Talking Cars (MP3) Aug 20, 2025

2026 Tesla Model Y

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Hi, and welcome back.

I'm Mike Quincy.

I'm Emily Thomas.

I'm Michael Croson.

So we have a very important car, some would say a special car.

This is the Tesla Model Y podcast.

We're very excited to talk about this.

A lot of people, certainly in our audience, are real interested in Teslas and everything

we have to say on them.

So this is an update.

So we're just going to just hop right into it, okay?

This is an updated version of the Model Y, the second time that we've tested this

car.

Changes for this year include acoustic glass for a quieter interior, more soft touch materials

in the cabin, a touchscreen for the rear passengers, which my 20-something-year-old sons had lots

of fun with, and updates to the controls.

There's also a new front-end styling with pretty sleek-looking headlights.

I mean, it really does kind of grab your attention if you like that kind of thing.

This is a really super important car for Tesla.

It is the company's best-selling model, and it is among the top sellers of any

EVs going.

So there is a lot riding on this.

The Model Y starts at $34,000, and we checked the box for the all-wheel-drive long-range

model, which added $14,990, which used to be able to buy you a good-used car.

We also got the tow package, special paint, and adding up these options, and the $1,390

destination fee.

The total came to $52,380.

And as you guys know when you talk about EVs, most people want to know that magical

number.

The EPA rates the driving range at the long-range all-wheel-drive version at 327 miles, which

is pretty good in my cross, and you know something about small block of the 8, so 327 is a nice

round number here.

It is.

Yeah, I enjoy that number, and I will say that we are going to test that on our

electric vehicle highway range test, so we'll actually see does it live up to that 327

miles?

Does it do better?

Does it do worse?

That will happen this year.

Right.

A good day to get out of the office and stop staring at a computer and just drive and spend

the day driving.

Sure, he loves it.

And actually, I like it too.

They let me do this.

So let's kind of take our awesome audience into this car, and Mike, I'm going to start

with you, and we're going to talk about your impressions, how you think it drives,

and a whole laundry list of other things.

So I'm actually going to start with getting the car, because I was tasked with purchasing

this Model Y, and you do this online or through the app.

And it's actually sort of an easy process, at least on the surface.

But some of the issues we had, some were 100% my fault, and I take full responsibility

for those.

Shocking.

Our fault.

The way the Consumer Reports does some things and the way we're set up some of them

were our fault, and then some of them were definitely Tesla's fault, and the

whole thing didn't go smooth.

Right, and just as a reminder, in case the audience doesn't know, we buy all

of our own test cars anonymously.

We contact the dealers and try to make the deals, and then only tell them that

we are from Consumer Reports at the last minute right before delivery.

Yeah, we wait as long as we can, and that's part of one of the issues that

happens with Tesla.

So I actually went through four cars before we got this car.

We ordered a first car the day, like the minute that it went live, and that

was a, it was like a first edition or launch edition.

I'm going to get that name wrong, but basically it came with a bunch of

options.

It was all sort of bundled.

We did it because we wanted to get in line, we wanted to get the car

quickly, and the day that they actually released a VIN number in the app, they

send you messages and like, hey, congratulations, you now have a VIN

number, send us all your registration information, send us your

insurance card, all that kind of stuff, Tesla actually released a

non-launch edition car that was about $10,000 less because it came

with a few less options, and most notably did not have FSD included

within that bundle.

So it was a lot less expensive, and we decided that that was actually

the car we wanted because it's more representative of the cars that

most people will buy, right?

Because the launch edition was such a narrow window that it was

available, so I had to change cars.

So this was our fault, and that was actually a pretty easy process

to do.

I actually reached out to the Tesla fleet center, I guess you'd

call it, you know, it's where a business would go to buy a car.

Right, and again, anonymous Michael Crosin.

Yes, and essentially what happens there is they were like, okay,

cool, we can change that, what do you want?

So I spec'd out a car, and they're like, perfect, we'll sign

it in in a couple of days, or we'll send you an RN number is

really what they call it, it's your insurance order number.

So that was car number two, and weeks go by, and they told us

this, that we'd sort of go to the end of the line because we

were starting over again, fine.

It was over a long weekend, it might have been over the New

York Auto Show, I was out for a few days, and I think I

combined it with an extra day or two off, and I didn't have

the app on my personal phone, I had it on one of the CR

phones, and I didn't have that with me, and they only

communicate through the messaging in the app, and because

they sent it, and I didn't send the insurance like immediately

or within a couple of days, they canceled that order, we lost

the spot, so we lost that car, so that was car two gone.

So then I had to get to car three.

So I go through the whole process again, so we get car

three, car three, we got a VIN number, we put the

insurance on it, sent all that out, and car three was

damaged in transport, it was damaged by hail.

So we had to go into car number four.

Not our fault.

So car number four is the car that we ended up with, and some

of the CR stuff, it's a little difficult to register our

cars, because it is going to a business, and at some point

we have to do the flop from like being in my name or Mike

Sam Ramley's name into the business name, and what's

happened with Tesla, particularly in the past, is when you

go to get the car, whoever was buying the car, their name

is on the reg and the title along with consumer

reports, and that's not good for a number of reasons.

I don't want a car that I didn't pay for, now

there's tax implications and all kinds of stuff.

So I was working on this, once soon as the car basically

arrived, this is your car is here, let's schedule your

delivery, tell them who we are, we need to straighten this

out, and that's where the fleet kind of section comes

in because they should be able to facilitate

registering into a company.

This took two and a half weeks to sort out, very

upfront with it, the whole thing, and still on the

day of pickup, there we were still dealing with this.

My name was on all the documents and we had to go

through and fix all of that.

