NEW Tesla Model Y 1 Year Review | Would I Buy It Again? — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00A year ago, I took delivery of the Model
2. 0:01Y Juniper, and I thought I knew exactly
3. 0:03what I was getting. I had already owned
4. 0:05two Model Ys, so I wasn't expecting it
5. 0:07to completely change my mind about the
6. 0:09car. 12,000 mi later, and there's one
7. 0:12thing I really appreciate about the
8. 0:13Model Y Juniper more than anything else.
9. 0:16And it's not the light bar, the rear
10. 0:17screen, or even the new interior. And
11. 0:20there are a few things that Tesla
12. 0:21changed that I thought I'd love that I
13. 0:22basically never use. So, a full year in,
14. 0:25here's what's actually held up, what
15. 0:27broke, and whether the Model Y Juniper
16. 0:29is as big of an upgrade as I thought it
17. 0:30was. The biggest difference between this
18. 0:32Model Y and my previous two isn't the
19. 0:34light bar, the rear screen, or any of
20. 0:36the other new flashy features. It's how
21. 0:38much better this car is actually to
22. 0:40spend time in. The ride quality is
23. 0:42significantly better. It's softer, more
24. 0:44controlled, and dramatically less harsh
25. 0:46over the kind of rough roads I used to
26. 0:48make my older Model Ys feel cheap. The
27. 0:50cabin is quieter as well, and Tesla made
28. 0:52a bunch of improvements specifically
29. 0:54around that. Acoustic glass, additional
30. 0:56sound deadening, and a completely
31. 0:58reworked suspension. Tesla says the
32. 1:00Juniper cuts road noise by about 22%,
33. 1:03impact noise by 20%, and wind noise by
34. 1:06about 20% as well. And while I don't
35. 1:08have a decibel meter in my car right
36. 1:10now, I can absolutely tell you the
37. 1:12difference is noticeable. It's quieter
38. 1:14at highway speeds, it's more comfortable
39. 1:16over bad pavement, and you don't get
40. 1:18worn out as quickly on a long drive. The
41. 1:20seats are better, too, especially with
42. 1:22ventilation, and I've had passengers
43. 1:24specifically tell me they prefer this
44. 1:26car to my previous Model Ys. That's
45. 1:28probably the biggest compliment I can
46. 1:30give it. At 6 months, I already thought
47. 1:32the comfort improvements were a big
48. 1:33deal, but now at a year, I think they're
49. 1:35probably the single biggest reason I'd
50. 1:37never want to go back.
51. 1:39A year is long enough to separate the
52. 1:41features that look good in a press
53. 1:42release from the ones that genuinely
54. 1:44become part of your routine. The
55. 1:45ventilated seats are an easy one,
56. 1:47especially in the summer. They are
57. 1:49something I constantly use, and I
58. 1:50absolutely would not want to give back.
59. 1:53The powered rear seats are another
60. 1:54feature that sounded like a luxury
61. 1:56gimmick when I first got the car, but
62. 1:57when you actually load things into the
63. 1:59back and can fold the seats up or down
64. 2:01from a button, it's incredibly
65. 2:03convenient. Auto shift is another one I
66. 2:05didn't expect to appreciate as much as I
67. 2:07do. Once you get used to the car
68. 2:09figuring out whether you want to drive
69. 2:11or reverse, you stop thinking about
70. 2:12shifting altogether. The front bumper
71. 2:14camera washer is another small one that
72. 2:16you don't appreciate until you have it.
73. 2:18It keeps the camera clean without me
74. 2:20having to go out and wipe it down. And
75. 2:22little things like that add up. None of
76. 2:24these things individually make the
77. 2:25Juniper revolutionary, but after a year,
78. 2:28they're the kinds of improvements that
79. 2:29quietly make the car easier to live with
80. 2:31every single day.
