[Car Review] Tesla Model Y L – The Tesla Big Families Have Been Waiting For

I’ve written a small essay on why I used to be a fan of Elon in my Model 3 review, so I won’t repeat that here.

So for once, let’s get straight into the review proper without my usual long-winded introduction.

It used to be that if you wanted a Tesla but required more than 5 seats, you were out of luck from official channels. But all that changed in March 2026, when Tesla Singapore brought the Model Y L to our shores.

The “L” in Y L stands for “long wheelbase”, representing its lengthier dimensions (179mm more) than the regular Model Y, to accommodate an additional row of seats.

Now the bigger question is: did Tesla just enlarged the car a little, and then just staple on a third row and call it a day, or did someone actually sit down and engineer this thing properly?

Mostly the latter.

Exterior

To an untrained eye, the Model Y L looks identical to the usual Y except for the “Y //” badge at the back.

It takes a more discerning pair of eyes to notice the three rows of seats peeking through the windows, more curvy roof line towards the rear, the expanded rear windshield that does double duty as a glass roof for the rear passengers, and of course the longer overall length and wheelbase.

And only a true Tesla aficionado would be able to point out the rear spoiler, 19-inch aero wheels and Cosmic Silver paint that can only be found on the L variant.

The revised shape, exclusive aero rim and spoiler are part of the reason this car manages a drag coefficient of 0.216 Cd, which as far as I can tell makes it the most aerodynamic Tesla currently sold here, de-crowning Model 3 from this achievement.

Interior

If you’ve seen any of the recent Tesla models, you’ve (mostly) seen it all. The interior is pretty much identical to the regular Model Y, or even the Model 3, with the big central screen doing the job of about fifteen hundred buttons, a minimalist dash and steering wheel, and materials that feel a step up from most other cars, with soft-touch cladding on every surface your eyes can see.

And to show that Tesla has learnt from its early days, the fit and finish of the interior here is impeccable. There isn’t a creak or an uneven gap anywhere, and nothing feels hollow or cheap. This is fit and finish on par with, or even better than, mid-range continental vehicles like Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

A special shoutout to Tesla for the mechanical door latches too. We have all heard the horror stories of passengers trapped in a car after an electronic failure, unable to find a manual way out. The mechanical latches on the Model Y L that can work even in case of power failure are clearly labelled and easy enough to find, tucked at the base of the door bins.

Musical Chairs

Most MPVs in this price range offer some form of electronic seat folding, pull a latch and the third row falls down like dominoes, but it’s usually a one-way street. The seats drop electronically, then you have to do a full yoga stretch to wrestle them back upright by hand.

The Model Y L is a different story. All four seats across the second and third rows fold down and pull back up electronically, which makes rearranging the cabin almost comically lazy, nothing more strenuous than a poke of the index finger.

And in a very un-Tesla move, all of this is controlled with actual, physical buttons, located in the boot.

The second row is a proper pair of captain’s chairs, and both front and second row gets heated and ventilated options.

I was expecting the third row experience to be torturous, which is par for the course for most non-full-size MPVs.

But I was pleasantly surprised, with one caveat. I’m 1.73m, and headroom back there is decent, tight only if I gel my hair up that day. The seats are wide enough for an actual adult, not the usual ‘technically fits two children’ bench. A lot of that comes down to the curved rear windshield arching up and over your head, it does more for the claustrophobia than you’d think a piece of glass could.

One real complaint though is the temperature. That same glass has no tint at the rear, so on a sunny afternoon the last row turns into a greenhouse. And with the last row seats offering only heating, no ventilation option, you’ll feel that life is unfair sitting back there.

One consolation: those in the rear still get proper USB-C ports for charging between the seats, two cup holders, and their own aircon vents.

Second-row seats also power forward and back on demand, freeing up third-row legroom whenever you need it.

Boot space starts at 420 litres with all six seats up, a whopping 1,096 litres with the last row folded down, and an astronomical 2,539 litres with the middle row down as well. There’s even a deep, underfloor storage at the boot, with the boot floor held up magnetically. A seriously nice touch.

