Bjørn Nyland Range Tests Made In China Tesla Model Y For Europe

In recent days, Bjørn Nyland was able to complete a comprehensive set of tests of the Made-in-China (MIC) Tesla Model Y Long Range All-Wheel Drive, which storms into Europe now.

The range was measured for two different wheel sets (18″ and 19″), which makes the tests even more interesting.

However, we will start with a quick look at the ScanMyTesla app data, extracted through OBD, which reveals a usable capacity of about 70.5 kWh (and a total of 73.8 kWh, including the buffer). That’s less than expected.

Capacity of the full pack (when new): 74.5 kWh (kind of initial/theoretical value)
Nominal full pack capacity: 73.8 kWh (total; net + buffer)
Energy buffer: 3.3 kWh or 4.5% (between the current nominal value and usable value)
Usable full pack capacity: 70.5 kWh (net)

The battery cells are supplied by LG Chem’s LG Energy Solution.

18″ wheels

After a few days of driving, Bjørn Nyland notes that the suspension of this car is too stiff, which affects ride comfort using the stock 19″ wheels. The change to 18″ with Winrun tires is considered much better, but how about the range?

The WLTP range of the MIC Tesla Model Y Long Range All-Wheel Drive (19″) is 505 km (314 miles).

With 18″ wheels, the efficiency is incredibly good according to Bjørn Nyland, as the Model Y beats all of the other crossover/SUVs, including Ford Mustang Mach-E, Audi Q4 e-tron, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Volkswagen ID.4, Skoda Enyaq iV and BMW iX3.

At 90 km/h (56 mph), the car covered 473 km (294 miles) using only 148 Wh/km (238 Wh/mile).

Bjørn Nyland’s range test runs until 0%, 0 km, —, or equivalent appear on the display as he does not expect that regular drivers would go beyond “zero”. The cars still have some reserve at that point.

The change to 120 km/h (75 mph) reduced the range by 28%, but it’s still solid 340 km (211 miles), thanks to the energy consumption of just 206 Wh/km (331 Wh/mile).

Results at 90 km/h (56 mph)

range of 473 km (294 miles)
energy consumption of 148 Wh/km (238 Wh/mile)
used battery capacity: 70 kWh (estimated)
temperature of 21°C
18″ Winrun R330 (235/55-18)

Results at 120 km/h (75 mph); up 33% compared to 90 km/h:

range of 340 km (211 miles); down 28%
energy consumption of 206 Wh/km (331 Wh/mile); up 39%
used battery capacity: 70 kWh (estimated)
temperature of 17°C
18″ Winrun R330 (235/55-18)

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19″ wheels (stock)

The second test, with the stock 19″ wheels, was further divided into two tests with wheel caps on and off to see whether they make any difference.

As it turns out, at 90 km/h (56 mph), the stock wheels – 19″ Hankook evo3 (255/45-19) with aerodynamic caps on – allowed achieving the best range of 493 km (306 miles), which including reserve (beyond 0%) is very close to the WLTP value.

The energy consumption was just 142 Wh/km (228 Wh/mile). With the caps off, the range estimation was about 2.8% (14 km/9 miles) lower.

At a higher speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), the range was 359 km (223 miles). Removing the caps would decrease the range by about 3% (11 km/7 miles).

Results at 90 km/h (56 mph)