Edmunds have owned a Tesla Model Y Performance with the Performance Upgrade Package (PUP) for the last three months or so but haven’t been able to produce a video review of it because of the COVID-19 situation and their test track been closed due to the shelter-in-place orders.
Now finally they are able to take their Model Y Performance to the race track and attached the data acquisition hardware to it in order to know the weight, braking distance, cornering & maneuverability, acceleration, and speed of this compact electric SUV.
Weight & Weight Distribution
Edmunds found out that the total weight of the Tesla Model Y Performance with PUP is 4,419 lbs (2,004 kg) with the weight distribution of 49.7% at the front and 50.3% on the rear — this is very close to the curb weight found on the Model Y specs of 4,416 lbs (2,003 kg).
Even without the heavy battery pack spanning the vehicle floor, the competing gas-guzzling BMW X3 M (4,620 lbs) and the Mercedes GLC 63 AMG (4,431 lbs) are heavier than the Model Y Performance.
Braking Tests
The Edmunds testing team performed repeated emergency braking tests bringing the vehicle to a complete stop from 60 mph (95.5 km/h) — the best stopping distance was 108 feet and upon repeated braking tests the average distance just increased to 109 feet.
Minimum nose-dive, no brake overheating, great grip of the tires, and overall stability of the braking system showed satisfactory results.
Handling On The Race Track
Edmunds evaluated the handling abilities of the Tesla Model Y Performance on the skidpad (a 200 m diameter circle that the driver has to drive around as quickly as possible in both directions while holding a constant radius) — the Model Y Performance scored a 0.95 g on the skidpad test, just a little short of the high-performance sports cars that pull a 1.0 – 1.1 g in lateral grip.
This is also the highest lateral grip score from a Tesla that Edmunds has ever tested. Meaning that the Tesla Model Y Performance has some serious cornering and maneuverability power, packed inside a crossover SUV body type, amazing achievement by Tesla engineering, design, and software teams.
Acceleration & 1/4-mile Tests
Activating the Tesla Model Y or Model 3 in Sport Mode and flooring the accelerator paddle launches these cars, it’s that simple and your head instantly sticking to the headrest as a result of the g-force, this feeling never gets old.
Edmunds tested the Model Y for 0-60 mph from a stand-still in the first test and in the second with a 1-foot rollout, the results were 3.7 secs and 3.4 secs respectively, not bad at all for an EV that has been basically designed as a family SUV.
Model Y finished the 1/4 mile in 11.8 secs @ 115.6 mph — not lagging a bit by SUV standards, kudos Model Y Performance for that super-fast performance on the dragstrip.
Even after repeated launches, the Tesla Model Y Performance did not lose its flare, probably the heat pump and other engineering tweaks just came in handy in cracking out repeat performance from the Model Y.
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More details and source: Edmunds.com
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