When Tesla announced this April that it was nixing the Model X from its lineup, customers looking for a three-row electric were left wondering about their options. Sure, eventually we might all be carried in the arms of humanoid robots to our destinations, but in the meantime, how are we to get the kids to lacrosse?

There is an option for a third row seat in the Model Y, but it doesn't offer much breathing room for passengers. To fill the gap left by the Model X, Tesla is bringing over a model that has already been available in most of Asia—the Model Y L. The L stands for Long, as in wheelbase. The Model Y L will hit our shores this fall in its Premium trim, which means a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration that Tesla says makes 496 horsepower, accelerates to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, and has a range of 325 miles when outfitted with 19-inch wheels (or 320 miles if you option the new 20-inch Uberhelix design).

New wheels are cool, but the bigger body is the bigger news. The car doesn't look particularly different from the standard Model Y unless you're deeply familiar with that design, in which case you'll clock the noticeably longer rear doors. The Model Y L is 7.0 inches longer than the Model Y, and 5.9 inches of that length is in the wheelbase, which means considerably more room for second- and third-row passengers. The Y L is also almost two inches taller too. All that dimensional growth means 3.5 inches more headroom and 5.2 extra inches of rear legroom for folks in the third row. The added length visually balances out the height increase, and the Model Y L ends up looking more like a reimagined station wagon than a bubbly small SUV.

The Y L we drove was one of the initial production runs of Launch Series models, an upscale trim that starts at $63,630 and includes Launch Series callouts on the sill plates, puddle lamps, and a choice of paint color and wheels (including the new Cosmic Silver, which is a gold-tinged soft metallic grey). More enticing than the fancy badge is the inclusion of a year of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) functionality, premium connectivity, and free charging in the Supercharger network.

When you do swing by a Supercharger for a fast-charge fill-up, you won't have to stay long. Tesla says you can lock in 164 miles of range in just 15 minutes of juicing. We had to make a quick stop on our way back from the test drive, and the car found us a station that was barely out of the way and had numerous open chargers. It took less than eight minutes to go from 60 percent back up to 80.

Not only does the Y L charge quickly, it offers both vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-home adapter capability as well, which allow an owner to use the car's 83-kWh battery pack as an energy source to power something else—like an e-bike, camping lights, or even a house. The only other Tesla to offer both those options is the Cybertruck; now you don't have to buy one.

The Model Y L's battery pack is slightly larger than that in the standard Model Y to make up for the larger body's additional mass. We didn't expect to notice major differences in power delivery with such small variances in battery and horsepower versus the standard-wheelbase Model Y, so while we can report that the Y L moves out with the startling off-line grunt you expect from Tesla, we'll have to get a Y L to our test track to know for sure if its slight increase in ponies can overcome its extra poundage. Tesla says the Y L weighs in at just over 4600 pounds, but it launches and tackles corners like it's a lighter and lower machine.

A dynamic difference we can comment on is the Y L's new suspension. The Y L uses the Y Premium's single-valve adaptive damping with a specific tune for the L's larger chassis that prioritizes comfort without permitting unnecessary body roll in corners. There's even a passenger-comfort setting that attempts to absorb more impacts for those in the rear seats. Anyone who has ever bounced around in the back of a Tesla Uber will appreciate the idea of a softer rear-seat ride. The Model Y's excessively firm ride has long been a sticking point at C/D, and the Y L addresses it in a way that doesn't compromise the car's handling strengths. Staggered tire widths complete the Y L's chassis changes, with wider rears to aid stability and comfort when the car is loaded with passengers and cargo.

All that brings us to that passenger and cargo capability. The rear cargo area is unimpressive at the first lift of the hatch, but fold the floor back (it stays up thanks to clever magnets on the third-row seatbacks) and there's a whole suitcase's worth of bin space beneath. We also like the deep wells on either side, perfect for bringing home a single grocery bag or child's art project that is better off not rolling around in the trunk. Tesla says there is 15 cubic feet of space with all the seats up and 90 cubic feet with them down. If that's not enough, don't forget there's also frunk storage under the hood.

