Early Chinese Tesla Model Y L reviews show good dynamics, cramped 3rd row
Tesla released its larger, six-seat Model Y L in China one week ago, and now we’re starting to get an idea of what it’s capable of from the earliest reviews.
Here at Electrek, we usually prefer to conduct our own reviews for cars, rather than reporting on the reviews of others. However, the Model Y L is out in China, and we’re not in China right now, so… this is what we get.
And, heck, we may not even ever get a chance to look at it in the US, given that Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said that the Model Y L might never come to the US because of autonomy (huh?)… though frankly, that seems more of an effort for Tesla not to Osborne effect itself, causing consumers to delay purchases until the Y L comes out, when the company is already struggling with sales.
So, what are they saying about the new Model Y L in China? Well, there are a few points that seem to be coming together so far.
Namely, even though the main feature of the new model is a third row with two seats, those seats seem rather compromised when it comes to holding adults.
A number of Chinese media have visited Tesla showrooms to try out the seats in the new model, and while they can squeeze into the back, it’s a little bit tight for a grown adult.
One of the earliest showroom visits said that “the third row cannot be the new selling point of Model Y” (article in Chinese; quote was machine-translated).
The reviewer is 170cm, or 5’7″ tall, which is not all that tall, particularly from a Western perspective. While he had reasonable knee space in the back (where foot room is somewhat cramped due to the floor being about 10cm/4in higher in the third row), he was concerned about his head being quite close to the glass when sitting up, potentially causing a strike if riding on a bumpy road.
Also, while this test happened inside a showroom, having a window right over your head could be uncomfortable on a sunny day, even through Tesla’s UV- and infrared-resistant glass.
The apparent lack of rear seat headroom is notable given that the one real visual difference between the Y and Y L is that the rear looks much taller in the Y L – and yet, the headroom is still iffy for even a not-particularly-tall adult.
Other reviews concur that while knee room seems okay in the third row, the raised floor means little to no thigh support for adult passengers, and little headroom as well.
That said, reviews state that the seats are nicer than in the original Model Y, with more comfortable seat cushions, adjustable headrests, extendable thigh cushions, 2nd row adjustable armrests, seat heaters for all three rows and ventilators for the first two, and air vents in each row.
So, it seems like the general consensus is that the third row will mostly be used in emergencies, or for kids, or for short trips, but that the car is nice for a family – as long as those kids aren’t too big. Though to be fair, that is the case with many third rows.
Rear trunk space seems… fine, but there’s only so much room you can expect when you’ve crammed another row into the vehicle. And both the second and third row fold down, with the third row offering a relatively flat floor when folded down, though the second row has gaps and bumps and does not offer a flat floor when folded.
For comparison, the Model Y L is 180mm, or about 7 inches, longer than the regular Model Y – and a seat is a lot longer than 7 inches, so something has to give. The rear trunk area still has Tesla’s traditional under-floor storage space, which seems quite ample, and the “frunk” area is also similarly deep to the Model Y.
When compared to direct competitors available in China, the competition tends to be larger and have more third row space. For example, the Onvo L90 is $8,000 cheaper but larger and more comfortable in the third row. The Model Y L is in fact the smallest vehicle among its direct competitors, which I actually admire Tesla for doing (cars are just too big). But this does make the vehicle feel like a bit of a compromise.
It’s also missing some of the newer features that Chinese consumers have gotten used to, like a fridge, large rear-seat TV or seat massagers. Which makes the Model Y L seem a little dated for the Chinese market – but compared to what the rest of the world is used to, it seems quite nice. Such is the pace of innovation driving the EV market in China right now, while we in the rest of the world actively try to send ourselves back to the stone age.
And yet, despite it comparing less favorably on features to its Chinese competitors, and comparing more favorably to those cars outside of China, Musk still claims it won’t come to the US. He’s just so full of good ideas lately.
Beyond the issue of third-row space, the first driving dynamic test we saw seems quite positive. Youtube channel GeekLaii goes over the tests, where the car did quite well despite being fully loaded with adults, adding 500kg (1,102lbs) worth of human cargo.
The car did well in this impromptu “moose test,” a type of test that analyzes a vehicle’s ability to swerve around a sudden obstacle in the road at high speed. Despite being filled with people and having quite a lot of body sway, the car remained stable. This was likely helped by the Model Y L’s relatively low weight compared to the competition, which helps driving dynamics significantly.
