Did you check the PSI? For some reason, the test drive cars have the wrong psi or on the 20-inch wheels, which is definitely firm. I bought the 19-inch wheels after a second test drive, which is a lot better with the correct tyre pressure. Have done around 300 miles so far, and the ride has been of acceptable quality, comparable to the Audi A5. However, on efficiency, tech and handling MY is an improvement.

 

Wondered what others felt or experienced as purchasers of the Model Y.

Not a purchaser, and haven’t test driven (yet), but your findings chime with just about every professional review I’ve read and watched. It’s probably an inherent flaw of taking the Model 3 chassis, raising the centre of gravity, and then having to firm up the suspension to maintain what Tesla considered the desired amount of body roll.

Out of interest, why do you feel you need a hatchback - just ask because I’m in a similar position of only ever having had hatchbacks or estates, but now considering saloons and actually struggling to think of times when I really needed a large hatch opening.

 

Thanks for this insight. Hatch because we have a whippet to house safely and in comfort! He would leave if we got a saloon and asked him to lie on the rear seat….

 

Yes, definitely check which wheel/tyre size was fitted on the test drive. The bigger wheels definitely ride firmer/more unsettled it seems. And as RSSymonds YT reviewer has stated, many Tesla M Y’s had very over inflated tyres. 50psi which is meant for the long boat journey over. But as the car is not PDI’d by them, but by the owners, these were not corrected on arrival in the UK. They are meant to have pressures a lot lower. Did the Tesla service centre double check this.

 

I test drove a MY at Leeds last week and had exactly the same experience really wanted to love the car but the ride was dreadful. If Tesla want to sell these cars, present them for test drive at their optimum. It should not be down to me to take my tyre pressure gauge and deflate the tyres. Sales staff were aware that the ride is on the firm side after we said we would not be ordering and the reasons why.

 

Thank you. Good point on tyre pressure. Never clocked that.

 

I can't speak for the Model Y but I test drove the Model 3 and actually found the ride in it quite firm. I suppose you could describe it as sporty and some people like that. But not me - I like my comfort. I also didn't like the relatively low driving position - that shouldn't be a problem with the MY though. It's the reason I went for the Hyundai Ioniq 5 - comfortable smooth ride and higher driving position. Also it has a proper "dash" - not something that looks like an ipad stuck on with bluetack.

 

Anyone who has concerns about the ride but is trying to ignore the concerns because they really wanted one, you'd regret it. I did the same back in 2014 when, after having my Hyundai I40 written off, I was interested in replacing it with a Citroen DS5. I had previously had two C5s and they were very comfortable, especially the 2005 one that looked like a wardrobe on wheels. It was like driving an armchair.

Anyway, I had read reports about how Citroen had tried too hard to make the DS5 more Germanic, but had gone too far and that the ride was overly harsh. I ignored the concern, had a test drive, thought it would be ok and bought it.

It was the shortest time I ever owned a car. After 15 months, it had to go. It was like driving a shopping trolley. It was a seriously unenjoyable ride and I couldn't take it another week.

 

Looks like hippo, rides like hippo.
Priced like magic carpet.
Put together like Dacia.
Overrated.

 

Yep, Toyota aren’t what they were, that’s for sure…

 

I drove a MY in dartford last weekend expecting the ride to be awful and I found it to be perfectly fine. It was a bit firmer than my E-Niro but it had so much more traction and the balance felt better.

I find the E-Niro handling to be a bit unbalanced with awful traction in damp conditions. The platform isn't dedicated EV so it has to accommodate a heavy engine in the front or a big battery pack so it's a compromised design, especially being fwd.
I now have a MY on order coming in May and it will replace my E-Niro.

 

I test drove one yesterday, and completely disagree with the OP; whilst definitely firmer than my Kona, I thought it handled the crappy, uneven B road surfaces around here with aplomb. It felt far more sure-footed than most EVs I've driven on the same. I really liked it.

 

Just came back from a 100+ mile round trip with my wife and the car passed with flying colours. I used chill mode and tacc most of the time and things were perfect. No phantom braking today.

 

We've got Model Y on 19 inch wheels. The tyres were set to 50psi on delivery but I dropped them to 42 as soon as I got home.

The ride is very firm and you will feel every undulation on uneven and pot hole marked surfaces. Weirdly it's the small bumps and not the big ones that you feel most. I would say if your goal is comfort the Model Y is probably not the best choice. The upside of the hard ride is that it does handle extremely well for a 2 ton SUV/crossover. You can really chuck it around.

The rest of the car seems very well put together though and the build quality is a huge improvement over our 2019 model 3. It feels very solid.

 

I don't think Tesla hide the fact that the Model 3 and Y are tuned towards performance rather than comfort and certainly with larger wheels they can be bumpy on some poor UK roads. We are very happy with ride of our Model 3 Long Range in the UK (we avoided the Performance with larger wheels) and when we tested the Y Performance is USA we were OK with ride and the roads in our area of Florida aren't good either.

The great thing is that there are lots of choices now, such as Citroen EVs for those who are interested in comfort and the Cupra Born being "sportier" with a firmer ride than the very similar ID3. For folk who want comfort and performance I hear the Audi Q4 e-tron 50 with the optional adaptive suspension is a good compromise, but again avoid big wheels.

 

I don't think it is as simple one car rides /handles correctly and another doesn't.

I came to the Model 3 Performance from a 7 Series SE (ie non-sporty version) and though the ride was much firmer and on some roads it thumped over potholes, I forgave it for the feeling provided by the combination of the handling, the performance and the quick steering. The car feels alive in the same way early Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evo's did. It is not a soft comfortable ride but it is a bearable compromise for me. I've had much less comfortable cars in the past from BMW, Audi and VW.