Tesla made a big deal about changing the buying and

delivery process.

You know, we're going to upend everything because

automotive retail is whatever and now we're just

going to do the Tesla thing.

It doesn't sound like they're making progress.

Well, I think you have to take as insane as your

story is, I think you have to take it with a grain

of salt because we have to change the reg and

all of that into the business side, right?

And because we operate as a business, we have

limitations.

We do a hundred percent that I don't know as wonky as

our experience and I say ours very loosely was I

don't know if that's still representative of like a

regular consumer experience.

And typically I would say you're right because we

even run into that at traditional dealers.

So a hundred percent we might not have a typical

buying experience, but someone else might, especially

if they're buying it for a business, you know,

they own a business, whatever they want to

Tesla, they can run into the same thing.

So I mean, we're going to be saying this quite

often during this podcast, you know, your

results may vary a hundred percent by Tesla and

you're in and out in 10 minutes.

And it could be great.

And the initial part of the app was wonderful.

It was very easy, just select some boxes, you

know, you submit everything and like you have a

car, you have to call anybody and you have to

go to a dealership.

That's all very nice.

It's just if you're have anything that deviates

from like the Tesla road map, you run into

like a real roadblock and then it becomes

difficult.

So just something to be aware of.

Wow, I don't want to like harp on it too

much, but it was a trying experience.

And and and we eventually did, you know, get

the car, get it registered.

We're going to circle back to you, but I

want to I want to stop and the registration

was still wrong, though.

Mary still had to go to the DMV to get the

registration fixed.

All right.

So they're not really revolutionary,

revolutionizing the car buying process,

but that's probably a different podcast in

and of itself.

We can get back down to the hardware of

the car and Emily, you spent some time

with the Model Y.

What were your impressions so far?

I actually really like how it drives.

I think like it's pretty quick.

The steering is nice and smooth.

It's not too heavy, which can be a

challenge for me.

I like it when it's a little bit lighter or

like at least medium weight.

I found the driving itself to be

enjoyable.

I wasn't comfortable all the time, though,

because the ride was still pretty stiff.

And I know it's an improvement.

I like, I get that it's an improvement

from the previous version of the Model

Y, but it still felt very abrupt for

me.

And I think over time, like I would not

be comfortable having that vehicle.

Like the seats itself were comfortable,

but it was just like anytime we went

over any sort of like bump or rut in

the road, you felt all of it like

come up through your lower back.

And I have lower back issues.

So I was like, this is just not

conducive for my well-being.

Plus we have a ton of like construction

going on around us.

So like we're feeling it a lot more

right now as you're just commuting

back and forth to work.

So the ride itself would be enough

for me to be like, I can't personally

do this vehicle unless everywhere I

drove is just like really beautifully

newly paved roads with zero issues.

Just not Connecticut.

Yeah, not Connecticut, right?

But like it handles everything else

really well.

Like it handles like the turns really

well and like all the curvy roads

that we have here, like for the

country roads and stuff.

So like driving it itself was

pretty nice.

You can see really great out of the

front.

The other piece that would be a deal

breaker for me is the rear visibility.

It's like you get this sliver.

It's like looking through a mailbox.

Oh, that's a really good analogy.

Very nice.

Yeah, you get like my preference

is that when I look in the rear

view mirror that the rear windshield

like fills the entirety of the

rear view mirror, right?

Like I'd like to see it take up

the whole space.

And this is like, like you said,

like a mailbox slot.

That's excellent.

And then it's like so much worse

at night.

Yep.

At night, I just felt like I had

no idea what was happening behind

me, which I really didn't enjoy.

So those itself are probably

just off the driving experience

alone are the two deal breakers

for me.

If that rear visibility improved

and that that ride really wasn't

so stuff where like it was painful

for my body, then I could

consider it from that perspective.

I mean, it's interesting you

mentioned the ride.

So this is our second Model Y.

The first one I think was a 2020

and when I started, that car

already had miles on it.

So it wasn't a new car.

And I think I described that

thing as like a bucket of bolts.

It just rattled and sweet.

No, it did.

It rashed over every bump.

It had lots of interior noises to it.

That quick creaks and like,

like they just put it together.

And so this one is definitely

improved, but the ride still is

not fantastic.

You're right. It is definitely harsh.

And if you're on new pavement,

like out on our track, it's great.

But if you're going through

construction zone or something like

that, or potholes and manhole

covers and things like that, it's

rough or just older roads.

Yeah.

Half the roads in my town have

like those little like asphalt

patches, right?

So like a hundred percent or

anything that's not a smooth

pavement.

And you feel everything.

So two track wagon trail.

It's a whole thing.

No, I'm kidding.

I'm kidding.

But so so we've come

into really the ride.

But like day to day livability.

It's I mean, I don't understand

why people buy these cars,

but there are some things.

Let's talk about some things.

Let's talk about the key card.

I should have grabbed it off the board.

You get a little credit card,

basically, that is your key to the car.

And you can hold it up to the B

pillar to lock and unlocks.

You have to present it and wait a

second and it'll let you in and

all that kind of stuff.

Then you have to put it on.

Maybe.

Maybe you have to put on the

the angled holder, which is also

a phone charger.

I just find the key card a little

cumbersome because it's in my

pocket or is in my wallet or what

did I do with it?

I might be holding things.

And then it's just an awkward

juggle of how to do that.

The door will actually

the door sort of like has like an

auto open to it as you like try

to pull the handle to it all

kind of happens at once.

And that's a little awkward

because the handle isn't great.

The handle doesn't present itself.

Yeah, it's like it's almost

like you almost you have to

like quite or quite need two

hands.

