I learned to drive in 2001 and got my licence in 2002. To many, that won't seem like that long ago. To others, I may as well be a dinosaur. For me, it almost feels like the other day – or it did – until I jumped behind the wheel of a Tesla for the first time.
As many of you will no doubt relate to, when I learned to drive – and basically up until a decade ago – most cars were pretty similar in terms of how you made them 'go'.
My P-plater self could drive my crappy, old 1985 Holden Barina – and eventually my much nicer 1996 Daihatsu Feroza – then jump into Mum's brand-new Honda CR-V or even Dad's Toyota HiAce van, and take off (mostly) without incident.
Key in, one foot on clutch, the other on brake, ignition on, handbrake off, first gear or reverse, mirror check – and off you go.
Sure, if you didn't know how to drive a manual, it was different. But even in an auto, everything else was basically the same, no matter the car.
The windscreen wiper, indicator and headlight controls were all where you expected (yes, yes, maybe on different sides depending on the car – but simple to deduce).
The air controls were in the middle, and you could adjust the vents without taking your eyes off the road. There were a few buttons for the radio and tape or CD player, and a big dial for the volume.
Sure, there was no navigation, and power windows were a luxury, but at least it was pretty easy for a licensed person to get most cars to perform their primary function – drive.
Fast-forward almost 25 years, and having owned and driven many cars in that time, I would never have anticipated feeling out of my depth driving an unknown car.
Enter the Tesla Model Y – the 2026 Drive Car of the Year – and my Achilles heel in terms of driving knowledge. I was recently tasked with having one as my daily driver for a couple of days.
"You'll be fine," my colleagues told me – all of whom had driven a Tesla or two before.
Peering inside, I'm not so sure. There are no buttons or dials in the middle, just a screen. There are a couple of buttons on the steering wheel for windscreen wipers, high beams and voice control, along with scroll wheels on each side that control media, wiper speed, calls, cruise control and a couple of other functions.
There is also no gear stick – not in the centre or a column shift on the steering wheel. It's on the screen, I am informed. There is also no key, fob or start button. How far we've come from my old 'Beep, Beep' Barina.
I get in and adjust the seat, put the 'key' – which looks like a credit card – on the centre console, and the car starts. Putting my foot on the brake brings up the gear controls, so I swipe into reverse, then eventually into drive.
I make it out and get on the road. Phew.
From there, it feels normal-ish. The settings are such that I have to continue to accelerate up to a stop, rather than rolling and braking – the car comes to an abrupt stop if you take your foot off the pedal.
On this first drive, I can't for the life of me figure out how to turn the radio on, and because I hadn't logged into my Spotify yet, I couldn't use that.
My second drive the next day was better, having worked out the music situation and also adjusting the drive settings to be more akin to how an ICE automatic car behaves in terms of accelerating and braking.
I do notice I am needing to look at the screen quite a lot. The speedo is on the screen for one thing – there's nothing behind the steering wheel and no head-up display.
The air vents are also exclusively controlled via the screen – and I am fiddling with the settings quite frequently to get them right. I do worry that all this screen time is taking my attention from the road, but quickly justify that the Model Y can essentially drive itself. It must be fine, right?
It is a lovely car to drive, and I was sad to give it back the following day. Still, I had to wonder, if I were a P-plater whose parents owned a Tesla, would I be able to jump in and drive it without a hitch in an emergency or even just for logistics?
Turns out – legally no, in the case of a 2026 Model Y at least. As I found out recently, P-platers in Victoria and New South Wales are banned from driving any of the current Model Y variants, due to the power-to-weight ratios being more than 130kW/t. P-platers under the age of 25 in Queensland and South Australia are also banned.
The Model 3, however, has variants approved for P-platers, so potentially any novice drivers needing to jump in Mum or Dad's car at a pinch may find it tricky.
It's not just Tesla, either. Many new cars – whether they are electric, hybrid or ICE – have significantly changed the functionality of not just bells and whistles, but the way you actually drive the car.
Starting the car, changing gears, putting it in park, adjusting mirrors – heck, whether there's a rear-view mirror at all. The Polestar 4, for example, has a camera and a rear-view screen in place of a mirror.
I'm all for innovation – take my phone-to-car connectivity away from me at your peril – but I do feel, perhaps, some consistency across essential driving functions from car to car would be wise.
After all, one day when my kids are old enough to drive, I'd like them to feel confident enough to jump into any car, just as I could – be it a decades-old 'Beep, Beep' Barina or a brand-new Tesla.
Jemimah is Drive's Consumer Editor. She has more than a decade of editorial experience and has previously worked in property and lifestyle journalism for Domain, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and REA Group, among many other publications.
