Space, tech, and features The Model Y’s space made both Paul’s trip and our drive comfortable. While the Model Y has all-wheel drive, the rear motor powers the rear wheels, so there’s no driveshaft to create a hump in the rear seat. That and lengthy rear leg room create a spacious second row that can fit three across comfortably, and the middle passenger even gets a heated seat. For 2021, Tesla is adding a two-passenger third-row seat for $3,000. Given the Model Y’s length and sharply raked rear roofline, I don’t see how that will be useful for anyone other than kids. The only drawbacks to the interior? A couple of ugly welds in the hatch area and an occasional rattle from the rear. These were part of Tesla’s quality-control growing pains, as was the ill-fitting left-side rear door. Back to the pluses that put the Tesla Model Y at the forefront of not only the EV market, but the industry as a whole. From the driver’s seat, I was confronted by the best infotainment technology on the market. Tesla mounts a landscape 15x10-inch capacitive touchscreen in the middle of the dash to control not only infotainment but also every other vehicle system except signals, volume, and wipers. The size of a laptop, the screen is bigger than any on the market and responds without lag. I found several great features in the system, including a large navigation map, a Toy Box screen with apps to entertain you while waiting for the kids to finish practice, efficiency screens, and a vertical pane that shows the Model Y’s position on the road and in surrounding traffic. The latter is enabled by the Model Y’s standard eight cameras, forward-facing radar, and 12 ultrasonic sensors. Tesla includes this equipment on every Model Y, as well as an Autopilot system that functions as adaptive cruise control system with active lane control, but buyers have to pay $8,000 for the Full Self-Driving suite of additional driver-assistance features—and promised future semi-autonomous features. Whether buyers choose those packages or not, they still get forward-collision warnings with automatic emergency braking, side-collision warnings, and automatic high beams. 2020 Tesla Model Y Paul’s car was equipped with Full Self-Driving, but we tapped down twice on the right stalk to use Autopilot. Full Self-Driving allows the car to drive itself from on-ramp to off-ramp and even change lanes around slower traffic. The Model Y also changed lanes by itself when we activated the turn signal—because it was optioned with FSD—and it otherwise stayed in its lane and away from other traffic as long as we applied torque to the steering wheel roughly every 45 seconds (note, yes, this is more than we’ve seen in our Model 3 experiences). Full Self-Driving’s highway driving mode and Navigate on Autopilot functionality require the driver to touch the steering wheel periodically. The package also adds automatic parking and summon features and can recognize and react to stoplights. In the future, should regulations allow it, Full Self-Driving will enable actual full self driving through an over-the-air update. I should note that the day was clear and the roads were dry. In these conditions, Autopilot worked well. However, we can’t render a full opinion until we experience it during extended tests and in poor conditions. We always recommend drivers pay full attention to the road. The Model Y starts at $41,000 and choosing the Long Range model adds $11,990. With the paint, wheels, Full Self-Driving package, and a $1,200 destination and doc fee, Paul’s car cost $64,190 (it would cost $62,190 now due to a $1,000 increase in the price of Full Self-Driving which is more than offset by the recent $3,000 price cut for this Model Y version). While that’s a hefty sum, a Model Y Long Range can be had for $51,190, which isn’t outrageous against both gas-powered and forthcoming electric competition. The 2020 Tesla Model Y is a warning shot across the bow of would-be competitors. Rivals that want to compete will have to find answers for the Model Y’s useful space, ready power, industry-leading range, and smart technology.