You sort of almost need to

like pivot the handle.

So the larger part comes out.

Yeah, you have to like push the

back, grab the front.

Which is it's hard.

I mean, I have I have small hands.

So that's a lot.

My my handspan doesn't always

let me do that well.

And then for the kids, they had

a really hard time with it.

And I was worried that they

I was really worried that Nima

was going to pinch his fingers.

So it's interesting you mentioned

that. So I did a bunch of

errands with my father and

he has pretty decent sized

hands, but he was worried that

he was going to pinch his

fingers because he didn't really

understand how it worked.

And just sort of being older and

having a little bit of arthritis

and not the same dexterity that

he once had.

It just became an awkward sort of

a situation.

Then just imagine combining that

with having to use the key card

to try to unlock the vehicle.

And if you have things and if

you have stuff, you're carrying

something right to your hand.

Now, I will say you can set

your phone up as a key.

And this is probably what

right. I would.

Others will do.

Most people are probably right.

They that's how they're

getting around having to use

the key card.

We just go for the full

experience and we do both.

Yes.

The other challenge I have with the

key card is like it never quite

did what the action I wanted

it to do.

So I would be trying to unlock

and it's like locking again.

All that makes it really

frustrating.

And I get that.

You know, I think I was just

chatting with somebody like,

well, it's the same darn

handles, though, as before.

And I'm like, yes, but

that doesn't make it a good

design. No.

No, it doesn't.

But hold your horses, bud.

I'm agreeing with you, by

the way.

My point was over time,

we've seen more and more of these

like electronic door handles.

And I think we've seen enough

variation in design to be able

to say like.

In the landscape of electronic

door handles, these aren't great.

It's not just like, OK, it's

not great for this car.

We've seen it implemented much

better where when you unlock

the vehicle, the handles

present, it's less

work on the user.

Right. And it's more obvious

that, hey, your car unlocked

because now the handles are open

to you. So the Cadillac OPTIQ

or OPTIQ is I like to call it

basically have the same door

handle. It's of the same design.

But when you unlock that car,

the handle comes out and presents

itself. So you have something to

grab and it's really easy to open

the door.

And I didn't come up with this.

This was Joe. So I'm going to

credit Joe with this. But when it

comes to door handles, best

case scenario is just that it

works. Right.

There's there's not a lot of

upside to getting fancy with a

door handle.

I think this is going to be a

theme, I think, I hope, as we're

talking about the model Y, it

could be simple, but they make

it complicated.

Now, you know, and just to run

my own defense here, you know,

we get tech and sometimes the

new tech is awesome.

But sometimes it's complicated

for complicated sake.

And that's what aggravates me

about the novel.

I don't know if they're trying

to make it complicated.

They're trying to make it novel.

But they're not they're not

trying to make it simple.

Right.

I don't know. I'm not on

their team. I don't know what

they're trying to think right a

place where Tesla was a front

runner in a lot of this stuff

and they came up with things.

All the other auto manufacturers

are like, hey, they're selling

a lot of cars.

We should do some of the things

that they do.

I'm going to get to it.

So they see this happening.

They do the things.

Now we're how all these cars

that have this stuff that are

Tesla like and none of them

are all that great, but every

car has some of this stuff.

OK, but some of it is done

better. But we're certainly

the way up in the room is

is the controls, the touch

screen, the day to day

usability, just, you know,

using the center screen

to select drive or reverse

and stuff like that.

So I want you guys to kind of

like reflect on on that kind

of, you know, get day to day

livability.

Yeah. So to set it up

for people, maybe haven't been

in one or they haven't seen

what the interior looks like.

You don't have a driver screen,

right? There's no driver

cluster. Everything

is in this center screen,

which is like a giant iPad.

You do have a turn stock,

which is a huge plus.

It is. Right. Turn signal stock.

You have a round steering wheel,

also a plus, also an improvement.

Cough, Lincoln, right?

I mean, yes.

Steering wheel should be round.

This one is. I was very happy about this.

I take the small joys.

I don't like the steering wheel

in this car, though.

That's why it's round,

but I don't like it.

But it's round at least.

Yes.

And then to your point,

you do have to like change gears

right by using the touch screen.

So you have to get used to that,

which once you kind of figure out

that that's where it is,

it makes sort of sense

because you're like at least moving

the car in the direction that

you want to shift

or you want the vehicle to move

like the little car icon on the screen.

So that part is fine.

I don't like not having

a screen in front of me.

I like to have my driver controls

right where I can see them

speed and the directions

and everything.

We're like, I like to have that there.

And so I found that I kept having

to look over to the side.

Right.

And one, it was just like,

right, I got like a crick in my neck

by the end of the drive.

But also it just

it forces you to keep your eyes

off of the road.

And if if Maddie was here,

Maddie is our human factors expert,

right? She would say that

that's not a good design

that anything that's forcing you

to keep your eyes off of the road

is not a safe design.

I'm pretty sure that's what she would say.

I'm putting words to her mouth.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

I think they're safe there.

Yeah.

But when when design

decisions are potentially

affecting the car's safety,

I mean, that's we do it

consumer reports.

We're going to point that out.

Right. And here's the other piece of it.

Right. So people who are buying this car,

I'm going to assume you're buying it

for a couple of primary reasons.

One, the charging, right?

Yep.

Charging is great.

The network is great.

You like this novel

concept and design of a vehicle.

And you're trying to get

that full self driving package.

I feel like the devil's advocate

person would be like, well,

you don't really need to be

staring at the center screen

because the car is going to drive for you.

You can just relax and look forward.

Now, as a safety engineer,

I don't have that much faith

in the system to do that.

