Why the Tesla Model Y is the BEST Road Trip Car

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I guess depends on how you roadtrip. I usually drive between 200-250 miles per stop and i can go after a 10 min stop. My forecoming ev trips will surely take more time but the convinience all year around when i am not road tripping, the tech and the decreased cost of owning and maintenance meant i bit the bullet last month!

I tend to agree. We have a 22 MYP and a 20 M3 LR/AWD and have road tripped both. The MYP is by far the better road tripper despite being less efficient than the M3

We bought the MY specifically because the extra space would make travel more comfortable.
We chose the MYP trim because already being seasoned Tesla owners we regarded the 'loss' of range from the 21 inch wheels to be a non-issue, and oh my is it fun.


We recently did a 1200 mile round trip long weekend in the MYP with sentry mode enabled 100% of the time we were parked. None of our hotels had charging (At least $40 more a night for hotels with destination charging)
On this trip we fast charged for 3 hours. I may have been able to get by on 2.5 hours by ignoring the car's desire for an 18-20% arrival buffer and opting for 10% instead. We also on two occasions were eating and 'overcharged'
I also added 23kW at an L2 charger during one of our activities(didn't need to, the destination had it and the cost was comparable to supercharging). Had we not done so it would have added 10 minutes of fast charging.
As many EV drivers already know, a fair portion of your charge time is spent doing needful things you would do regardless of vehicle propulsion method, so while we charged for 3 hours we did not add 3 hours to the trip - closer to only about 90 minutes.

According to ABRP, our Model 3 could theoretically have made the same trip on 2h15m of charging (though it may not have factored in Sentry mode usage).

Great video Andy. My wife and I love our Model 3, but someday will switch to the Y. We mostly charge at home during the day, when our solar panels make more fuel than our car will accept. I'm making my own fuel, with equipment that has no moving parts??? Yeehaw!

Charging to 100 is crazy 😂

My hybrid suv gets me over 600 miles a tank, Which is the max I would want to drive without stopping. What is your speed? I average at least 10 mph over the speed limit.

Razing mountains and clearing out forest and using slave child labor in Africa, other than that, it's green energy, Oh, diesel powered truck to haul supplies!

Soon the wait time will be a lot longer because EVs from other manufacturers will be allowed to use the Tesla superchargers.

Get real. The best road trip car is going to be a gas car. It just takes too long to charge once you run out of juice from the home charger.

Cool 👍👍😎👍 Tesla

"faster then a gas fill up, 8 minute's" maybe if you're driving some giant pickup truck with a 50 gallon tank or whatever, but i can be back on the road in my corolla in under 4 minutes, fuck off with your bullshit

Best car on the entire planet

Andy you look like a happy man!! Good family, safe and comfortable EV, everything looks well with you ❤❤

I still don’t know how much it cost to charge a Tesla supercharger

Dear God, listening to someone trying to explain the need to go green, is like listening to Charles Manson and family talking about the virtues of veganism.

While I am looking into Tesla (self driving), I have to say EV’s will be nothing more than a novelty too most people until the Solid State Battery is perfected.
Toyota claims their new experimental battery having a 745 mile range from their SS battery with a 10 min charge time.
Now that will make gas obsolete.
But trying to convince me how exciting 13 days of travel from Richmond to Pittsburgh is….. na

Tesla chargers haven’t come to Maine unless you are in Portland. A real pain.

I think that you failed to consider the model X in your consideration. I finally replaced my 2008 Toyota Prius with a model 3 last year for my work commute, but I got my wife a model X in 2016, and we keep driving it from Florida to Maine each year for summer vacation with our 3 kids and 2 small dogs, and I think the X is a clear winner over the Y. Between the additional space over the Y, and the falcon wing doors are really fantastic for getting the little ones in and out, specially while you are trying to deal with car seats in the rain, I think it's a clear win over the Y. The free supercharging that we are grandfathered into with the 2016 model X is a great bonus too, but even without that, it's still better than the Y.

We love road tripping with our Tesla!! Great video

⚡⚡⚡🧙🏻‍♂

I would rather road trip in a grand caravan. way more space and more comfortable. Road tripping with family in that little cramped, limited head room, small cargo space, squeaky plastic filled vehicle at almost double the price.. I feel like you are just buying into a hype and don't really see the actual value.

