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The 2025 Tesla Model Y SUV has received a mid-life refresh including new front and rear styling and improved ride comfort; inside, the gear selector stalk has gone, but unlike the Model 3, the indicator stalk remains.
The Tesla Model Y, the world’s best-selling car in 2023 and in 2024, has had a mid-life refresh. Is this enough to fend off increasing numbers of competitors in the mid-size electric SUV space?
The most obvious external visual difference between the new Model Y and the old version is the revised front and rear styling, particularly the lights, which now extend across the width of the car, inspired by the Cybertruck.
There have also been changes to the interior design, most obviously a new ambient lighting strip, but overall the minimalistic theme remains, with a simple, button-free dashboard dominated by a large central touchscreen. Rear passengers also get their own 8-inch touchscreen for climate and media, as well as two USB-C sockets, whereas front occupants only get two wireless phone chargers.
A large storage compartment sits in the centre console between the front seats, spacious rear legroom is on offer, along with 854 litres of luggage capacity, or 2,138 litres with the rear seats folded. There’s a large compartment under the boot floor, and also a 117-litre front trunk (frunk) under the bonnet.
The rigid parcel shelf that sits over the boot doesn’t retract like most cars, but instead folds into four sections.
The Tesla Model Y 2025 Launch Series has an 82 kWh battery (75 kWh usable capacity) and two electric motors delivering 507 hp and all-wheel drive.
The driving experience of the 2025 Tesla Model Y has been improved in a number of ways, the most obvious being better ride comfort, improved refinement, and lower noise levels, all of which was certainly needed. The steering also feels sharper.
With a 0-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds, performance is impressive, and the dual motor all-wheel drive system of our test car ensured lots of traction on both wet and dry roads.
The Model Y is very capable on long motorway journeys, although there’s some road noise from the large 20-inch wheels on certain road surfaces. It may feel planted to the road, but what you don’t get with the Model Y is any form of agility.
The latest Tesla Model 3 has lost its gear selector stalk and its indicator stalk. The new Model Y has also lost its gear selector stalk, but the indicator stalk has reappeared – due to customer feedback according to Tesla. This means that you’re no longer trying to find the two indicator buttons on the steering wheel as it spins round when negotiating roundabouts as in the Model 3. But it means that you’re always reaching to the touchscreen to push the small car icon forward to go forwards, backwards to go backwards, or having to press a very small P button to select Park. It’s interesting that feedback from Tesla customers says that they prefer a physical stalk for indicators, but we assume that feedback about the gear selector hasn’t been strong enough to revert to a physical stalk. It’s certainly more intuitive and quicker to change gear using a stalk or a physical gear selector than moving a graphic on the screen.
And then there’s the wiper controls. Again, there’s no stalk – just a single button on the steering wheel to activate the wipers, which brings up a small menu on the screen with different wiper speeds – so you have to control the wipers on the screen.
It’s the same story to adjust the door mirrors and the steering wheel – this has to be initiated on the screen, then adjustments have to be made using the scroll button on the steering wheel. At least the adjustment for the electric driver’s seat is still a physical control (and you’ve still got to reach out and adjust the rear-view mirror with your hand – very old-fashioned!).
So virtually all car controls are on the central touchscreen. The screen may be large, but there’s also a lot of controls on here. So if you want to change the acceleration setting you have to select a menu and a sub-menu on the screen. Other manufacturers also went down the route of putting all car controls on screen, but many are now bringing back physical buttons for key controls to save drivers having to delve into numerous menus and sub-menus while driving.
Most other cars also feature an instrument display directly in front of the driver, and many also have head-up displays. Not so with the Model Y – you have to look away from the road to the central touchscreen for all car information and controls.
Virtually all other new cars also have Apple CarPlay – but not Tesla, because CarPlay can’t be incorporated into Tesla’s touchscreen interface. You can stream music from your phone using Bluetooth, but if you want to use Apple Maps, you can’t.
The Tesla Model Y 2025 Launch Series has a WLTP combined electric driving range of 353 miles. The real-world range on test was averaging 300 miles.
The Model Y is one of the most efficient cars in its class with a WLTP energy consumption figure of 4.1 miles per kWh, which is better than many smaller EVs.
The maximum ultra-rapid charging rate is 250 kW, and one of the big benefits of driving a Tesla over recent years has been the excellent Supercharger network, which can deliver up to 150 miles of range in just 15 minutes.
The Model Y has a heat pump which aims to minimise loss to the battery’s range when heating the cabin in cold weather.
The Tesla Trip Planner will automatically guide you to a nearby Supercharger (1,800 are available across the UK and Ireland) if charging is required on your journey. Your Tesla will even direct you to the least busy Supercharger site, advising how long to stay to charge, aiming to keep your battery within 20%-80% when charging speeds are fastest at 250 kW. Tesla’s Supercharger network has a 99.5% uptime rate and costs are around 50p per kWh – around 30-40% cheaper than other chargers from competitors. You can expect to charge a Tesla for around £20-£30 for 300 miles of range. This is much cheaper than petrol or diesel, and it’s even cheaper if you charge at home. All you need to do is plug the car into a Supercharger – no tapping contactless cards or making additional app accounts.
With an EV electricity tariff such as Intelligent Octopus Go at 7p per kWh, an owner charging at home driving 10,000 miles per year would spend approximately £175 per year for the Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive. An equivalent petrol vehicle would cost around £1,800 in fuel each year. That equates to the EV having fuel costs that are about 10% of a petrol car.
If you’ve seen stories in the media about EV batteries degrading quickly, don’t believe them – Teslas have been proven to have excellent battery longevity.
The refreshed 2025 Tesla Model Y is available in three variants: Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range Rear Wheel Drive, and Long Range All Wheel Drive. Limited Edition Launch Series Spec – as tested – is also available in the UK.
Prices start at £44,990 for Rear Wheel Drive, £48,990 for Long Range Rear Wheel Drive, and £51,990 for the Long Range All Wheel Drive. The limited edition Launch Series is available for £60,990.
The 2025 Tesla Model Y is available in the following colours: Black, Quicksilver, Pearl White, Stealth Grey and Ultra Red.
Teslas feature over the air updates which can add new features.
Read the Ford Capri review and book a test drive
Apart from being the world’s best-selling car in 2023 and in 2024, the Tesla Model Y is one of the most efficient cars in its class, with an impressive range, and Model Y drivers can use the excellent Tesla Supercharger network. It offers family-friendly amounts of space, and it’s one of the best value cars for its size, performance and efficiency. The 2025 Model Y gains new front and rear styling, and is more refined to drive, with improved ride comfort, and the all-wheel drive models deliver excellent grip. However other rivals offer greater agility and a more rewarding driving experience, and having virtually all car controls on screen – including the gear selector – may not suit everyone. The 2025 Tesla Model Y is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 9 out of 10.
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Paul Clarke, GreenCarGuide Editor