And even after the sway, the car settled itself relatively well, likely due to the addition of CDC active dampers to the suspension system (this is adjustable through the touchscreen, with “balance” and “rear seat comfort” settings). The new suspension system also gave improved speed bump comfort.
Although, the car’s longer length, and lack of rear-wheel steering (which the Cybertruck has, for example), mean quite a large turning circle. And braking performance was good, but got worse when the car was loaded with people (as you’d expect).
All in all, it seems like the vehicle is a competent step forward with a lot of improvements, but that it might fall short when compared to the rest of the market in China, particularly in terms of third-row usability. But it still maintains the good driving dynamics that someone would expect from a Tesla.
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LiveWire, the electric motorcycle brand spun out of Harley-Davidson, has just given us a closer look than ever at its upcoming lower-cost, smaller-format electric motorcycles ahead of their larger unveiling at the Milan Motorcycle Show (EICMA) next week.
While we got our first glimpse of the new machines earlier this summer, spotting a street and trail version of the smaller electric motorbikes, now we have a name for the models and a few more details.
Officially called the S4 Honcho, the new model will be a 125-cc equivalent that will be available in both a street-legal version capable of being operated by riders who possess a moped/light motorcycle license in Europe or a motorcycle license in the US, and a license-free off-road version.
“The S4 Honcho Street will qualify for A1 licenses in Europe and the UK and M-endorsement in the U.S., offering lightweight, urban-friendly electric mobility with intuitive performance and removable batteries,” explained the company.
The bikes appear to be powered by a centrally-mounted, chain-driving electric motor and a pair of removable batteries accessed by flipping up the seat.
LiveWire has remained fairly tight-lipped regarding the major tech specs for the bikes, as well as the price, but we do get a look at the dual removable batteries thanks to a new image posted to the company’s website.
There, we can see what appears suspiciously similar to a pair of KYMCO Ionex batteries, which would make sense given LiveWire’s close partnership with the Taiwanese scooter giant.
A couple years ago at EICMA I had the chance to check out KYMCO’s new Ionex batteries and e-scooter platform firsthand, which you can see in the video below.
While excitement has been building for LiveWire’s smaller electric motorcycles, the full unveiling of the bikes’ performance figures as well as the price tag will prove critical for gauging whether or not the mini-bikes could be a major turning point for LiveWire’s elusive profitability.
But the company isn’t betting it all on one horse, or one Honcho. Also in attendance at the show will be LiveWire’s full-scale concept of an electric maxiscooter built on the same S2 architecture that powers the company’s currently best-selling models, the S2 Del Mar, S2 Mulholland, and S2 Alpinista.
That scooter, built in partnership with KYMCO, will leverage the company’s fully developed S2 platform to create a more comfortable, high-performance urban and suburban-oriented model.
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Tesla is talking about finally bringing the next-generation Roadster to production in new job listing.
However, you shouldn’t hold your breath.
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was unveiled in 2017 and was supposed to enter production in 2020, but it has been delayed each year since then.
It has become a running gag in the Tesla community and an example of CEO Elon Musk’s tendency to stretch the truth about timelines.
Since missing its original 2020 production timeline, Musk has given six updated production timelines for the new electric supercar, and each has been wrong.
The latest timeline hasn’t even been about producing the vehicle. It has been about the unveiling of a new version of the next-generation as the last prototype of what is supposed to be a “next-gen” car was unveiled almost a decade ago.
Musk has been talking about an unveiling and demonstration of the New Roadster by the end of the year.
This week, Tesla has posted a new job listing for a ‘Manufacturing Engineer, Roadster‘. In the job description, Tesla mentions working on battery manufacturing equipment for the Roadster:
Tesla is looking to hire a Manufacturing Engineer to contribute to the concept development and launch of battery manufacturing equipment for our cutting-edge Roadster vehicle. In this role you will take large scale manufacturing systems for new battery products and architectures from the early concept development stage through equipment launch, optimization and handover to local operations teams. Battery development is at the heart of our company, and this is an exciting opportunity to work directly on the central challenges for the all-new Roadster product architecture while still in its early development stages.
