2021 Tesla Model Y Performance

[MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS: Hey, Carlos here with Edmunds, and today we're going to talk about the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.4. If you're looking at quasi- SUV shaped EV with good range, an affordable price tag, and fun technology features, it's going to be one of these three vehicles. We've evaluated multiple versions of these vehicles. In fact, we're owners of multiple Tesla models. We've tested these particular cars so we know how fast they go in a straight line and how far they can go relative to their EPA range estimates. We've also lived with them just like normal owners. How do each of them work? What are their respective pros and cons? And why would you choose one over the other? We're going to explain all that in this video. If you want to see more like this let us know in the comments. Also click, "like," and, "subscribe." Check out the links in the description for more information, and also visit edmunds.com/sellmycar to get an instant cash offer on your car. [MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS: First, let's talk about pricing and availability. To be clear, we couldn't get three equally optioned or configured vehicles for the purposes of this comparison. In fact, that Model Y is owned by one of our employees. In terms of pricing, the Ford and the Volkswagen both have base prices in the low $40,000 range, and both still qualify, at least at the time of this recording, for the federal $7,500 tax rebate on top of whatever incentives that are offered by your state, city, or even your power company. Just remember that oftentimes these incentives aren't straight deductions from the price of the vehicle. They often have to take into account what your personal financial or tax situation is. Now, the Model Y. It's currently advertised, at least at the time of this recording, on Tesla's website with a starting price in the low $50,000 range for the long range all-wheel-drive dual-motor version. Now, previously there was a standard range single motor rear wheel drive Model Y that was available. But Tesla pulled its availability from the website, and Elon Musk posted in a tweet that it didn't line up to Tesla's standard of excellence. If you disagree with him, though, and want something that doesn't line up to Tesla's standard of excellence, you can still special order the standard range Model Y for a price in the mid $40,000 range. Speaking of configurations, the Mach-e is available much in the same way at the Model Y is. That is to say you can get a standard range battery pack or extended range battery pack, and either all wheel drive or rear wheel drive. Unlike Tesla, you can get rear drive with the long range battery pack with the Mach-E if you want to maximize your range. There's also a forthcoming performance Mach-E model called the GT that will line up against the Model Y performance, but that's a subject for another video. As for the ID.4, currently it's only available in one configuration with one electric motor and rear wheel drive, though we expect more to be available in the future. [MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS: We've been testing and evaluating EVs for a long time. We've also owned a lot of EVs, and in that process, we've learned that when it comes to range, having more seems nice in concept but there's actually diminishing returns after a certain point. The more range you have, the more you have to pay for the battery, and you also only use that range when you're going on long trips. Then, at that point, the sophistication and quality of the charging infrastructure actually becomes more important. These aren't gas cars with gas fuel tanks. If you're charging them at home every night or every other night, you effectively leave every morning with a full tank. So, range doesn't really become an issue day to day. Now, if you drive hundreds of miles a week an EV's probably not the right pick for you right now. The ID.4'S advertised ranged is 250 miles, but Volkswagen recommends charging to only 80% during daily use. The Mach-E has a range between 211 and 305 miles, again depending on configuration. The Model Y dual-motor long range all-wheel-drive has a range estimate of 326 miles, but the standard range version-- again, the one that's more comparable to the Mach-E and ID.4 that we have here-- offered a range around 244 miles. Tesla would seem to have a battery and range advantage on paper, but keep in mind that those estimates are with those batteries charged to 100%, and Tesla recommends you don't do that on a day to day basis. When you charge to 90%-- their recommendation-- the figures fall more in line with other EVs. Also, in our experience as vehicle testers and evaluators and owners of multiple Tesla vehicles, we found it difficult to reach the EPA range estimates on most Teslas that we've tested, both in the real world and on our EV range loop. And you can see more about that at edmunds.com/range. On the other hand, most other EVs we've tested, including this specific Mach-E and ID.4, have easily exceeded their range estimates on our loop. Your mileage will, of course, vary. But, if your number one priority is range, just keep in mind that Tesla's advantage on paper is much harder to achieve in the real world. Where Tesla really shines, though, is in the access to the Tesla Supercharger Network, which in our experience, remains the most robust, consistent, and easiest to use charging network that you can find. The