I like the Tesla although reality is you have to plan trips more with an EV and that is in CA with the most charging stations of any state. We not only have to plan, but going to superchargers is an event, no uncommon to see people just sitting in their cars for 30 minutes. These superchargers are not always by something and there is nowhere to go in those cases unless you walk a long way. Some charging stations want you to have their app and cc on file to use them, so you'll have Mutiple applications for all the different providers. I like the EV for around town, but long road trips most certainly take more time and planning, even limiting you going to the more remote areas. Maybe in 20 years, the grid is just not there as of yet.

What Airbnb did you find? We frequently go to Asheville and it looks like a good one

"Tesla Model Y is the BEST Road Trip Car"? Not true at all based on my experience with my last two Teslas. I just returned from a 2-week vacation driving my 2023 Model Y LR (Austin-built) from Dallas to Yellowstone National Park (~3,200 miles round trip). My car did ALMOST everything PERFECTLY except one thing: Insane level of severe phantom braking. It seems to be triggered by road surface heat reflection on bright sunny summer days (esp when cresting a minor hill and it can't see the road on the other side). Phantom braking almost ruined our vacation experience. It was beyond ridiculous.

Tesla lost two future sales because of this: My passenger was seriously considering buying a Tesla but said the phantom braking he witnessed was a deal-breaker. I don't blame him for saying that because I would not buy another Tesla until this issue is FINALLY fixed. I have videos of the severe phantom braking and have shared them with Tesla via a service request. Tesla did a remote connection to my car, said they didn't find any faults logged, and requested to close my service request. I experience the same phantom braking issue with my 2022 Tesla Model 3 LR (optical-only/Vision-based) car. At that time, I knew Tesla was working on tweaking AutoPilot/TACC for Vision-only when they recently eliminated radar and was patient. Today, I am shocked that in the summer of 2023, this problem STILL has not been fixed.

So, if a reliable cruise control that can be used on highways on bright, sunny summer days, with road surface heat reflection present is important to you, the Tesla Model Y with base Autopilot is NOT the best road trip car. Far, far from it. After my last trip, my Model Y is relegated to local in-town trips. As for my passenger that I mentioned above, he bought a new Ford Mustang Mach E SUV last night. I don't think it's the best EV out there, but at least it does not subject occupants to severe phantom braking. I'm so very disappointed in Tesla for dropping the ball on AutoPilot/TACC speed control. Is it too much to ask that a $50K+ car have a reliable speed control that can be used on road trips???

The best road trip car in which of your dreams by hazard!? A road trip véhicule should be the one that can allow you to improvise and go places without stress or need to rely on any infrastructure! With an EV you have to absolutely follow charging stations not the case with ICE! and there are things like overlanding and much more.

Rapid chargers will be on the main roads and at corner stores.

Home and all destinations will be automatic self connection to the grid and trade electricity and stability on the grid.

Horse meat was cheap when the Ford model T production line started.

A 44-gallon drum of petroleum at home to top up is not like the EV plugged in.

23hrs every day most vehicles are parked.
Building to building is the common short daily drive, 7kwh.

The home robotic vacuum cleaner can teach the selfparking EV to connect to the grid.

USA 300million vehicles with 100kwh big batteries is 30,000GWh of daily storage on the national grid.

Central generation needs massive national grid capacity in the electric future with no fossil fuels.
The grid is fragile.
5times bigger capacity.
Humongously expensive $many trillions. And decades and decades.

Fossil fuels are very high density energy, extremely high density energy..

I just traded in my 2018 Long Range AWD Model 3 for a new 2023 Model Y Performance and feel the Model Y is way better.  I'll get better range once I switch out the 21" UberTurbine wheels for 18" wheels, plus I hate low profile wheels with rubber band sidewalls. Not happy with the vision only and not having ultra sonic sensors but at least it has a heated steering wheel, heat pump, auto trunk, more room and I don't have to lean down to get into it. I also don't like that the dead pedal is carpeted and that the USB drive is in the glovebox. The glovebox isn't secure when locked, it can easily be pried open to get the drive and then you end up with more damage. But overall I really like this car!

Andy, not sure you are correct about the buyer and referrer both getting credits now. I didn't get any credits for using someones referral on my recent purchase. I just got $500 off the purchase and that was only because I bought a previous Tesla.

Wish Tesla offered a bulk discount for Supercharging, where you pay a set amount of upfront to get a discounted price or for a set time period. Because I've seen really expensive Supercharging in my area at $0.51/kWh, when I got my first Tesla back in 2018 it was $0.27/kWh here.

In my trip from Sacramento CA to Louisville KY and back, I had ONE time I had to wait.

Total wait time: 5 minutes. (Edit: 10 days of driving.)