81. 2:33And then there are the features that
82. 2:34sounded fantastic when Tesla introduced
83. 2:36them, but after a year, I'm basically
84. 2:38indifferent to. The rear screen is
85. 2:41probably the biggest example. It's a
86. 2:43great screen, it's well integrated, you
87. 2:44can control the climate, heat your
88. 2:46seats, and control music and
89. 2:47entertainment, all of that. But I just
90. 2:49don't use it very often when I'm sitting
91. 2:51back there. If you have kids or
92. 2:53regularly carry passengers in the back,
93. 2:55I can absolutely see the value if they
94. 2:57use it. For how I use the car though, it
95. 2:59ended up being much less important than
96. 3:01I expected. The frunk drain is another
97. 3:03one. It's a cool idea, and yes, you can
98. 3:05technically use the frunk as a giant
99. 3:07cooler, but in an entire year of owning
100. 3:09this car, I've basically never thought,
101. 3:11"You know what would be great right now?
102. 3:12Turning my frunk into a cooler." It's a
103. 3:15nice to have, but it's not something
104. 3:16that changed my personal ownership
105. 3:18experience. And that's really the
106. 3:20difference you get from a long-term
107. 3:21review. Some features are actually
108. 3:23useful, some are cool every once in a
109. 3:25while, and some are just there.
110. 3:27Now, let's talk about the things that
111. 3:28after a full year still annoy me. The
112. 3:31glove box is still way too small. I
113. 3:33don't understand how Tesla managed to
114. 3:35take one of the most useful storage
115. 3:37areas in the previous Model Y and make
116. 3:39it significantly less useful. The
117. 3:41wireless charger still gets my phone
118. 3:43hotter than I'd like, so I usually just
119. 3:45plug it into a cable. The hands-free
120. 3:47trunk is another one. I want to love it,
121. 3:49but it's inconsistent enough that I've
122. 3:51stopped relying on it. And then there's
123. 3:53a steering wheel stitching, which is a
124. 3:55really minor thing, but something I've
125. 3:57actually noticed more over time. On my
126. 3:59previous Model Ys, that stitching was
127. 4:00tucked more underneath the wheel, but on
128. 4:02this one, the seam sits toward the back
129. 4:04side of the steering wheel. So, when
130. 4:06your hands are not at the traditional 9
131. 4:08and 3 positions, you can actually feel
132. 4:10the stitching under your fingers. It's
133. 4:12not painful, and it's absolutely not a
134. 4:14deal-breaker, but once you notice it,
135. 4:16you notice it. It's one of those tiny
136. 4:18ergonomic designs that I really wish
137. 4:20Tesla had handled differently. None of
138. 4:22these things are major problems, but
139. 4:24after 12 months, these are the little
140. 4:25annoyances that are still there. Now,
141. 4:27let's talk about the actual money,
142. 4:29because this is one of the easiest
143. 4:30things to exaggerate with an EV. My
144. 4:33electricity cost for the year comes to
145. 4:35approximately $378,
146. 4:37based on 3,146
147. 4:40kWh hours that I used at 12 cents per
148. 4:43kWh for my home rate. I currently have a
149. 4:45lifetime efficiency of 262.1
150. 4:49Wh per mile. For maintenance, I had two
151. 4:51tire rotations and balancing services.
152. 4:54The first one cost me $61.46
153. 4:57after tax at Discount Tire. They offer
154. 4:59free lifetime tire rotation services,
155. 5:01but they charge for the lifetime
156. 5:03balancing, and that's what I paid for
157. 5:04the first visit. And the second rotation
158. 5:06and balance was completely free. So, the
159. 5:09total for those two visits was just
160. 5:10$61.46.
161. 5:13I do tire rotations every 6,000 miles or
162. 5:15so. I also bought a jug of windshield
163. 5:17washer fluid from the dollar store, and
164. 5:19it was $1.37
165. 5:21after tax. That is the actual
166. 5:23maintenance and consumables. Add the
167. 5:25electricity to that, and I've spent just
168. 5:27$440 and 83 cents to operate this car
169. 5:31for 12,000 miles over the past year. I
170. 5:33also paid $108.65
171. 5:36over the year for premium connectivity,
172. 5:38but I consider that more of a
173. 5:39subscription than a vehicle operating
174. 5:41expense. So, $440.83
175. 5:44is essentially what it cost to keep this
176. 5:46car moving for an entire year. And
177. 5:49honestly, that number might be more
178. 5:50surprising to me than anything else in
179. 5:52this video. Hey guys, if you're enjoying
180. 5:54this video so far, be sure to hit that
181. 5:55like button and subscribe to my channel.