Ford and the Volkswagen both rely on third-party charging networks like Electrify America, which in our experience, have stations that are harder to find and more cumbersome to use than what you get with Tesla's Supercharger Network. This really only comes into play if you plan on doing a lot of long-distance drives, but definitely keep that in mind when you're shopping. If you plan on only charging at home, this really isn't an issue though. [MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS: You all want to talk about some storage space? On paper, the Tesla Model Y has the most generous capacity in terms of overall storage volume. And just by looking in the back of the hatchery, you can see it's plainly visible just to the naked eye. I really like that you have really deep pockets on both sides. My hand goes down pretty far there, and you can flip this part up to reveal a really deep storage well underneath this shelf. There's also another storage area back here. Let's call it a contraband storage area. That's a little more shallow, but does give you out-of-the-way storage room. You can drop the rear seats by hitting these guys here, and they fold mostly flat to give you a lot of space. The Model Y also has a front storage area that's pretty generous and can take a small carry-on bag. Looking at the back of the Mach-E, it's immediately apparent that this doesn't have as much space as the Model Y. Yeah, it's wide, but you don't get the same depth in the storage space that the Model Y has. On the other hand, this area isn't terrific in the amount of space underneath the floor, but you can lower this floor to give yourself a little more height if you need it. Also, there's no switches to release the second row to fall down. You have to do it the old-fashioned way. Now, on the other hand, the frunk is pretty nice because the space is generous, and Ford also has already installed a pre-partitioned space that would work great for groceries. The downside, though, is it doesn't appear that you could change that partition easily. So, the ID.4 does not have a power lift gate, but it is assisted. In terms of storage space, you have a little bit more than the Mach-E, but a little bit less than the Model Y, and the specs bear that out. You can also see that just by looking at the space here. Underneath the floor, you have a small cubby for your charging cable, maybe some small tools or something like that. The rear seats do fold down, but you don't get a flat load floor because this part of the cargo area sits lower than those seats do when they're folded flat. Lastly, the weird thing about the ID.4 is that, unlike most other EVs on the market, there's no storage space under the hood. There's no front trunk, so if you fill this up and you need some more space, sorry. You don't have any. [MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS: As we move inside these cars, we've just got to be clear and say it's impossible for us to cover each of the features that are inside each of these cars just because there are so many. I swear, if you're moving out of a car that's 10 years old, roughly, into one of these, it's going to feel like a spaceship. It's that different. What I'm going to do is try to cover what I feel are the most important bits, the highs and lows for each car. I figure the easiest way to talk about each of these cars is first, start with the layout and functionality and then move in to the screen. With the Tesla, there isn't actually much to talk about with the layout because there isn't much of one. It just kind of is a dash with a screen attached to it. With regard to storage, you have a place here for your phones. This is wireless charging pad as well. I should also mention this is the new center console design that Tesla has just rolled out, and it has a lot of key improvements that Tesla fans are sure to notice. My favorite is that this little compartment area now has a retracting door instead of that flip-up nonsense that previous Teslas had. A storage space underneath this is pretty expansive, and behind the cup holders, you've got a large storage area underneath this armrest as well. But that's really it because the rest of this interior just looks pretty plain. Some people call it minimalism. I call it kind of boring looking, but hey design is in the eye of the beholder. The biggest thing that everybody is going to pay attention to in any Tesla is this center screen, especially in the Model Y and the Model 3 because this is the only screen you have in the car. There's nothing ahead of the steering wheel to give you a readout for speedometer or anything like that. It's all contained in this screen here. That's good and bad. The good of it is the screen reacts really quickly, the graphics are really cool, and there's a lot of fun toys and features like my personal favorite: the whoopee cushion. God, I love that so much. Now, what's bad about this is everything is contained in this screen. So, when this screen crashes like all these screens do, all your controls disappear and you have to restart it by holding these two buttons down. That's frustrating. What's also frustrating is that this doesn't support Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, so if you want to use your phone through the screen, it's not as smooth as it is in other cars, too. Compounding that is the fact that if you want to use a lot of the traffic visualization and Netflix and a lot of those cool applications that come with the vehicle, you have to pay for