I’ve waited longer on hold, at an ATM, in line at a grocery store, at a doctor’s office… and (back in the bad old days) at a Costco to pump gas 🤢🤮.

One wait time. 5 minutes. Over 5,500 miles. Across the US. And back.

Great video, Andy! ❤

Great points Andy! I have a Model 3 and travel charging is a pleasure and a breeze. Sometimes long for a Y so I can get the built in hitch for my bike...but love my M3 and the ease of charging, technology, safety, and green..although I adhere to the need still for nuclear, natural gas and some fossils for the foreseeable future to get energy independent while we figure out this cleaner energy.

Still not enough charging stations where I live. Maybe after the next model Y update there will be enough to justify a purchase.

Apart from the cargo space, the Model 3 is even better. It feels like a sports car, and requires even less energy to run than the Y.

Have just yesterday returned from the Melbourne - Perth - Melbourne round trip (7,500+ kms) across the Nullarbor Plain. The chargers are there, but there are still not enough fast chargers to make the trip easy. No-alternative 7kW charging makes for very long days on the road, but in every other way, the M3 LR was a dream. The chargers are all being upgraded in the next few months and we’re already planning a 2025 return trip.

Really well done, Andy.

I taken my standard M3 from Sacramento - Las Vegas - San Diego - Los Angeles and back. The drive was nice and relaxing. But would I take my M3 to National Parks all over the U.S., probably not with the lack of charging stations at the Parks. I will still take my Prius all over U.S. to visit National Parks.

Excellent video, Andy! 🔥

They've opened up another 3 supercharger sites, about 28 stalls in Wisconsin since that 50k stall announcement. There are currently 3 more in the process as of this post at the end of Sept 2023 (Manitowoc, Stevens Point, and Black River Falls), so it's exciting seeing Tesla ramping up supercharger sites which should help those other automakers who are switching to the NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector Tesla uses in North America.

Another exciting this I just noticed on Tesla's supercharger map on their website is that they've been opening up more Magic Dock sites, which will allow non-Tesla cars with the CCS connector to utilize them. I don't recall seeing any announcements on this, but it's pretty exciting seeing Tesla opening more superchargers to non-Teslas.

Andy you take road trips with a spare? I just got a modern spare for our y

Our Y is king for around town but absolutely loathe it for road trips more than 400 miles (more than 1 supercharge). The supercharging placement and charging time screws up the momentum. It never has the range that you expect going at flow of traffic and dependent on wind direction. Supercharging is still a terrible experience compared to a gas fillup. We rented a minivan on our last 1500 mile trip and it was SO much better.

Oil and gas are not the problem. Way too little nuclear power is the huge problem. Molten salt breeder reactors are the future. Ignorant people make bad decisions. Don't let that be you! I have a Y and a 3 because they are just the best vehicles ever!!!! Road trips are easy and simple. Tesla Supercharger network is 200 out of 10. It don't get better.

As a Tesla owner, I beg to disagree. I own a Model 3ER, and have taken it as far north as Vancouver BC, and as far south as Monterey, CA. It may not have the space of a Model Y, but the Model 3 eats the Model Y's lunch as far as range goes. Monterey, CA to Portland, OR only 2 charging stops.

I normally go on vacation from The Netherlands to Switzerland and thats around 800km each way, i normally stop 3 times but the stops are not really a problem because after driving 2 our 3 hours in one go, most people need to stretch their legs, go to the bathroom and have a coffee / snack before continuing. Overall the idea that EVs on roadtrips are a pain in the ass is just haters throwing random stuff out there.

Love the Dumb and Dumber clip squeezed in there for a second. 😂

Thanks Andy, great info. Safest cars on the road - and sooooo fun and easy to drive. Phenomenal tech, stereo, storage and so cheap to run 👏

Can you make a video on if it's worthwhile to buy EV if you live in apartments where they do not offer charging. But I can charge at work. How much would it typically cost at Tesla supercharge in case needed to charge there compared to gas.

How about this: arrive at your destination wthout feeling completely worn out! Just the job of tracking, keeping the car between the lines, takes more of your attention than you realize. The low rumble and vibration of ICE also fatigues you more than you think.

It was a revelation to drive a 10 hour road trip, and still have enough energy at the end to unpack and get the vacation started. We've done three such trips so far. Given a choice between the Tesla and an ICE car I would ALWAYS take the Tesla!

Have a wonderful trip. With the recent price reduction did you ever consider the X?

That intro and that title/thumbnail didn’t fit at all! You lost me after the first five seconds. Sorry!