So even when I was trying out

full self driving, I still had my hands

on the wheel and my foot hovering over

the pedal ready to take over at any moment.

Which is what every car company's

lawyers are going to say,

you still need to be engaged in driving.

It says supervised in parentheses.

So but maybe we'll let you talk

sure through the stages first

before we get all the way there.

Sure. So Tesla has three different

let's call them levels of crews.

Control. Right. So the first is

traffic aware cruise control,

which is basically what we know as

ACC or adaptive cruise control.

It uses speed and distance

to follow the car in front of you.

So it will speed up, slow down,

depending on your settings and depending

on what the car in front of you does.

Then there's auto steer beta,

which is that plus it keeps you in the lane.

Lane center. So in theory,

you can kind of take your hands

off the wheel momentarily.

You know, if you want to like open

a water bottle, but you really kind

of need to keep your hands on the wheel.

The car just sort of keeps you in the lane.

And then there is full self-driving

FSD supervised.

And the idea behind this is you can

enter in a destination in the nav

from a parking spot

and it will take you from point A

to point B, your final destination,

whatever errand you're running to work

or the store or whatever.

And it will take you the whole way

there. And other than clicking

go on the steering wheel,

you may have to pay attention.

You're supposed to pay attention,

but it will do everything for you.

It'll signal, it'll stop,

it'll accelerate, it'll get you there.

And so you experience this.

Yes. So just the other day,

we had to go to dealerships.

So I was like, let me take the Model Y.

I want to drive it one more time

with FSD just before the podcast.

And it took us from here at the

track all the way to the dealer

that we were going to.

It dealt with a construction zone

where we actually had to cross over

the double yellow like through a

lane of cones.

And there was a piece of equipment

in the road. And then there was

people in a car turn.

And then you'll see in the video

that a car comes in front of us.

It dealt with it perfectly.

I was freaking out the entire time

and did not trust it,

but it was flawless through this

construction zone.

And then it also dealt with two

really tricky intersections later on.

One had a road that the road is

kind of wide together and it's up a

hill and you really can't see

the car crept forward.

So actually it could get a better

view, much like you would as a

driver. I thought the car was

going and the video guys

will have to clip a piece of audio

from the car. I might have said

something as we were about to,

I thought we were going to crash

into an Nissan Rogue, but the car

just crept forward so it could get

a better view. The road passed

and off we went.

And there was another intersection

that has like six roads at all

interchange and merging.

And it was set up on the

hurry setting, which the car is a

little more aggressive.

Actually, I think in this case it

was a good thing. I don't know

how you would have got through the

intersection in chill mode

because you have to be aggressive

in this intersection. And I thought

we were maybe going to t-bone a

car, but it went in right behind

it and made the turn successfully.

And it was actually really

impressive.

So I mean, the technology is

there. It works.

I'm not not going to pay

attention. I'm not going to not

keep my hands near the wheel.

We would still highly encourage

you to keep

your hands at the wheel.

Pay attention. There was nothing

relaxing.

It's not relaxing.

No, I was really impressed

though, because I was skeptical

of how it would navigate

various situations, how well it

would follow the directions.

Right. So which is why I kept

watching the screen to be like,

is it going to make the turn that

it's supposed to make? Because

like we're getting really close

and maybe we're not on the lane

that I think we're supposed to be

in yet.

I will agree with that. It does

things differently than I would.

It breaks a little later.

I would have like lifted off the

accelerator and allowed a little

more distance in certain

situations. I would have switched

over a hundred percent sooner.

But I was impressed with how well

it could follow the directions

and like get me from point to

point. What I really didn't

like about the system,

despite how well it navigated

certain things, it would just

disengage.

Yeah. And that was my experience

as well. I

thank God I was

paying attention to take over

because it would just suddenly

be like disengaged.

I'm like, oh, all right.

Well, I guess I'm back in.

Right. Like it's like put me in

coach, but like there's like no

warning. Right.

And so it would just turn off

and like sometimes it would do

it like in the middle of a

curve. Yeah. I was

coming off and off ramp and

about to merge and it's like

disengaged. I'm like, all

righty then. I guess we're

just I'm now merging for

the car. When you're thinking

that it's going to do these things

for you because that's how it's

advertised. Right.

And some merges it could handle

others it didn't.

And so it would just turn off.

But it's not giving you enough

warning. If you are a person

who's really being like, well,

I can chill during

this drive.

Yes. And just be

hands and feet off that

might put you in an unsafe

position. We're not there yet.

I don't think no.

And I think from from using the

system, what I've observed

is, you know, you have the

image on the screen that

shows lines and the cars in

front of you and if there's a

person on the side of the road

or cones or whatever.

And it looks pretty far ahead.

At least that's what it shows

you. But I think what it's

reacting to is actually pretty

close to the car.

It's looking just ahead of the

car because you can be

mid corner and the

corner tightens a little bit.

The car sort of hasn't

anticipated that. So it

jabs the brakes.

It adjusts the steering.

You do a little bit of kind

of hunting through the lane.

That's not super smooth.

And I don't really enjoy that.

But like when I drive, I'm

looking all the way through

the corner and I can see that

there's a decreasing radius

turn. I can manage the speed

and the steering and all those

kinds of things.

But they teach you in my

other complaint with that

is that it seems to hit

everything on the road.

Every pothole, storm drain,

manhole cover that I could

avoid is very easily

with a little pressure on the

wheel and just kind of get

around them. Then add in the

fact that it doesn't ride

all that well. You're

crashing over all these

things, trying to use a

touchscreen and then you hit

a bump and you select the

wrong thing. And that

gets really frustrating.