182. 5:57It really helps more than you think. One
183. 5:59of the biggest things I wanted to see
184. 6:00after a year was whether the
185. 6:02improvements in build quality were
186. 6:03actually going to hold up. It's one
187. 6:05thing for a car to feel great when you
188. 6:07first take delivery. The real test is
189. 6:09whether it still feels that way 12,000
190. 6:11mi later. And I'm happy to say that at
191. 6:13least on my car, it has. I don't have
192. 6:16any rattles. I don't have any squeaks. I
193. 6:18haven't developed some mysterious trim
194. 6:20vibration that I have to track down.
195. 6:22Panel alignments still looks good.
196. 6:24materials have held up well, and the car
197. 6:26still feels substantially more refined
198. 6:28than my 2021 and 2022 Model Ys. That's
199. 6:32important because build quality was one
200. 6:34of those areas where Tesla had a
201. 6:35reputation for a reason. With a Juniper,
202. 6:37at least from my experience, I think
203. 6:39Tesla has made a meaningful
204. 6:40improvements. Is every single new Model
205. 6:43Y perfect? Of course not. But after
206. 6:4612,000 mi, mine has just stayed as solid
207. 6:49as it felt when I picked it up.
208. 6:51And this is where my Juniper ownership
209. 6:52story gets really boring, and I mean
210. 6:54that as a compliment. Nothing broke. I
211. 6:57haven't had a single Tesla service visit
212. 6:59with this car, no repairs, no warranty
213. 7:01issues, no mysterious warning lights,
214. 7:03and no rattles as I mentioned earlier.
215. 7:05The only things that I've really had to
216. 7:06do are the normal ownership stuff. And
217. 7:08that's a pretty big difference compared
218. 7:10to my Cybertruck. That truck and this
219. 7:12Model Y have given me two very different
220. 7:14experiences with Tesla ownership. The
221. 7:16Cybertruck had some issues, camera
222. 7:18problems, and the whole tonneau cover
223. 7:20saga. And I go through all of that in my
224. 7:221-year Cybertruck review. So if you want
225. 7:23to see what happens when my Tesla
226. 7:25ownership goes in the completely
227. 7:26opposite direction, check that video out
228. 7:29after this one. It's a very different
229. 7:30story. But as far as this new Model Y
230. 7:33goes, a year and 12,000 mi in, the
231. 7:35biggest thing I can say about
232. 7:37reliability is that I haven't had to
233. 7:39think about it.
234. 7:40Let's talk about Full Self-Driving
235. 7:41because my opinion on car is probably
236. 7:44different from what you'll hear from
237. 7:45somebody who says they absolutely need
238. 7:47it or somebody who thinks it's
239. 7:48completely useless. I had FSD for a few
240. 7:51different months over the past year. My
241. 7:53conclusion is that it is really
242. 7:54impressive. When it's working well,
243. 7:56especially on longer drives, it's
244. 7:58remarkable how much of the actual
245. 7:59driving it can handle. The system has
246. 8:01gotten smoother, more confident, and
247. 8:03more capable. And I absolutely
248. 8:05understand why some people are using it
249. 8:07constantly. But here's the thing though,
250. 8:09my Model Y was one of the last Teslas to
251. 8:11come with Autopilot as standard. And for
252. 8:13how I personally use this car, that is
253. 8:16enough for me. I actually enjoy driving
254. 8:18when I'm not using Autopilot, and I
255. 8:20don't feel like I'm missing something
256. 8:21every time I take the wheel. So, I don't
257. 8:23see myself paying for the FSD each month
258. 8:25on this car on a permanent basis. That's
259. 8:28a different story for the Cybertruck,
260. 8:29because the Cybertruck never came with
261. 8:31basic Autopilot like how this Model Y
262. 8:33did. So, the value proposition is
263. 8:35completely different for me there, and I
264. 8:37occasionally subscribe to FSD on my
265. 8:39Cybertruck. But while FSD is really
266. 8:41impressive, there are a few things that
267. 8:43still bother me, and one of the biggest
268. 8:45is speed control. Version 14 of FSD took
269. 8:48away the ability to manually set the
270. 8:49exact maximum speed the way I want, and
271. 8:52I really don't like that. The sloth
272. 8:53profile sounds like it should mean
273. 8:55conservative driving, but when there
274. 8:56isn't traffic, it doesn't behave the way
275. 8:58I think sloth should behave. It can
276. 9:00still drive at or slightly above the
277. 9:02speed limit depending on the situation.
