“Worth every penny”: Sandy Munro takes Model Y for a test drive

Auto engineering expert Sandy Munro has given his verdict on the Model Y after taking one for a test drive and says he believes it is probably “worth every penny”.

It’s not the same vehicle the car expert has been slowly tearing down to reveal Tesla’s Model Y secrets, but is in fact one of the very first units ever made with a VIN number ending in 249.

Given its status as an early model, Munro’s assessment that he is “pretty happy ” with this particular vehicle’s fit and finish is a good start.

But it goes further than that. Munro takes the Model Y for a test drive and his verdict is that overall, it’s a fun drive. So much so that where he says he has never recommended Tesla’s first “mass-market” electric car, the Model 3, to people, he would do so when it comes to the Model Y.

Comparing it to his Jeep – which he admits he doesn’t drive too fast – he says driving the Model Y is exhilarating.

“We just drove by my Jeep in the parking lot and that car is good for running around in the snow, in the mud and whatnot, but it doesn’t make it so that you feel like you’re alive when you drive,” he says in the video of the test drive which you can see at the end of this article. “This is a different sort of a feeling.”

“This car holds the road like its on rails,” he says, taking the Model Y up to 80 miles (128km) on the Interstate 75 highway.

“I’m having to tense up my little core muscles here because this thing is throwing me to the door, we’re not doing that much but … it’s fun,” he says.

Munro also gives Autopilot a whirl – a first for the auto engineer, who takes his hands off the steering wheel until being promptly reminded by the car to put them back on.

“To me, this is what we should have,” he says, harking back to days of old when pioneers would “party on with parlour buddies” at the local establishment, before giving their horse its head to get them home.

Overall, Munro is clearly impressed by the Model Y.

“I don’t think I ever recommended a Model 3 to anybody ever unless they were doing some type of a technical research project,” he says.

“I will tell you that I’ve already recommended this 4 or 5 times if you want an EV – and I’ve had a chance to drive almost every one of them – and you wanted [one for] a decent price … that’s probably worth every penny and probably will keep it’s evaluation in the future.”

“I think this might be a good idea,” he concludes.

Coming from Munro, whose original opinion of the early Model 3 vehicle when he tore that apart in 2018 was frankly, not good – it’s high, and it would seem well deserved, praise.