a monthly subscription when the complementary one you get when you buy the car runs out. What helps that out somewhat is you do have voice controls that are very fluid, but overall, this has some hits and misses that you really need to be aware of if you're looking at getting a Model Y. The overall interior space feels very large. This is a roomy cabin that you feel like you have a lot of space in all directions. So, that's definitely a plus. But the screen, though, is really the thing that's going to make or break your experience with this car. Before we talk about the ID.4, let's talk about interior roominess. All three of these EVs have roughly similar interior dimensions, and they all feel about the same size. The Model Y feels a touch more generous, but nothing significant. If you're of average height or a little bit bigger, you're going to be fine in any of these vehicles. The ID.4's interior has some really nice ideas and some really not-so-nice ideas. Starting out with the design and layout, this doesn't immediately give you the same wow factor that you might get in the Mach-E or the same sort of impression in design that the Model Y has, as minimal as the Model Y is. But, with regard to functionality, there are some things that I really like. Volkswagen's learned that you don't need a start button. That's great. You just hit the brake with your foot, and that powers on the vehicle. The shifter also works really well, too. You just have to remember that the windshield washers and the windshield wipers aren't the shifter. I've grabbed that a few times on accident. The storage in the center console is fairly well done with adjustable cup holders down here, a phone charger that your phone sits in and stays put because it's been texturized. Cup holders here that can be turned into just a large storage area. That's all nice, but where the interior in the ID.4 really begins to falter is a lot of the touch-sensitive controls. The screens look great, they're high resolution, have some clever features in them, but operating them requires using buttons that aren't buttons. For example, if I want to enter the climate settings, I tap that and it appears. It doesn't always, though. The system is often slow, buggy, glitchy. From my experience, sometimes the screens don't react the ways you would expect, and that becomes really frustrating. I think the thing that represents this the most, though, is actually the window controls. So on the driver's, side I only have controls for the front windows. To control the rear windows, I have to tap this rear button. And then if I want to control the front windows again, I have to tap it again. That doesn't work as fluidly as it should. And, overall, this can be really frustrating to use on a daily basis because of it. It may improve, but currently it's just not up to par. I will say, though, I really like the climate settings has this smart climate page where you can just hit, "Warm feet," and it will do that for you. That's really nice. But, overall, the interior can be really frustrating to use. Remember when I said there wasn't a start button? Well, I lied. There's actually one right here, and that's weird because I've spent quite a bit of time driving this and haven't used it once. In fact, the only reason we found it was here is because my producer pointed out because we were trying to figure out a way to keep the car on so we could shoot shots of the screen. I thought it was really neat because what do you need a Start/Stop button for? But I guess you still do, even though you don't really need to use it? So it's optional? I don't know. The Mach-E has my favorite interior, both in terms of functionality and appearance. I just think this looks cool with the layout and the use of materials mixed around. Now, when it comes to functionality of the space and the layout of the space, it's pretty smart. Starting up here, you've got a large tray with wireless charging on one side and underneath this, you have another floor beneath it. That might be big enough for a small handbag, but good space there. Working their way back, the armrest flips up to reveal a pretty sizable storage area underneath as well. Now, when we get into the tech, what I like about this layout is you have a big vertical screen that looks really impressive and has all the fun entertainment features and so on. But also directly in front of me is a very small out of the way and classy and clean digital gauge cluster that tells me this information I want to know when I'm looking forward like speed and range and your trip and all that. Getting back to this entertainment screen, I like the fact that it supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so getting your phone to connect to the system is going to be just as intuitive as it should be any new car. There's a lot of features in here, including things that you would expect from a modern vehicle-- over the year updates and so on and so forth, but the screen is a little laggy when it comes to responses, especially in comparison to the Model Y. All these screens will take some time to get used to. But that lagging this is something that could be annoying on a day by day basis. And there's a volume controller. There's a volume controller. I understand it's just touching the screen for me, but it's so nice to be able to just spin this to control the volume. I wish I had the same thing for the climate controls. Physical controls, they're good. They're good. [MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS: So, how do these EVs drive? Well, with regard to steering, handling, and ride quality, they all do the job you'd expect. No major surprises there, with some minor differences between the three that aren't really that significant. The biggest differences, though, are with acceleration and braking. Before we talk about acceleration, I just have to say if you are coming from a gasoline or diesel powered car to an EV, all three of these cars are going to feel very quick by the nature of how electric motors work. As soon as you touch that accelerator pedal, the electric motor starts working immediately. You don't have to wait for the gasoline engine to start delivering power, so that makes each of these cars feel quick. With regard to the acceleration numbers, the Mach-E that we have here is quicker than this ID.4, and you notice that in the real world, too. We also like the Mach-E's steering and handling a little bit more than the other two vehicles. Now, the Model Y dual-motor all-wheel-drive we have here is the quickest of the three, but that makes sense because it has the more powerful battery and drive system. We believe that the standard range rear wheel drive Model Y variant that would be more comparable with this specific ID.4 in this specific market would be more in line with the acceleration results. As for breaking, the Tesla and the Ford take full advantage of something called one-pedal driving. When you have that mode engaged in those vehicles, it does a thing with regenerative braking, and that's a phenomenon where when you release pressure on the accelerator pedal, the electric motors start turning backwards, recuperating energy, filling the battery, and slowing you down. When you have that one pedal drive mode engaged in those cars, you can relieve pressure so much that it actually takes you to a complete stop. It's a little weird at first. It does take some time to get used to, but it's the way we prefer to drive EVs. Now, the Volkswagen doesn't take full advantage of this capability. It has a mode called B that you can shift into after you've shifted into drive, and that gives you more aggressive regenerative braking but it won't take you all the way to a stop. On the upside, the car remembers when you've shifted into B once you started driving it, so if you do have to make a 3 point turn, you won't have to shift into drive twice in order to get B. But overall, it does seem kind of like a missed opportunity here. Let's talk about full self driving, because it does seem to tie into some of these vehicles. We could spend an entire video covering the subject as it relates to a lot of these new EVs, but here's what you need to know. It doesn't exist, yet. All these cars have some kind of technology coming and you can pay real money for that feature now. But remember you're paying money for a feature that doesn't exist yet. Tesla will sell you, as of the time of this recording, a $10,000 full self driving capability package. Again, emphasis on the, "capability." Ford is selling a similar technology called BlueCruise, but it costs a lot less and has some other restrictions. But the simple fact is none of these features are currently available for use yet. They might be one day, but they aren't right now. And you can be sure that when this technology is available and we get our hands on it, we will do a full test. Some quick consumer or maybe life advice-- don't pay money today for technology that might exist tomorrow. [MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS: So, which one of these should you get, and why? Well, the Ford Mustang Mach-E is our recommendation for most shoppers. It looks great, it drives well, it has a highly functional interior, and it supports your phone in the ways that you would expect. Its broad configurations and availability means that you can best tailor one to your needs and lifestyle as well. If you're transitioning from a gas car to your first EV, this is a super easy recommendation. The Tesla Model Y is a really close runner up. It's the one we recommend to people who want to feel like they're on the cutting edge of technology, for better and worse. If you enroll in beta software updates on your phone or your computer or your gaming console, that's the car for you. If you've invested in or even know what Dogecoin is, again, that's the car for you. For the rest of humanity watching this, consider the Model Y if you want to go on longer drives, not because of the range figures, but because of the access it gives you to Tesla's Supercharger Network. That's the real advantage with the Model Y. The Volkswagen ID.4 has a couple strengths, but also a few challenges that make it difficult to recommend over the Mach-E or the Model Y. With regard to functionality, the touch sensitive stuff in the interior is really frustrating and annoying to use on a daily basis, and there's also a couple of missed opportunities like not having a front trunk and the fact that Volkswagen didn't seem to take full advantage of one-pedal driving, that phenomenon we like with most EVs that we evaluate. Now, depending on your needs, these could be minor issues. And if you can get past them, you'll enjoy its pleasing road manners and its affordable price. Thanks for watching this video. If you want to see more like this let us know in the comments. Also click, "like," and, "subscribe." Check out the links in the description for more information and also visit edmunds.com/sellmycar to get an instant cash offer on your car. [MUSIC PLAYING]