Yeah. So this, you know,

kind of the in

theory, it's just be more

relaxing and stuff like that.

And in Emily, you're

you're you're really smart

to kind of be pre

you know, you're proactively

preemptively fighting back

on criticisms like, well,

you know, you won't have to

deal with the type with the

center screen if it's taking

care of them. However, and

I'm probably I can't speak

for everyone. But I know

that I'm making lots of

micro adjustments when I'm

driving, such as the

climate system. It's too

hot. It's too cold.

I want to change the air

flow. Now with Tesla and

with some other unfortunate

automakers, you have to go

into the center screen to

adjust the vents. Now back to

your point of distracting,

you know, distracting

controls, taking your eyes

off the road. See, see this

this kind of just my climate

setting is like to open the

climate. It's at the bottom

of the screen. Right. So

you're not just looking over

you're looking down. You're

really eyes off the road.

You can you can have when

I was driving at the speed

up, I had like the nav

system or my music on the

right side is because this

screen can be split. So you

have something on one side

when the so to make these

adjustments, you have to hit

the little icon on the lower

left corner of the screen

to bring up the car. And then

you get a massive menu of

things to deal with to

fiddle with and whatnot. And

this is something that

Tesla, you know, really kind

of if I can use the term

pioneered, like many years

ago. And listen, the car

the car company had this

incredible buzz, right?

Like, oh my gosh, look at

this dazzling tech and look

at this neat things you can

do it. Isn't that amazing?

And and but what has

happened in the years

because the Tesla buzz has

that's a bit cooled a

little bit in the last few

years. The problem is that

when you're when you're

designing and bring a new

car into production, it

takes years. So they so

other car companies thought

we should be like Tesla.

We should mimic them

because they're cool.

So so so the way that I

look at Tesla and the

automotive industry overall,

and I've got a number of

car executives to admit this

to me because when they come

to visit the track and we talk

to them stuff like that, I

said, so to me, it seems

like the car business is not

that different than high

school. In high school,

there's like one or two

kids that everyone thinks

they're cool or they're

beautiful, whatever they're

wearing certain clothes

and they're they're

listening to certain bands,

they go to the parties

and everyone wants to be

like them. So they buy

the same brand of jeans

and sneakers and whatnot.

And I said, it seems like

the auto industry is doing

the same thing.

They're just they're all in

high school and they want to

be like Tesla.

And so we're seeing all these

designs that are very Tesla

like from a number

of different car companies

and especially with their

EVs. Absolutely.

And this to me is really

unfortunate.

I mean, I don't disagree

with you. I think some of

it, though, is based in

there's reasons for this,

right? Elon has been

quoted as saying the best

part is no part.

And what this essentially

means part for him, but not

for not for the car.

We talked about trying to

do not be so I think we

talked about it for a second.

The simplest version of

something tends to be the

best. If you don't have a

part in the car, that part

can't fail and break.

You don't have to go in and

have it serviced and all

that kind of stuff.

So I think a good example

of this is the center

console lid.

There's no latch on these

Teslas. It just kind of

has some friction there.

But latches break.

People lean on them and

they don't line up

right. And they break.

And I can't say how many

latches I've replaced on a

center console lid.

You'll never have to do that

on Tesla because it doesn't

have it. So it makes the car

easier to build,

theoretically less expensive

because there's less little

parts you need.

And there's nothing to go

wrong. So that's a good

point to it.

But then there's all the

other stuff that they

don't include.

And that's sort of when

the bad design comes in.

And sometimes you do need

a part.

Sometimes switches are

better, but switches are

expensive. There's lots of

little parts and you have

to build them and people

spill sodas into them

and then they have to be

repaired and all that

kind of stuff. So I see

why they do what they do.

It makes the cars easier to

build. And that's really the

car makers sort of goal.

They want to build these things

fast. They want to build them

cheap and they just want to

roll them out and collect

their money.

Right. But you need to go

into the center screen

to open the glove box.

I don't see that as as

advancing automotive

technology.

I think they do that because

they can. They're still a

latch there. Right.

So so so back to my back

to my high school point.

It's like car companies are

focusing on party tricks.

They want to do something

that's good. Oh wow.

Look at that.

Well, yeah. We see that for all

kinds of things.

It's not the same thing as

design. We see that with like

headlight design. We see that

with all kinds of stuff.

And it doesn't make them

safer because there's

there's more distractions

going on.

I can't disagree with that.

OK. And that's where we get

into the people are like,

well, you get used to some of

these things. Right. If you

drive this car every day,

you know where to go to

open the glove box.

That's a fair point.

But I get that.

I don't think some of basic

controls you should actually

have to think about or have

to get used to.

Right. You should just be

able to do the thing you

do. Right.

And so, you know, like people

get used to being in jail.

Doesn't mean I want to go to

jail.

But to your point, though, I

think as an industry,

right.

From the consumer feedback,

there is plenty of consumers

that are like, hey, listen,

like I do want simplicity

when it comes to basic driving

tasks. And so you have

like CR is looking at how

can we evaluate distracting

controls in vehicles

and like focus on safety

critical components or safety

critical tasks.

Euro NCAP has made it

as part of their roadmap

and evaluations that you will

have to look.

You will have it will require

physical buttons for

safety critical driving tasks.

So I think as much as we've

gone full swing pendulum,

you know, to having

everything in the touchscreen,

I think a lot of them are

going to have to scale that

back because there's a

recognition that, hey,

safety is important.

You have to have safety included

in your design.

And there are things that people

need to be able to do quickly

and excessively

while they're driving.

There's no way around it.

Some of the other safety things

I did want to bring up.

So for example, the blind spot

warning. Yes. Right.