Raising and lowering the seats can be done from the back of the car or from the driver's seat. Props to the engineer who thought to automatically move the front passenger seat out of the way when lowering the middle row—this way, no matter the position the seats were in, they fold flat without crashing into each other. Speaking of folding flat, the cargo area's load floor has two flip-up supports to bring it on plane with the folded third row so that a large dog crate or a piece of furniture can sit horizontal for transport. It's all quite clever.

You're not going to be sending anyone with mobility issues into the third row, because the second-row captain's chairs don't fold or slide, so the only way into the wayback is to sidle past them through the center. That will be no problem for flexible youths, but anyone with arthritis is going to want to stick to the second row. That makes sense anyway; while the third row has plenty of headroom for anyone up to about six feet tall, it's still a little cramped in foot space. The seats themselves are comfortable, padded, heated, and pampered with charging ports, cupholders, and air vents. As long as you're not road tripping with the high school wrestling team, it's a pleasant everyday option for most kids and adults on the small to medium side. An interesting safety note on the third row: Tesla has included side airbags mounted in the seats.

The middle row is downright luxurious, with adjustable headrests on seats that recline like you scored a business-class airplane ticket. Those bad boys are heated and ventilated, offering easy access to the 8.0-inch touchscreen that controls rear-seat climate and infotainment. The middle row is also a good place to mention materials, because the Y L is unusually pretty for a Tesla. There's a mix of faux suede and faux leather, both soft to the touch and padded at pressure points. There's also an appealing tweed-patterned cloth accent and illuminated mood light strip that extends through the whole cabin. The Y L will come as a welcome surprise for those who only know the earlier models' black or white vinyl.

The front seats are almost identical to the current Model Y, though they now include small extendable thigh supports. Standard tech includes a 16.0-inch infotainment screen that offers all the necessities, from drive modes to fart sounds and a 19-speaker stereo on which to play the fart sounds. Controls are still screen-heavy, and it's best to familiarize yourself with climate and driver's assistance before you get on the road, since scrolling through menu options while in motion is not recommended. Tesla's Grok voice assistance can help with navigation and conversation, but can not yet adjust climate or in-car safety features.

There are multiple options for small-item storage, including a deep front console bin and suede-lined wireless phone charging with room for two. Sadly, we don't get the cooled phone charging that the Y L offers in other countries, which is a shame because even though the glass roof is coated to protect from the sun, the cabin gets properly toasty in the bright California sun.

A full day of ripping up and down the mountains overlooking Los Angeles left us in a good mindset to try out Full Self-Driving (Supervised). We hadn't been impressed with the Tesla's desire to interfere with lane-keeping while up in the hills, but the long highway commute back to Hollywood seemed like a perfect use case for turning over the wheel. Despite some philosophical quandaries regarding a societal loss of skills through disuse, we must admit the Y L did a good job of getting us across the city. It made reasonable lane changes, moved over for a bicyclist, and avoided getting stuck in a gridlocked intersection. It's almost a shame Tesla made the Y L such a pleasure to drive, since most owners are going to let the robot have all the fun.

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Specifications

Specifications

2027 Tesla Model Y L Premium AWD
Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 4-door wagon

PRICE
Base: $63,630

POWERTRAIN
Front Motor: induction AC
Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC
Combined Power: 496 hp
Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 83 kWh
Peak Charge Rate, AC/DC: 11.5/250 kW
Transmissions, F/R: direct-drive

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 119.7 in
Length: 195.6 in
Width: 75.6 in
Height: 65.7 in
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 90/15 ft3
Front Trunk Volume: 4 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 4650 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.1 sec
100 mph: 8.3 sec
1/4-Mile: 12.4 sec
Top Speed: 125 mph

EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined: 120 MPGe
Range: 320–325 mi

Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story "A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2."  In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story "In Washington, D.C.'s Secret Carpool Cabal, It's a Daily Slug Fest" was awarded 1st place in the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.