2025 Tesla Model Y review: Australian first drive of Juniper facelift

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Electric Cars Guide

As far as important new car releases go, the biggest update in five years for the world’s best-selling new car – the Tesla Model Y – is close to the top of the list.

The facelifted Model Y – codenamed ‘Juniper’ – is a reworking of Tesla’s top-selling model, with a refreshed exterior, overhauled interior, longer driving range, new features, a gear selector that’s moved to the touchscreen, and overhauled suspension, steering and noise isolation.

Orders opened at the start of the year for a limited-run Launch Series edition – with unique badging, premium paint, larger wheels and other extras – but the regular models are now available, with price changes between a $1000 cut and $3000 rise.

The market into which the updated Model Y is wading is quite different to the one the original model launched in three years ago. EV sales aren’t growing like they were then, and there are dozens of rivals for this car, most from Chinese brands promising similar equipment for less money.

The changes to the Model Y are shaping up to address many of our – and customers’ – criticisms with the original model.

Is the Model Y still the leader in the mid-size electric SUV class? Let’s find out.

There are initially two models in the Tesla Model Y range – the Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) and Long Range All-Wheel Drive (AWD) – with a Performance AWD due to follow later this year.

Launch Series editions of the 2025 Model Y have sold out, leaving the standard RWD and Long Range AWD priced from $58,900 and $68,900 – up $3000, and down $1000 compared to 2024 models respectively.

Those prices exclude on-road costs (stamp duty, registration, etc), as well as Tesla’s $400 order and $1400 delivery fees – charges which other brands typically include in the before on-roads RRP. With those included, the list prices are $60,700 and $70,700, respectively.

On test in this review is the Long Range AWD, with its sole option Ultra Red paint for $2600 – bringing its drive-away price in NSW to $77,304, according to the Tesla website. We will test the RWD at a later date.

New features across the range include the revised styling with split headlights and an LED rear light bar, ventilated front seats (which are a new design), an 8.0-inch rear-seat touchscreen, power-folding and reclining rear seats, ambient interior lighting, a front camera, and blind-spot monitoring lights.

The Long Range’s 13-speaker sound system has been upgraded to a 15-speaker system – both excluding the subwoofer – though the RWD has lost the 13-speaker stereo in favour of a nine-speaker system.

All of those are in addition to a 15.4-inch touchscreen with navigation, music streaming and Bluetooth, matrix LED headlights, power-adjustable heated front seats, heated outboard rear seats, a glass roof (with a new UV coating), hands-free power tailgate, dual-zone climate control, and camera-based front and rear parking distance sensors.

There are no shortage of rivals to the Model Y, from the BYD Sealion 7 Premium ($54,990) and XPeng G6 Long Range ($59,800) and Kia EV5 Air Standard Range ($56,770) at the lower end of the range, to the Skoda Enyaq Sportline RWD ($69,990) and VW ID.5 GTX ($72,990) further up, all before on-road costs.

Tesla was one of the first brands to sell vehicles directly to customers – skipping franchise dealerships – so it does not do promotions in the same way as many rivals, but it often lists discounts on vehicles in stock on its website.

It might look similar inside, but nearly everything you touch – from the dashboard and door panels to the seats, steering wheel, and centre console – inside the Model Y’s minimalist cabin is new for 2025.

The cheap-looking and hollow-sounding woodgrain-look trim in old Model Ys has been replaced by a fabric material, which features alongside suede, leather-look and metallic finishes elsewhere. Combined with fewer squeaks and rattles, and a more reassuring door thunk, quality has taken a step up.

The touchscreen dominates the interior experience, and all of the car’s functions still run through it – from audio and air conditioning, to adjusting the mirrors and opening the glovebox.

New for 2025 are reshaped front seats, which are more comfortable than before, trimmed in perforated synthetic leather-look material that breathes better, with ventilation functionality for the first time, building on heating and power adjustment.

The driving position feels slightly lower than in the outgoing Model Y, and drivers have a good view of the road ahead, but rear visibility remains poor (as Tesla has made the rear glass larger, but not changed the metal structure behind it).

The steering wheel is also new – borrowed from the Model 3, like the seats – with a slightly thinner rim, and more tactile-feeling dial controls, including a user-customisable shortcut via the left roller.

As with the latest Model 3, Tesla has moved the gear selector from a stalk to a slider on the touchscreen. It is fiddly to use on its own, but its saving grace is new Auto Shift software that anticipates your movements at low speed, and can automatically select the next gear.

Take a three-point turn, for example. Slow down, turn across the street, and the car will figure out what you’re doing as you approach the kerb – so it prompts the driver to steer in the opposite direction, place their foot on the brake pedal, and it will automatically shift into reverse. It continues through the manoeuvre, and also works while parallel parking.