The comment does point to Tesla starting to set up manufacturing for the production of the new Roadster.
Since this does sound like early manufacturing development work, it would be optimistic to hope to see new Roadsters rolling off the production line by the end of next year. More likely to be in 2027.
In its updated annual installed production capacity chart, Tesla listed Roadster production as still being in the “design development” phase as of last week:
The location of Roadster production is also listed as “to be determined.”
The new job listing for a manufacturing engineer on the Roadster program mentions being based in Fremont, which could mean Tesla plans to launch production at its California factory.
Tesla next-gen Roadster
As unveiled in 2017, the new Roadster was supposed to get 620 miles (1,000 km) of range and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
It was listed for $200,000, and a “Founder Series” was also offered for $250,000.
At the time, Tesla used the Roadster as a prize for its referral program when it badly needed to generate sales. A few dozen Tesla owners referred enough new sales to win one or two free new Roadsters each.
Some have suspected that Tesla didn’t want to bring the vehicle to production because it would have to deliver over 30 of them for free and hundreds more at heavy discounts due to its original referral program.
Others believe that updates to the vehicles have led to delays.
Shortly after the unveiling of the next-gen Roadster in 2017, Musk discussed adding cold-air thrusters to the supercar to deliver unprecedented racing performance and possibly even allow it to hover over the ground.
The CEO referenced demonstrating that the “Roadster can fly” on several occasions in the last few years.
Electrek’s Take
It looks like we are talking about the Roadster possibly coming to market in 2027—maybe late 2026 at the earliest.
That’s roughly 10 years after it was unveiled.
I’ll believe it when I see it. And if it does happen, I might have one or two flying Roasters for sale.
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Just like it says on the tine: TV brand SHARP is following Sony into the automotive space with the new LDK+ concept that transforms into a mobile movie theater. It’s a type of concept we’ve seen before – but not like this!
The SHARP LDK+ promises to be a Living room, a Dining room, and a Kitchen on wheels – and more (the plus, obviously), building off the decidedly more blobular™ concept first shown back in 2024. This updated version, however, takes the LDK concept and brings it significantly closer to reality by basing it on Foxconn’s “Model A EV by Hon Hai Technology Group” chassis.
And, now that it’s a little bit closer to some kind of reality, it might be time to climb on the SHARP hype train and take a minute to genuinely enjoy the movie/gaming environment the company is promising to deliver with the LDK+ concept.
Get hyped, kids
Not to be overly crude here, but if you roll in a van with a sliding projector table, opaque windows, and fully reclining seats, you probably hit the “family planning” section of your local Walgreens on a regular basis. Similarly, as more and more young people find themselves struggling to afford their own space, offering a vehicle that delivers a little privacy. And even if that’s more Netflix than chill, I think it’s bound to find a few buyers.
Whether I’m right or wrong about that will remain to be seen for a while, however. The official press release is light on specs, offering the following description of the LDK+ concept …
The second iteration of “LDK+” retains the original concept while featuring both high maneuverability with its compact body and a spacious, relaxing interior. Developed based on the“Model A” EV by Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), this compact minivan model offers an expansive cabin layout.
When parked, the vehicle can be used as a theater room or a remote workspace. A console box equipped with a table and projector is placed between the driver’s and passenger’s seats. By swiveling the driver’s seat to face backward, it creates a living room-like atmosphere where you can sit around with the rear seats. Pulling down the screen installed above the rear seats allows you to enjoy movies or conduct online meetings on a large display. Through Sharp’s AIoT platform, which connects AI and home appliances, the vehicle links with household devices such as kitchen appliances, air conditioning, and laundry systems. The AI learns residents’ lifestyles and preferences, creating personalized new ways of living. In addition, the system can connect with V2H (Vehicle to Home) solutions, enabling efficient energy management by integrating solar power generation and residential storage batteries.
SHARP
… but skipping automotive basics like battery capacity, anticipated driving range, and the usual horsepower and torque figures. Pricing and, perhaps most importantly, when the vehicle might see the light of day weren’t revealed, either.
SHARP LDK+ concept
All of which is to say: they’re probably never going to actually build something like this – and that’s too bad, because a new-age Honda Element/Nissan Cube-style boxy little EV would absolutely sell like hotcakes.
SOURCE | IMAGES: SHARP, The Japan News.
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