As if that isn’t enough, there’s still the frunk. People often assume it’s “easy” for engineers to fit a frunk on an EV, since there’s no engine taking up the space. Truth be told, that space is still packed with cooling lines and electronics that keep the car running, and engineers have to be genuinely clever about packaging everything so a usable frunk can exist at all.

At 116 litres, the Model Y L’s frunk is among the larger ones you’ll find on any EV, a nod to Tesla’s packaging chops and its status as one of the OGs in this space.

Infotainment

Lots has already been said about Tesla’s class-leading infotainment system, so let’s just focus on two things unique to the Model Y L.

First, there’s the Immersive Sound X setting, made possible by an 18-speaker-plus-subwoofer setup. Immersive Sound X doesn’t try to change the tonality of the music, but it expands the soundstage drastically, making the speakers feel far larger and roomier than they actually are. One Achilles’ heel of the feature: while the subwoofer on the Y L is genuinely enjoyable, the Immersive Sound X setting emphasises the mid-bass a bit too much, making music fatiguing on longer drives. Use it in moderation, though, and the Model Y L has one of the nicer non-branded sound systems in this segment.

Another feature unique to the Model Y L is Ride & Handling Priority setting, which allows you to control the car’s adaptive suspension to prioritise handling or comfort.

Grok Grok

In June, Grok was rolled out to Teslas in Singapore, and I took the chance to properly mess around with it during this media loan. The personality on display says a lot about Elon, or at least whichever engineer at his company got to write the system prompt: unpolished, a bit edgy, zero interest in sounding corporate.

You get to pick from an array of personalities that define how Grok responds to you. Switch it over to “Sexy” and you get an early, slightly unsettling look at where AI dating might be headed (yes, the M18 content is really in there, so never use this in front of your impressionable kids). Set it to “Unhinged” if you enjoy being insulted in highly creative ways, or “Conspiracy” if you want confirmation that every public figure in politics is secretly a reptile person (yes, it even claimed Elon Musk belongs to a reptilian race).

There’s a milder, family-friendly side to it too. Story Time mode kept my kids entertained on a long drive with interactive choose-your-own-adventure tales, which took the job of keeping them occupied entirely off my hands.

Right now Grok is mostly a glorified navigation assistant. An update giving it control over other parts of the car, climate, doors, locks, and so on, is said to be coming, though it’s not here yet.

Ride and Drive

This thing drives like a Tesla that hasn’t gotten the memo that it’s now hauling six people around.

Suspension is tight, body roll is well controlled, and you sit lower than most SUVs this size. The Ride & Handling Priority setting mentioned earlier seemingly softens the rear suspension a fair amount for rear passenger comfort when set to prioritise comfort, and stiffens things up perceptibly when set to “Balanced” for better responsiveness and handling.

So you get a choice. Between your passengers’ happiness and your own.

Dual motors put out 507bhp and 590Nm, good for 0-100km/h in 5.0 seconds, a faintly ridiculous number for a car with extra seats for the grandparents.

The 88kWh battery claims 681km WLTP, though real-world numbers will be much, much lower, because who could resist being heavy-footed in a car this powerful and this good through corners?

Verdict

The Model Y L Premium AWD 88 kWh offers the best of what Tesla offers in Singapore, with premium interiors, exclusive software features, upgraded aero trims and one extra seat for not much more money ($27,000 more, at $264,999 as at August 2026).

The only hurdle is that the Y L only comes in dual-motor setup right now, and such a powertrain will slap you with a road tax of about $5,400 per year (which is $3,200 per year more than Premium Long Range RWD 84 kWh variant).

$264,999 is a great price for such a car. I would buy it in a heartbeat.

But if you frame this as a $296,999 ($264,999 + 10 years x $3,200) car, it is indeed pushing the wallet a little. Perhaps, buy it without informing your wife on the road tax.

The Tesla Model Y L used for this review was provided by Tesla Singapore. All opinions expressed are the author’s own and have not been influenced by the brand.