It is impressively accurate, and reads your mind 95 per cent of the time… but you need to pay attention 100 per cent of the time, as it can’t always anticipate your next move – and as good as the tech is, we can’t help but feel it’s a solution to a problem Tesla created.

Backlash towards the latest Model 3 has prompted Tesla to keep the indicator stalk, but it has been simplified, with a single step up or down – rather than one step for a three-flash, and another for full activation of the blinkers.

It relies on the car’s software to figure out whether you’re changing lanes or turning a corner, and when to cancel the signals, but on the occasions it doesn’t cancel when it should, that simplified stalk can make it difficult to deactivate the indicators manually without turning on the opposite-side blinkers. Still, we’re glad to see the stalk retained.

Elsewhere, the glass roof has gained a new UV coating claimed to block out seven times more solar energy – in reality, the cabin still heats up easily, but we’d estimate it makes the interior about 20 per cent cooler than before.

Storage space was already excellent, but it has expanded in the latest Model Y. The (now magnetically latching) glovebox is still small, but the centre console storage spaces and door pockets are all even bigger than before.

Dual wireless phone chargers are standard, alongside one USB-C port (down from two), one 12-volt socket, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry, and a new ambient light strip integrated into the dashboard to prevent it reflecting off the windscreen at night.

Back-seat space is similar to the old model, but that means it’s still generous, with plenty of knee room, head room and toe room for a 186cm-tall passenger behind a similarly sized driver, as well as a cabin wide enough for three adults, and a flat floor.

Longer seat bases mean underthigh support has improved, and the big news is the addition of outboard seats that can recline electrically at the push of a button on the sides of the seat bases, as well as power-folding for all three pews from the boot or touchscreen. The outboard positions are still heated.

There’s a new 8.0-inch touchscreen for rear passengers, which controls the air direction and music, and can even stream movies or play games – though the display sits low, so it may cause carsickness for kids on long journeys.

Other amenities include two USB-C ports, a fold-down armrest with two cupholders (and now a tab to more easily pull it down), seatback map pockets, large door pockets, and a combination of outboard ISOFIX and three top-tether anchors for child seats.

On paper, luggage space has reduced slightly – from 854L to 822L in the boot, and 117L to 116L in the under-bonnet storage area – but you’d be hard-pressed to notice a difference. It’s still a cavernous space, with enough space under the floor to stow a carry-on suitcase, as well as the new-design magnetic cargo cover.

The power tailgate is now hands-free when the phone key is in your pocket, while the under-bonnet storage area has gained a drain plug for use as a mobile Esky. There is still no puncture solution of any form – even a tyre repair kit costs extra.

The 15.4-inch touchscreen is the centrepiece of the Tesla Model Y's interior. For 2025, it has thinner bezels, but the display is the same size, and it’s backed by the same super-fast processor.

Nearly all of the car’s functions run through the screen, from adjusting the temperature to changing the regenerative braking mode. There is a steep learning curve, and it is more distracting than turning a dial or pressing a button.

But for many buyers, once they get their head around the myriad menus, it should become second nature – and the shortcuts on the steering wheel for volume and song selection should help, as well as the voice-control system.

The system is quick to respond, and makes touchscreens from some other brands feel like connecting dial-up in the wireless internet age.

Tesla continues to refuse to give its vehicles Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, but there are plenty of in-built apps for music streaming and podcasts, such as Spotify and Apple Music, plus Bluetooth with phone and messages portals, and FM/digital radio.

The in-built satellite navigation is powered by Google Maps, includes speed camera alerts – but can’t match Waze’s police and road hazard reports, which you could access if CarPlay were available – and includes fantastic EV route planning functionality.

Over-the-air downloadable software updates mean the system will get better over time, and many of the above features have been only been added in recent months.

The single-screen dashboard means it hosts key driving information such as the vehicle’s speed. It’s odd at first, and we still wish Tesla offered a head-up display, but it’s something we’ve learnt to live with after spending time with a number of Teslas over the years.

Tesla’s phone app is one of the best in the business, with control of the car’s locks, lights and horn, remote tracking, cabin pre-conditioning, and a phone as a key function that will see you leaving the keycard that comes with the car at home.

The Tesla Model Y carries a five-star safety rating from ANCAP based on 2022 testing conducted by sister organisation Euro NCAP.

It is based on testing of the pre-facelift model, and is still listed on the ANCAP website. There is no indication it would not carry over to the updated version, though the safety tester is yet to state either way.

The 2022 score includes category results of an impressive 97 per cent for adult occupant protection, 89 per cent for child occupant protection, 82 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 98 per cent for safety assist technology.