278. 9:04And construction zones are still one of
279. 9:06the biggest weaknesses I've seen for
280. 9:08FSD. You'll have a temporary
281. 9:10construction speed limit, and FSD might
282. 9:12slow down for it, but then later it can
283. 9:14forget that temporary speed limit even
284. 9:16existed and go right back to what it
285. 9:18thinks the normal speed limit should be.
286. 9:20Or in some cases, it won't even
287. 9:21recognize a temporary sign in the first
288. 9:23place. That's a problem because
289. 9:25construction zones are exactly the kind
290. 9:27of environment where you need the system
291. 9:28to be conservative and consistent. And
292. 9:30that's the thing with FSD, it can be
293. 9:32incredibly impressive 95% of of time and
294. 9:35still require your full attention
295. 9:37because you don't know when that other
296. 9:395% is going to happen. That's why I
297. 9:41still think of it as an impressive
298. 9:43supervised driving system, not something
299. 9:45that lets you mentally check out. A
300. 9:47quick word on accessories because this
301. 9:49is an area where I think new Model Y
302. 9:50owners can waste a ridiculous amount of
303. 9:53money on. There are thousands of
304. 9:54accessories out there and just because
305. 9:56something has five stars on Amazon,
306. 9:58doesn't mean it's actually good, fits
307. 10:00correctly, or is going to survive more
308. 10:02than a few months. I've gone through
309. 10:03that entire process myself and I've put
310. 10:05together a very comprehensive Model Y
311. 10:08accessory video where I went through the
312. 10:09products I actually recommend, the ones
313. 10:11I personally vetted, and the stuff I'd
314. 10:13skip. I've narrowed it down to the
315. 10:15accessories that actually make the car
316. 10:17better to live with instead of just
317. 10:18adding clutter. So, if you're buying a
318. 10:20new Model Y and you want the full list
319. 10:22of accessories I actually recommend
320. 10:24after testing them, check out that video
321. 10:26in the description below. That's where
322. 10:27I've put everything together, including
323. 10:29the products and discount codes up to
324. 10:3125% off.
325. 10:33This is probably the comparison I'm most
326. 10:35qualified to make because I've owned the
327. 10:37previous generations and I've lived with
328. 10:38this one long enough to know which
329. 10:40differences actually matter. Going from
330. 10:42my 2021 Model Y Long Range to this car
331. 10:44is a massive improvement. The interior
332. 10:46feels more premium, the ride quality is
333. 10:48dramatically smoother, the cabin is
334. 10:50quieter, the seats are more comfortable,
335. 10:52and all the new technology ties
336. 10:53everything together. The whole car just
337. 10:55feels more refined. Compare that to my
338. 10:572022 Model Y Performance, the
339. 10:59performance difference isn't the [music]
340. 11:00point. That old Performance was
341. 11:02obviously a quicker car, but the Model Y
342. 11:04Juniper is a much better vehicle to live
343. 11:06with every single day. The biggest
344. 11:08difference isn't speed, it's how much
345. 11:10more effortless the car feels. Long
346. 11:12drives are easier, rough roads are less
347. 11:14punishing, and the whole cabin feels
348. 11:16like a much more finished product. So,
349. 11:18if you're coming from a much older Model
350. 11:19Y, I think the Juniper is a very
351. 11:21compelling upgrade. The new Model Y is
352. 11:23better in basically every way, but it
353. 11:25doesn't automatically mean you need to
354. 11:27spend money to upgrade. At some point,
355. 11:29you're paying for refinement rather than
356. 11:31functionality. And then there's the
357. 11:33weirdest comparison I can make. The new
358. 11:35Model Y Juniper versus a Cybertruck. I
359. 11:37have both, I drive both, and they're
360. 11:39completely different experiences. The
361. 11:41Model Y is one that makes the most
362. 11:43sense. It's easier to park, easier to
363. 11:44live with, more efficient, and it does
364. 11:46almost everything most people actually
365. 11:48need. The Cybertruck is the one I drive
366. 11:50because I want to drive a Cybertruck.
