Tesla unveils Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive Model Y - and the new version of the UK's best-selling EV comes with 373 miles of range
- Tesla Model Y is the first EV to top the global sales charts and now it's improved
Out with the old and in with the new. That's the case for Tesla, which today has confirmed will replace its Rear-Wheel Drive Model Y with a new Long Range version.
The Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant will offer drivers 373 miles on a single charge – a significant improvement on the outgoing model.
Prices will start from £46,990 with deliveries to commence in the next few days.
Tesla’s replaced its Rear-Wheel Drive Model Y with a new Long Range version with deliveries commencing in the next few days
Last year, the Tesla Model Y was crowned the best-selling car in the world with over 1.2 million of the electric crossover SUV sold in 2023 - the first EV ever to top the global charts.
It was also Britain's most-bought battery-powered car, and by some distance at that.
It makes sense then for Tesla to bring a new, better offering to the Model Y line-up for 2025, and it’s doing just that by offering a Long Range RWD version.
The Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant replacing the old Rear-Wheel Drive option increases range from 283 miles WLTP to 373 miles WLTP – a bump up of almost a third (32 per cent), which represents almost 100 miles.
The additional range Model Y comes with an efficiency rating of 4 miles per kWh, which Tesla says ‘sets a new standard for electric SUVs’.
Just note that adding the 20-inch Induction wheels instead of the standard 19-inch Dark Gemini wheels will drop the range from 373 miles to 351 miles.
The Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant replacing the old Rear-Wheel Drive option increases range from 283 miles WLTP to 373 miles WLTP – a bump up of almost 100 miles
The 1.22m Model Ys bought last year is an increase of 64% on 2022 and 480,000 more than 2021 in welcome news for Tesla and its chief executive, Elon Musk
Share this article
2025 Tesla Model Y: What’s new and what’s the same?
Other than the crucial range aspect, there’s a small performance improvement and a price change.
The 225kW Long Range RWD is single motor and combines an energy-dense battery pack, standard heat-pump and low resistance tyres to maximise efficiency.
Performance-wise, the Long Range RWD shaves over a second off the 0-to-60mph times, covering the sprint in 5.5 seconds (down from the outgoing RWD’s 6.6 seconds). Top speed remains the same at 135mph.
For the added range the price increase is only £2,000; from £44,990 for the outgoing version to £46,990 for the new one.
But there are no aesthetic changes to the Model Y’s exterior or interior – unsurprisingly Tesla's kept the best-selling formula.
Tesla says it ‘includes everything that propelled Model Y as the world's best-selling car in 2023’ which means ‘premium materials, convenience, safety and connected features as standard’.
For the added almost 100 miles of range the price increase is only £2,000; from £44,990 for the outgoing version to £46,990 for the new one
The new Long Range RWD Model Y can charge up to 250kW at any of the 150 locations on the Supercharger network. Tesla estimates that for a driver covering 10,000 miles a year, one full charge will be enough to cover a week of commuting
Key Tesla Model Y Long Range features carried across from the old RWD version
Charging
There’s no denying Tesla has nailed the charging issue with Supercharger network, and the Long Range RWD Model Y of course has access to the network of ultra-rapid chargers.
It can charge up to 250kW at any of the 150 locations on the Supercharger network. Tesla estimates that for a driver covering 10,000 miles a year, one full charge will be enough to cover a week of commuting.
Interior
The extremely minimalist interior remains exactly the same.
There’s a 15.4-inch display which essentially houses 99.9 per cent of the car controls and a huge number of streaming apps, which combines with the two clickwheel controls on the steering wheel and the drive selector and indicator stalks.
There are five seats and a massive 854-litre boot which increases to 2,041 litres with the rear seats down, plus a 117-litre frunk (front trunk).
There are two interior options, black or black and white. The black is the standard interior and comes with a wood dash, while the more sterile white option costs an extra £1,100.
The audio system is a 13-speaker setup with a subwoofer, two amps and immersive sound – and it does sound excellent.
The Model Y interior remains the same with a black or black and white option, a 15.4-inch touchscreen and five seats
Safety
The basic Autopilot package includes Autosteer and traffic-aware cruise control, while the more advanced Enhanced Autopilot package adds lane change assist and motorway exit, as well as Autopark and Summon for an extra £3,400.
The top-level Full Self-Driving Capability package adds Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control onto the Enhanced Autopilot functions. In future this will allow autonomous driving, but it will cost you a hefty £6,800.
Useful tech
You can pre-condition the cabin temperature (which is a useful way to maintain range) and the Trip Planner feature is very handy because it will show you where to stop to charge and how long to charge to reach your destination as quickly as possible.
Estimated fuel savings
Using an EV specific home electricity tariff (Tesla used Intelligent Octopus Go for calculations with costs 7p/kWh) a Model Y Long Range RWD owner driving 10,000 miles a year would spend approximately £174.61 on charging at home.
As said the 373-mile range should cover a full week of commuting.
Comparatively an equivalent fuel car will cost £1,800 a year to fill up. Incredibly, estimated fuel savings over four years are £6,380.
Of the 25 best-selling new cars globally, just 12 are models available to the UK market