The blind spot warning indicator

is this tiny little red

dot in the A pillar

kind of like behind the speaker.

Now, does it work?

Yes, we're glad we're glad

to have it.

Is it technically a blind spot

warning indicator?

It is.

My gripe is for a manufacturer

that prides itself and touts

technology, advanced technology

so much like surely

you all could have implemented

a better one. Right.

That is more obvious.

That's easier to see that.

You can only see if you're

looking at it. Right.

Yes. Right.

So I think they could have

done better there.

I will say when I.

So I had to put the kids

car seats in the back seat

with their lower anchors.

Right. They're still like kind

of hard to access

because they're really tight

and close to the cushions.

I really like that

a lot of the Teslas

have integrated head restraints

in the back, which makes it

really hard for like

car seat installations

because you can't make any

adjustment to allow for better

compatibility, but this one

didn't. It has adjustable head

restraints. So I know

it's a small thing,

but I got very excited

about that because it made it

a lot easier for me to support.

It's just not a small thing.

To use for the car seat design

or car seat installs

and it has a rear belt minder.

So not only can

you see when

your rear passengers are buckled

up, you'll get an alert when

they're unbuckled.

If you have a child seat

in that same position test

has always done a really good

job of like, you can kind of

tap that same position to

indicate that, hey, there's

a car seat installed here

so that you don't have to get

the reminder for like, you

know, a harness car seat.

So that is good.

They still don't have a rear

occupant alert.

They have the

the system for, you know, if

you have a pet in the vehicle,

you can like do the cabin

overheat and or protection

and that's exactly what

it's called. But the system

where it will allow for you

to cool the cabin.

Yeah, there's for both a pet

and it even says in the display

like it's 72 degrees in here

and I'll be back.

But there's also then the

feature that you can set a

threshold that if it gets to a

certain temperature, even if

there's nobody in the car, it

will turn the fan on.

It might just be a vent or it

could be air conditioning or

heat to kind of maintain the

temperature. You can set your

like upper and I think lower

limit to. Yeah.

So so I mean, it's not all new

tech is bad. Some of it is

awesome. Some of it's really

good. They have that rear

screen in the back that the

kids really liked. But I

didn't like because they kept

trying to lean to reach

it because it's low, right?

It is very low. It's low and

it's in the middle.

And so the safety mom is

like, don't do that.

Just sit upright because they're

out of out of position.

So there are things that are

done well. There are things that

could be improved.

I'm always going to look at it

from a safety lens and be like,

hey, how could they have made

safety better? How could they

have had more intention

for safe design?

And that's where I think

they have opportunity to grow.

Right. Right. Sure.

Yeah. Now, as we when a

car company sticks with a

particular model and they

redesign it, they refresh it,

we're always hoping to see

advances. And certainly have

seen a few here, you know, for

me, this model Y is like a lot

of electric cars. Super fast.

I mean, yeah, it wowed

my sons with incredible

acceleration just merging on

the highway. I'll agree the

rise is pretty stiff.

That handling feels really sharp

to me. The steering is a little

quick. You very move the

wheel just a little bit and

it darts over. It has kind

of a really kind of a dead

on center feel. And it

doesn't re center itself very

well coming out of a turn.

So I think that was kind of

unfortunate. So for you know,

from a driving perspective, I

didn't find it all that

satisfying. And but you know,

to me, it's it's it's just

goes the controls and and

that and the tech that is

there just to wow you.

That's what takes that's

what detracts the driving

experience for me. I just

got out of the Hyundai Ionic

nine, one of our new EV

test cars. And I can I

get in that car in about 30

seconds, set the mirrors, set

the seat, pair my phone.

I've got Android Auto, which

Tesla does not have. So

that's another kind of a deal

breaker for me with this

thing. And and I, you know,

in talking to a number of

our colleagues about this

podcast, about the model, why

we had to make sure that we,

you know, as always, give

kind of a balanced approach.

And and Alex said one thing

that was I thought really,

really important. And I don't

want to say it before I

forget is like, if you're

driving a Tesla right now,

you're going to love the model

why you're just going to love

it. OK, because it does all

those Tesla things that you

like. And in some ways it got

better than the last one.

However, and this is more my

perspective, if you're new

to EVs, there might be a

different car or a different

car company to start.

In other words, you want to

say I'm thinking about getting

an EV or like entry right

into Tesla and how it

is so untraditional for better

or for worse than other car

companies that that might be

a bit of a shocker.

So I would I would think

though that that for for me

at the end of a working day

here and I'm going to go home

and I got to get a car to drive

home. I want simplicity.

I want ease of use.

If you hold up Tesla keys or a

Hyundai EV keys to me, I'm

taking the Hyundai like every

time.

But that's that's just me.

I know I'm in the minority,

but so be it.

Anyway, this is just our

initial impressions of the Model

Way. Check out our first drive

and Consumer Reports dot org

and circle back to to our

awesome website for our final

test results, which brings us

to one of our favorite parts

of every podcast.

And that's taking your questions.

We love your questions, text

videos. Just go to CR dot org

slash Talking Cars.

That's CR dot org slash

Talking Cars.

And if we use your question on

the podcast, I'm sure Super

Producer Dave Abrams will make

sure you get some auto test

swag, a t-shirt, maybe something

cool like that. I don't know.

Anyway, we had a couple of

questions.

The first is Vincent from

Connecticut, Connecticut.

Local guy. Wow.

All right. So Vincent writes,

when you mentioned in your

reports that you paid a certain

price for a vehicle, are you

just quoting what the MSRP

cost is? Or are you quoting

what CR actually paid

for the vehicle?