My current M3 SR+ on 19's is still firm, a little more compliant than the Performance version, but not a big difference. I also regularly drive an SR+ on 18's and that I find thumps less and still handles well.

I'm picking up a Y LR on 19's tomorrow (altho 19 the Y has taller tyres than the 3). I'll report back on how that feels.

PS - I have also driven most other EVs, including the Ioniq. The Ioniq was indeed more comfortable than Model 3 on broken city roads, and by some margin. However coming from 2 years+ of Model 3 driving I found the Ioniq to have a subtle and unwelcome float to the ride. You can exaggerate it by wiggling the wheel from side to side on a straight road, like a very gentle moose test. A Model 3 will stay flat and dart from side to side, the Ioniq sways. It's a perfectly reasonable response to say 'I'd rather that than crash over potholes!' just as it's valid for me to prefer the Tesla.

 

I had a model 3 for a couple of years. Now have an id4. As a family car the experience is so much better. Quiet cabin, fantastic build quality. I do miss the software though...

 

M3 has changed drastically in the last two years so is comparable to the German cars on quality. For cabin noise reduction there are simple DIY kits available on amazon. There are also third party insulation services available from the likes of RSymons which involves stuffing foam and other materials onto the doors and sealing gaps. Of course, it would have been nice if Tesla paid more attention to these aspects in addition to tech and efficiency.

On Tesla forums, we are seeing more M3 owners switch to BMW i4 or Kia EV6. Is anyone else here who has moved from M3 to ID4?

 

I'm with James May on the whole car ride/handling issue. The obsession manufacturers have with making their cars 'handle' like a race car when they are NEVER going to be driven in a manner befitting that concept (and shouldn't be on most roads) is making all cars too firm and sacrificing ride quality. My current cars are Kia Stinger, BMW i3 and Jag XKR. Jags used to be the last bastion of comfortable rides but, although it compares favourably with its direct competitors, is not as nice riding as the previous XK I had which was 5 years older. The Stinger is a fantastic rarity as the engineers actually prioritised long distance comfort it seems to me. It still handles and holds the road fabulously well but is one of the most comfortable cars I have ever had.
Finding cars that have a comfortable ride ad comfortable seating position is getting increasingly difficult and almost rules out German cars, with the odd exception, whereas Kia and Hyundai, for me, still have the right philosophy. The Jag iPace is still comfortable too
My experience of Teslas is that the cheaper models, 3 and Y, reduce costs by not having air suspension so have unacceptable ride quality. No way I could put up with them. The more expensive S and X do have air springs and are much better. I also can't stand the total reliance on touchscreens which Tesla have taken to greater extremes but that's a different matter.

 

At the lower end of the market, both my Leaf and Golf have excellent ride quality, are well built, have comfortable driving position and do not rely on a touchscreen for basic functions.

The Golf handles better being lighter and not setup for lots of understeer like the Leaf.

They also are as quick if not quicker than the lower power higher priced EVs. (sub 7second 0-60)

It Nissan were to build a MK3 Leaf with a 260m real world range they'd not be able to build them quickly enough (they can't even now) But of course, they won't because it would kill Ariya sales.

 

Agree - the dream car for me right now would probably be a highly specced i4 40 - BUT only if/when public charging is much, much better than it is now - either through Supercharger access or massive improvements to the other networks to firstly catch back up with the number of EVs now, then provide more spare capacity, at peak times, and then to provide a Tesla-like experience.

If I didn’t need to charge in public much, and didn’t mind spending £10k or so more for one than a Model 3, then an i4 would be what I would have ordered now.

As I do need to, and do mind, it wasn’t.

 

I test drove a model Y yesterday on 19s and must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the ride quality. Quite firm, but by no means crashy. Drove it over some quite rough roads, too.
Much better than I had been expecting following watching various reviews.

 

I too think the ride is fine, i prefer the slightly more sporty ride of Tesla's, cars with "Wallowy" suspension make me and my family carsick.

 

For me, it’s no so much the firmness, it’s what feels like short travel and lack of proper damping.

I haven’t driven a Y though, just our M3 LR and a SR+ a while back, and it is road dependent, and whilst I like the steering I find the ride just plain annoying and quite tiring.

 

For me, it’s no so much the firmness, it’s what feels like short travel and lack of proper damping.

yeah, this is exactly how I feel when test driving, it is not that "firm", but it feel it is not absorbing bump like there are no suspension, and I seat lack side support when cornering hard.
It is a shame for me, I like the equippments, performance and design for the price it offer, but the seat and suspension is just not for me

 

I'm hoping to do a test drive soon with the Y to compare it with my M3 LR as the bumpiness seems to be a common complaint. I can just about tolerate the bumpiness of my M3 so upgrading to a Y that is even more bumpy may be a deal breaker for me. I'll have to see after a test drive.

It makes me wonder whether they will release a refreshed version with air suspension at some point in the future. I suspect this will push up the price though and I know Elon wants to keep these cars "affordable" so perhaps not. It would be amazing if they did but I'm certainly not holding my breath.

 

You all also need to check the Test Y tyres are only around 40-42 psi when driving by pressing the car icon and "service" tab. I just found this out and adjusted ours from 47 from collection 1st March down to 42, makes quite an bit of difference. Would not surprise me if demos were also over inflated.

 

Test drove the Model Y last weekend. shanghai made LR. Ride was great. Drove an EV6 after it on 19” and felt no difference in ride but the Tesla was quieter overall.

I then drove an iX the following morning which was in a different league. Ride quality exceptional and so quiet. Shame the affordable one doesn’t have great range iX40.

test drive in the Ionic 5. Really loved this and felt most sporting but lovely ride and iX levels of silence. Been a while since we left the Nissan Leaf and headed to the petrol world …. wa t to come back if you’ll let us!