2021 was the first year that Tesla officially had a presence in Singapore. The American electric car giant first introduced its Model 3 saloon, before following it up with its crossover model, the Model Y, a year later.

Three years after the launch of the OG Model 3 came the introduction of its first major cosmetic facelift, and a year later in 2025, an updated version of the Model Y has also been unveiled. But Tesla has never been one to play by the automotive rulebook.

Whilst the bulk of legacy manufacturers choose to only make drastic changes with each major refresh, Tesla believes in incremental updates by the model year instead. Still, a major mid-cycle cosmetic makeover was needed in order to keep the cars fresh for several more years.

And boy did Tesla give its Model Y a makeover.

Cyber-Tron?

The original Model Y was essentially a Model 3 on stilts that has been stretched vertically. But Tesla wanted some differentiation between its products. They also wanted to have a stronger visual link to its current global flagship, the Cybertruck.

The solution to this? Grafting a Cybertruck-esque lighting arrangement on the front of the Model Y. To do this, the end of the car’s swage line has been reprofiled, and now ends right before the headlights instead of flowing right into it.

This also necessitated a change in the leading edge of the bonnet, with it now terminating at the lightbar. The general vibe has also been applied to the rear end of the vehicle, with an integrated lightbar now projecting its light onto a frosted panel.

Whilst the facelift does freshen the car up, there are some areas that we aren’t quite sure of. The swage line could have been tided up a little better, and Tesla perhaps should have kept the number plate on the tailgate – there’s too much flat sheet metal in this general area now.

Lights and Signal Stalk Galore

As is the case with the Model 3 Highland, the updated Model Y now comes with an all-new dashboard that has ambient lighting built in. There’s one feature it has that the Model 3 doesn’t though – a physical indicator stalk.

Which is a really nice thing to have. The left/right signal buttons are fine in theory, but can be cumbersome to use in the real world. It also now has ventilated seats, and an eight-inch screen just for the rear occupants.

With a large panoramic glass roof, the Model Y feels airy and welcoming, with sufficient interior space to boot. Passengers will have no issues in finding a comfortable position, with all seats offering sufficient thigh support for even the longest of journeys.

Materials aren’t what you’d call “premium”, but they are far from being low rent. All surfaces feel nice to the touch, though we’d have personally gone for a thinner-rimmed steering wheel. The sub-menus on the screens are easy-to-navigate, and the included entertainment options are a nice-to-have especially when you need to recharge.

Not Compromised on the Move

We understood that there was some initial resistance from within Tesla when the concept of a power-capped variant was first brought up. However, competition here is stiff, and without a more affordable option, customers that were on the fence may have ended up purchasing something Chinese instead.

Still, despite its Category A COE eligibility, the Model Y 110 doesn’t feel sluggish at all. Acceleration still feels sufficiently strong, though you can definitely feel the effects of the power restriction as you near our highway speed limit.

We applaud Tesla’s decision to not allow its drivers to toggle off regenerative braking completely. In fact, Tesla’s one pedal system is perhaps the best on the market right now, and you’d be able to rely on purely regenerative braking to come to a complete standstill.

Range is as you’d expect, with the Model Y able to match its homologated 466 kilometres of range with relative ease. The reworked suspension is good too, allowing for additional comfort without introducing excess amounts of bodyroll.

What we aren’t huge fans of is its steering feel. The rack felt artificially heavy, without offering any information about the road surface or grip levels. We suggest you drive with the steering in comfort mode, as it gave us the best overall experience behind the wheel.

A Proven Recipe

There are many Chinese EVs on sale right now aimed squarely at the Model Y. And some of them may even offer better trim and equipment levels than the Tesla. However, when you buy a Tesla, you aren’t just buying a car. You are buying into a whole eco-system.

One that ensures you’ll always have access to affordable rapid charging in Singapore, or when you hop across the border on road trips. There’s no other vehicle out there with integration as seamless as Tesla’s, so whilst there is now a slew of Chinese EVs promising better range than the OG EV giant, none of them offer an ownership experience that is as painless as the Americans!

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