s also a fairly deep compartment in the boot floor that you can use if you need, and with the third row seats down, capacity rises to an impressive 1,076 litres. Take away the second row too and you now get a colossal 2,423 litres, effectively turning this into a Tesla van. That’s even without mentioning the frunk which has an additional 116 litres of storage space.
But with all that extra length and weight, how does that affect the drive? Truthfully, not by much really. The Model Y has always been one of the nicer driving EVs on the market, and the Model Y L doesn’t change this formula much. The handling is reasonably well-balanced, with good body control and a quick and responsive steering.
However, the longer wheelbase does naturally make it slightly trickier to handle tight corners, so you do need to be extra careful when manoeuvring round tight corners.
The Model Y L also features adaptive suspension, which comes in two settings, Balanced and Rear Comfort. The former is the one you would use in everyday driving, offering a very composed ride quality that allies well with the added stability gained from the long wheelbase.
Rear Comfort meanwhile apparently softens things up to give passengers a cushier ride, but it results in a somewhat bouncy sensation for the driver, which can feel a tad uncomfortable after a while.
Locally, the Model Y L is only available with one drivetrain, that being the dual-motor Long Range AWD variant. This means it comes with a massive 507bhp and 590Nm of torque, allowing it to rocket you and your family from 0-100km/h in 5 seconds. It does make for exciting times, even if it doesn’t quite exhibit the violent tendencies of the truly high-powered Teslas, but it also feels like a bit of an overkill in a car like this.
Ultimately though, what the Model Y L really offers is choice. Three-row EVs, outside of the spread of Chinese luxury MPVs, are still few and far between here, although the options are now growing steadily. If you are a certified Tesla fanatic but need the practicality of seating for six, then the Model Y L is exactly the right answer for you.