And I was thinking about this

question, Michael, as you were

talking about your buying

experience and paying for it,

all that stuff, I was like,

foreshadowing.

But I thought I would answer

this question. I bought about

170 cars for the CR test

program, and I

will say that the price that

we pay varies widely.

We are using

Consumer Reports dollars.

So our members are paying

fee to see our stuff.

We get money donated to Consumer

Reports all the time.

It keeps the lights on.

It keeps us, allows us to buy

all of our cars.

And so we're always trying to

get a good value.

So as I'm, you know, anonymous

Mike, just buying a car,

I'm trying to negotiate a deal.

I'm trying to get money off

of the MSRP.

Now, the problem that we face

is we're often buying cars

that are brand new.

They're hot.

They're in huge demand.

And we want to be among

the first to get them.

So we can then test them and

report back to our audience.

That means there's less

negotiating room.

If you're buying, let's say a

you're just going out to buy

a new car and there we're

in calendar year 2025,

there might be a leftover 2024

model that you're going to

get us just a smoke and deal

on.

We don't have that luxury,

unfortunately.

And to reflect during COVID

when supplies were really,

really tight,

we unfortunately had to pay

over MSRP for a number of our

test products.

And that hurt me greatly as one

of the car buyers around here.

Trust me. So basically

when we publish the price

of the car, that is the MSRP

at that time.

It is maniacally

insane to try to always keep

on top of car pricing

because it's always changing.

So we're not going to send

people into our database

adjusting a car price up or

down 10 or 15 dollars because

the automaker announces a price

change. So it's just like we say

that moment in time.

This is the MSRP.

This is a sticker and that's

what we put down.

But you know, as you say, you

know, your price may vary, your

experience may vary.

It's a great question.

And yes, what we pay,

what we pay, it's all over

the place, which brings us

to our next question.

And this is Jake from Georgia,

not Jake from State Farm.

I've been a consumer report

subscriber since 2015

when my 2003 Ford Explorer

gave out and I picked up a used

2012 Mazda 3

as my first post-college

car. It's been incredibly

reliable with under 100,000

miles and still going great,

but it's too small for my

needs and not comfortable for

my monthly road trips to

Charlotte or Nashville.

I wanted to part ways since

2019, but then COVID

hit and the car market went

crazy.

I'm looking for something new

used or possibly a lease with

a max budget of $50,000.

I'd like a gas or hybrid that

is comfortable and spacious,

preferably with adaptive crews

and driver assistance features,

but I don't want to rave for

like my fiance drives.

I work from home and average

about 50 miles per week.

Would love to hear your thoughts

on what models might suit me best.

Love these kinds of questions

because then we get to all go

and it's like, well, if I

were buying it to this.

So let's so let's spend Jake's

money, Emily, and let's start

with you.

I'm going to save Jake some money.

So my recommendation is to

get the Hyundai Tucson hybrid.

Even a new Hyundai

Tucson hybrid

starts.

I'm looking at the hybrid SEL

trim line that starts

at thirty seven thousand nine

hundred and sixty.

Now he could go up and get

like the sportier like N

trim line of the hybrid.

If he wants that, everyone

I know that's ever owned a monster

is like, I like the sportiness.

And so like if that's still

something he wants, he could do

that. But the reason I chose

this is because one, it's in

your budget to it

comes with standard

safety and convenience features

like the ones that you mentioned.

So not only are you going to get

a B with pedestrian detection,

highway speed, a B blind spot

warning, rear cross traffic

warning, but you are also going

to get standard adaptive cruise

control plus their lane centering

assist.

We own this car, like this is

the car that my husband recently

bought.

Maybe like a year ago.

Yeah, he traded in his A3.

It was a sad day for him.

But it's great.

It has like decent enough space.

The driving is smooth.

You know, the seats are comfortable.

You can turn on that

lane centering, even

if you're not using the adaptive

cruise, but it does have adaptive

cruise. And I'm with you, Jake,

like adaptive cruise for me is a

deal worker. If it's not there at

this point, I need to have it.

Me too. And so I think

if you're going to be doing these

long drives, it would be a great

option. And also go for the

SEL because you'll get the heated

seats. Nice.

And again, if you're going

to be doing long commutes, you

should do that. Treat yourself.

I'm totally with you.

I think that is a great pick.

I've taken the last of Tucson

Hybrid on road trips, a great

cruising range, simple controls.

Come back to that simple control

thing. Yes.

Excellent, excellent pick.

Thank you. Mr. Croson, onto you.

So I'm going to go on some thin ice

here. I hope you have winter tires.

Jake said he does not want to

rap forward like his fiance has,

but he specifies as to why.

There's an issue there.

There's a story that I think one

possible choice might be the Mazda

sticking with Mazda because, again,

the sportiness of people that buy

Mazdas like Mazdas.

The Mazda CX 50 Hybrid, which

is essentially a RAV4.

Don't tell him.

In a Mazda 2.

Right. It's like the.

What did you tell me?

It's a wrap.

It's like the RAV4 hybrid engine.

It's the drivetrain from Toyota.

So it's better than a lot of the

other Mazda drivetrain stuff,

especially the hybrid stuff.

But it's a little fancier.

It's definitely stylish.

It's a better style as well.

It is.

The problem with this car is

it does ride stiff,

especially if you get the bigger

wheels, which you kind of want

because it looks better that way.

And the seat is stiff.

I don't find the seat comfortable at all.

And that's a deal breaker if you're

going on road trips and stuff.

So Jake, we need to spend a little

time in this car to see if it works.

Do a decent test drive.

Yeah. But coming out of a Mazda,

it might, you know, be of the similar

flavor and feel that that it works.