New for the 2025 Model Y is a conventional blind-spot monitoring system, with lights now integrated into the front door pillar speakers – inherited from the Model 3 – when a vehicle enters your blind spot.

It’s in addition to a combination of blind-spot cameras – which glow red on the screen if the Tesla’s brain thinks you’re about to change lanes into another car – and alert chimes.

Recent software updates have added rear cross-traffic alert, the handy feature that alerts the driver to passing vehicles when reversing out of a perpendicular parking space.

A front parking camera has been added, and the car uses its parking sensors – which are based on camera, rather than ultrasonics, something introduced to the Model Y a few years ago – to provide a visualisation of objects around the car.

However, there’s no bird's-eye view – just separate front, side and rear camera views.

The rest of the Tesla Model Y’s safety suite is unchanged for the 2025 facelift, at least in terms of new hardware, as the car has steadily gained new features through software updates available to all examples over the past few years. The Model Y runs Tesla’s latest Hardware 4.0 camera technology.

Standard is Tesla’s regular ‘Autopilot’ safety suite, which includes Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer, the brand’s names for adaptive cruise control and lane-centring assist.

Both work well on the freeway, keeping the car centred in the lane, though the latter is prone to disconnecting if steering wheel force is applied – rather than letting the driver tweak the car’s course in the lane to dodge something on the road, for example – and it needs to be reactivated after every lane change.

That final annoyance can be solved with the $5100 Enhanced Autopilot pack, which includes automatic lane changes/overtakes and hands-free parking. The $10,100 so-called ‘Full Self-Driving’ package is still available to order, but is yet to be unlocked for use on Australian roads.

Seven airbags are featured – including one between the front seats to prevent occupants’ heads clashing in a severe side impact – plus tyre pressure monitoring.

The Tesla Model Y is covered by a four-year/80,000km vehicle warranty, plus eight years of coverage on the high-voltage battery pack, with distance caps of 160,000km for the RWD, and 192,000km for the Long Range.

The warranty is shorter than the industry average of five years/unlimited kilometres, let alone the seven years-plus of many brands.

Tesla does not quote traditional time- or distance-based service intervals for its cars, with maintenance instead “condition-based”, meaning it is only needed when the car detects a problem that requires fixing.

Tesla does list some recommended service items on its website:

• Every 10,000km, or if tread depth difference is 1.5mm or more: Rotate the tyres
• Every two years: Replace cabin filter (a new one costs $35)
• Every three years: Replace the HEPA filter and carbon filter
• Every four years: Check brake fluid health, and replace if needed

Many of these service items can be conducted at your home or workplace by a mobile technician to save needing to visit a showroom.

A year of comprehensive insurance coverage from a leading insurer costs $2927, based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

It is steep for a car in this class – most of which quote closer to the $1800 to $2100 mark – but may be influenced by the vehicle being so new, and not many parts being available.

The Tesla Model Y Long Range is rated to cover up to 551km in European WLTP testing, with energy consumption listed on the windscreen of 15.8kWh per 100 kilometres.

Tesla doesn’t quote a battery capacity; overseas estimates suggest 75kWh usable, though others say 79kWh. The former aligns with our observations on test, so it’s the number we’ve gone with here.

As with most Teslas we’ve tested, that claimed efficiency rating is achievable. We saw in the region of 15kWh/100km in our time with the car, including some dynamic driving, and no attempt to ‘hypermile’ the car with a light right foot around town.

On our 110km/h highway range test, we observed even lower indicated consumption of just 14.5kWh/100km – which would equate to a remarkable highway range of 515km based on a 75kWh usable battery capacity.

DC fast charging at up to 250kW is claimed, unchanged from the previous Model Y Long Range. On paper, it’s seriously fast, and not far off the quickest-charging EVs on sale in Australia.

In reality, the Tesla touches that number for a split second after you plug in at a low battery charge level, then immediately tapers off.

On a 300kW Tesla V4 Supercharger, we recorded a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 32 minutes and 35 seconds.

It must be noted we connected at 6 per cent charge, with the hope of giving the battery a running start past 10 per cent, when we’d start the stopwatch – but the way Teslas charge means that 250kW peak passed at 7 or 8 per cent, thus the lower 222kW output at 10 per cent. In optimal conditions, expect to shave a few seconds off the time we recorded.

AC fast charging at up to 11kW is included, but buyers who intend to use a household power outlet, or one at a shopping centre without a lead attached will need to buy a charging cable separately – such as Tesla’s $550 Mobile Connector – as one is not included with the vehicle.

It’s on the road where the Model Y has arguably made its biggest steps forward with the Juniper facelift.