367. 11:53It's bigger, stranger, and more capable
368. 11:55in certain ways, and just more of an
369. 11:57experience. But if you ask me which one
370. 11:59I'd recommend people, it's the Model Y
371. 12:01without question. If you want to hear
372. 12:03what the Cybertruck ownership experience
373. 12:05is actually like after a year, including
374. 12:07everything that broke, what it cost me
375. 12:09down to the dollar, and whether I'd buy
376. 12:11it again, check out my 1-year Cybertruck
377. 12:13review in the description below. It's a
378. 12:15very different ownership story from this
379. 12:17car. So, after a full year, who should
380. 12:19actually buy this car? If you're coming
381. 12:21from a gas SUV, or this is your first
382. 12:24Tesla, the new Model Y is an incredibly
383. 12:26easy recommendation. It's efficient,
384. 12:28practical, comfortable, quiet, quick,
385. 12:30packed with technology, and the charging
386. 12:32and software ecosystem make everyday
387. 12:34ownership ridiculously convenient. If
388. 12:37you're coming from an older Model Y,
389. 12:38especially something like a 2020 or
390. 12:402021, the upgrade is substantial. You're
391. 12:43getting a car that feels significantly
392. 12:44more refined rather than just a cosmetic
393. 12:46refresh. If you're coming from a 2023,
394. 12:482024, or 2025 Model Y, I'd be a little
395. 12:52more selective. If your current car is
396. 12:54in great shape and you're happy with it,
397. 12:56you don't necessarily need the Juniper.
398. 12:58You want the Juniper. But if you care
399. 12:59about ride quality, cabin quietness, the
400. 13:01new interior, the ventilated seats, the
401. 13:03new AI 4 hardware, or simply want the
402. 13:06most refined Model Y that has ever been
403. 13:08made, then I think the upgrade makes a
404. 13:10lot more sense. If you're someone who
405. 13:12doesn't care about full self-driving,
406. 13:14that's fine, too. I don't think you need
407. 13:16FSD to get an enormous amount of value
408. 13:18out of this car. So, here we are after 1
409. 13:21year and 12,000 mi. Would I buy this
410. 13:23exact Model Y again? Yes. And honestly,
411. 13:26that's the easiest part of this entire
412. 13:28review. I would still buy the Juniper,
413. 13:30I'd still take the 19-in wheels, I'd
414. 13:32take the premium all-wheel drive, and
415. 13:34the biggest [music] reason isn't a
416. 13:35flashy feature. It's the fact that after
417. 13:37a year, these things I appreciate the
418. 13:39most are things I use every single day.
419. 13:41The comfort, the quiet cabin, the seats,
420. 13:43the improved interior, the efficiency,
421. 13:45the practicality, and just how easy the
422. 13:47car is to live with. The things that
423. 13:49annoyed me 6 months ago are still there,
424. 13:51but most of them are small enough that I
425. 13:53forget about them as soon as I'm
426. 13:55driving. That's a pretty good sign. The
427. 13:56new Model Y Juniper isn't perfect, and
428. 13:59there are definitely decisions Tesla has
429. 14:01made that I think are dumb, but after a
430. 14:03full year, I still look forward to
431. 14:04getting in this car, and for me, that's
432. 14:06the real test. So, that's a full year
433. 14:09and 12,000 miles with the new Model Y
434. 14:11Juniper, and I'd buy it again. But, I'm
435. 14:14curious what you guys think. If you own
436. 14:16a new Model Y Juniper, what's one thing
437. 14:18you love about it, and one thing you
438. 14:19hate about it? Leave a comment down
439. 14:21below. Also, if you're considering a new
440. 14:23Model Y, what's one thing that's holding
441. 14:25you back? Be sure to hit that like
442. 14:27button and subscribe to my channel, and
443. 14:28as always, thank you all for watching,
444. 14:30and I'll catch you in the next one.