Right. And you have to do the center

controller too.

That's an option.

I have another option here.

What really got me here was the

50 miles a week on average driving

that he does to work from home.

So Jake is a prime candidate

for a plug in hybrid.

I was wondering if you were going to go there.

Yeah. So there's a couple of choices there.

I would, I basically narrowed it down to

I would look at a certified pre-owned

Lexus RX plug-in hybrid.

Nice. Good. Good one.

It's a great road trip car.

You can plug it in.

He's going to be able to drive around

basically as an EV.

I used to live in Charlotte.

I know what the traffic there is like.

It's kind of like a racetrack on the highway.

You get a little power to kind of move along.

I also love the BMW X5.

I was just still looking for Mr. Croson.

There's the BMW X5 plug-in hybrid,

but you do not want to have to be

responsible for maintaining one of those.

So I would stay away from probably the German stuff.

I love our RX hybrid.

Like that was a comfortable car.

It drove really nice.

Good family. Yeah.

That was a good pick.

Yeah. I was thinking about that.

But I think I was looking like too new.

And so it was out of the price range.

And I was like, he wants to

splurge a little more.

You got to go certified pre-owned

to get under that 50 mark.

And then it might be like 51-52.

Nice. But it's close.

Yeah. That's a good one.

So what I love about this question

is the complexity of it.

Usually we just get I need a car, blah, blah, blah.

But so Jake went from a Ford Explorer,

a real trucky SUV right into a Mazda 3,

which is one of the nicer driving small cars

that's actually really engaging.

It's very sporty. I really like that car.

But then he mentioned this one word, lease.

I'm like, ha, leasing.

That's interesting.

Because the way I look at leasing cars

is there's a number of cars in our ratings

that we like to drive that do well in our testing.

But they're below average, say, in reliability.

But a lease means that the length of the lease.

You don't have a long-term ownership of it.

The length of the lease and the warranty

are about coincide.

So if anything happens, you just

bring it back to the dealer and whatever.

And so I was thinking about how his driving experience

with the Mazda 3.

And I went sedan.

I went lease a Genesis G70.

Oh, yes.

Oh, that's interesting.

An elegant interior, comfortable ride, good seats.

You guys have really good pick.

This is a good car, as I love that.

And just a really nice car to spend time in.

And I say lease because the G70 is

below average in consumer reports and reliability surveys.

So it's a little caveat.

But it's fun to drive.

Oh, yeah.

It has, again, you're getting the standard safety

equipment plus those convenience

features like the adaptive curves and length centering.

You're going to get that heated steering wheel.

I'm pretty sure.

And the heated seats.

About $46, $47,000 for an all-wheel drive four-cylinder

model.

But these are not super, super popular.

So I'm thinking you're going to be able to swing

a great deal at the Genesis dealers.

Because everyone's buying SUVs and everyone's

buying sedans, which hurts my heart.

Besides why.

Because he is looking for spaciousness.

And I mean, G70s, that's a great pick.

I love that car.

But is it going to give him more room than what he has

right now?

It's going to give him more room than a Mazda 3.

Yeah, for sure.

OK, all right.

Not as spacious as your guy's picks.

But if it's just, it sounds like he's not married.

I don't know if he has any kids.

Yeah, whatever.

Anyway, Jake, get back to us.

Let us know what you decide.

We're actually real curious if any of our picks

make sense to you at all.

That will about do it for this episode, which

was orchestrated and conducted masterfully

by super producer Dave Abrams and edited by Andrew.

I still play hockey, Belize.

And of course, Anatoly, the great Shomsky.

As always, check the show notes for more information

on the vehicles and topics that we discussed.

Just a reminder, keep your questions coming.

Send everything to cr.org slash talkingcars.

Thanks so much for tuning in.

We'll see you next time.

About this episode

The latest update on the 2026 Tesla Model Y dives into its new features, including acoustic glass for a quieter ride, enhanced interior materials, and a rear passenger touchscreen. The hosts share their experiences with the car's purchase process, which proved challenging due to Tesla's unique sales model. Driving impressions highlight the Model Y's quick acceleration and handling, though concerns arise about ride stiffness and rear visibility. The discussion also touches on Tesla's tech-heavy interface and the implications for safety and usability, making for a comprehensive look at this popular EV.

BMW X5 Cadillac Optiq Ford Explorer Genesis G70 Hyundai Genesis Hyundai Ioniq 5 Hyundai Tucson Mazda 2 Mazda CX-50 Mazda RX-3 Nissan Rogue Tesla Model Y Toyota RAV4

Original notes

This week, we share our first impressions of the updated 2026 Tesla Model Y. A smoother ride, upgraded interior, and quieter cabin are just some of the improvements in this refreshed all-electric SUV—but it's not without quirks. We break down its performance on our test track, the challenges with Tesla's delivery process, and our concerns about the vehicle's controls and so-called "Full Self-Driving" system. We also answer your questions about roomy, comfortable gas or hybrid alternatives with modern safety features, and explain how Consumer Reports buys and tests vehicles—including whether we pay MSRP.

More info on the 2026 Tesla Model Y here: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla/model-y/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT

Join CR at https://CR.org/joinviaYT to access our comprehensive ratings for items you use every day. CR is a mission-driven, independent, nonprofit organization.

SHOW NOTES

-----------------------------------

00:00 - Introduction

00:36 - Overview: 2026 Tesla Model Y

02:49 - Buying Process

08:34 - Driving Dynamics

10:01 - Visibility

11:04 - Ride Comfort

12:07 - Access

15:29 - Controls

18:58 - FSD "Full Self-Driving"

25:02 - Infotainment System