Let’s start with what hasn’t really changed, at least in this Long Range – performance. The dual motors develop an estimated 331kW combined, according to Chinese specs – or 378kW if you ask Australian regulators – which translates to rapid performance for a family SUV.

Tesla says the new Long Range is 0.2 seconds quicker from zero to 100km/h – now 4.8sec, down from 5.0sec – but the difference is not stark. Response is still immediate, with the ability to pin you back in your seat – and immense overtaking power on country roads.

When you don’t want full power, a well-calibrated accelerator pedal makes it easy to mete out exactly how much grunt you want, and the transition from power to the electric motors’ regenerative braking is exceptionally smooth.

For 2025, Tesla has standardised the ‘Hold’ setting for the regen braking – so it is locked in a ‘one-pedal’ mode, where the car will slow to a full stop when lifting off the accelerator pedal – but there’s now a choice between Standard and Reduced settings for how quickly you want the car to slow down. Both are well tuned, and will suit different buyers.

The biggest changes have been made to the way the Model Y soaks up bumps.

Ride comfort in the outgoing model was, in a word, firm. It wasn’t unbearably stiff for our tastes, but even after it was softened as part of a production change about 18 months ago, the suspension delivered far more of speed bumps, potholes and expansion joints into the cabin than a family SUV should.

Tesla has reworked the suspension for the new model, and it’s a big improvement. The Model Y retains a sporty character – there is a taut edge to the ride, and there’s a sense of connection with what’s happening underneath you – but it’s now far more liveable, and passengers won’t find themselves wincing over potholes.

Among the changes is the fitment of frequency-selective dampers, which react differently – and with a different level of firmness – depending on the size and frequency of the bumps the wheels hit.

It means the Model Y retains composed and settled over undulations in the road at speed, but can soak up speed bumps with poise, and iron out small imperfections in the road without sending jitters into the cabin.

It’s not perfect – it can still react firmly over particularly sharp-edged bumps – but it’s a big step forward, particularly for rear passengers.

Also much improved is noise. Tyre roar is markedly reduced, especially on coarse-chip country roads, as is wind rustle, but the biggest change comes in the form of significantly less noise from the suspension, which on the old car has a tendency to clatter and creak over sharp bumps, again especially at the rear.

Tesla has eased the Model Y’s steering for 2025. It is still quick and darty – a Tesla signature – but it’s added a little more lock (2.4 turns, rather than 2.0), and is less nervous just off the centre point, translating to a more natural, less video game-like feel in all three levels of heft. The turning circle is still large, though.

The Model Y isn’t a sports car, but the quick steering, a firm brake pedal and all-wheel-drive grip translate to an agile, athletic feel, though eager traction-control software and eco-focused Hankook tyres mean it stops short of exciting most car enthusiasts.

The headlights use matrix LED technology, which can blank out part of their beam to prevent blinding oncoming motorists. They work well, with good illumination across low and high beams, and the auto high-beam software is much better tuned than in Teslas even 12 months ago.

Overall, Tesla has addressed the main criticisms of the Model Y driving experience without ruining its best qualities.

The updated Tesla Model Y RWD and Long Range are rated to tow 1588kg braked – that’s about 3500 pounds in US lingo, if you’re wondering why it’s not a round number – and 750kg unbraked.

That braked figure is 12kg down on the outgoing model, though it’s more than enough for a small trailer, bike rack, or the kinds of things Model Y owners are likely to pull, rather than a full-sized caravan for touring Australia.

It quotes a payload – the maximum mass of people, cargo and accessories the car is rated to carry – of 511kg, which is enough for five 100kg passengers without much luggage, or five slightly-lighter people and a boot packed with suitcases.

It’s slightly down on the previous model – 539kg for the Long Range – but for many Model Y buyers who use their car for Uber, it should be sufficient.

The 2025 facelift for the Tesla Model Y has taken one of the best electric family SUVs money could buy, and made it even better.

With a more comfortable cabin, new features, better materials, a more supple ride and a quieter drive, Tesla has addressed the Model Y’s key weaknesses without spoiling its best attributes: excellent interior space, snappy technology, rapid performance, sharp handling, and low energy use.

Combine that with a lower price for this Long Range model – and the continued backing of Tesla’s full Supercharger network – and the Model Y remains the electric SUV to beat.

It is not perfect – the warranty is shorter than average, the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will continue to grate for many buyers, and as good as the software supporting it is, the touchscreen gear selector is an unnecessarily minimalist take on a simple feature.

There is no shortage of competition in its segment, but to dismiss the Tesla Model Y – and strike it off your consideration list – on account of its badge would be to do yourself a considerable disservice.

Electric Cars Guide

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

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