Tesla Model Y 2026 review: Performance

The thing about performance cars – traditionally speaking, at least – is that you always know when you're in one. Sure, you can try to go easy on the accelerator, like if you're trying to sneak away from the house early in the morning without waking your neighbours, but a proper ICE-powered performance model will still never let you get away with it.

There is always a tell. Whether it's an exhaust that barks into life with rabid Cujo intensity every time you fire it up. Or suspension so firm it's like the shocks have been filled with adamantium. Or even a big and bulging wing staring back at you every time you glance in the mirror. There's always something that feels like a price to be paid for having access to all that punch.

But here's where it gets interesting. Because the Tesla Model Y Performance is one of the fastest cars I've driven this year. And yet, for 90 per cent of my time with it, I forgot I was driving anything other than a placid and friendly electric SUV.

Explore the 2026 Tesla Model Y Range

Tesla Model Y 2026 review: Performance

And I do mean fast. The Model Y Performance – the latest Tesla Juniper product to arrive in Australia – delivers proper supercar pace. As is always the case with Tesla, the details are a little murky. The brand doesn't quote torque figures, for example, and there are other mysteries.

But we do know the brand claims a 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds. That's a lot of outright speed for your $89,400 investment. For reference, the blisteringly quick and super competent Porsche Macan Electric Turbo will knock off the same sprint in 3.3 seconds and asks $184,400 for your trouble. At the other end of the pricing scale is the Zeekr 7X Performance. Its sprint takes 3.8 seconds, and it lists at $72,900. Then there's the Kia GT Line, at $99,590, which also delivers a 3.5-second 0-100 sprint.

Delivering the Model Y Performance's punch is a dual-motor AWD system which produces 343kW, which is fed through the big 21-inch wheels wrapped with Pirelli P Zero rubber. The set-up feels designed to channel all of that grunt into the tarmac efficiently, and it works, even under flat-footed acceleration, with no squealing or slipping from the tyres.

But despite the big wheels and an adaptive suspension system that still feels too firm in places, the Tesla's most surprising party trick is its ability to coast around calmly and (mostly) comfortably when you don't want to unleash the full might of its electric motors.

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

I was at the launch of the regular Model Y Juniper, and with gentle throttle inputs, this Performance feels largely the same. Like the rest of the Y range, this go-fast version carries-over the improvements that addressed most of what I didn't like about Tesla's best-selling model.

The steering is far less darty and annoying than in the old Y, and it rides better (though not as nicely as the non-Performance, though that's a pretty understandable by-product of the go-fast add-ons). I'm even getting used to turning my head to the side every time I want to check how fast I'm going, owing to Tesla's steadfast refusal to fit a driver display or head-up projection.

I can't abide the silly the gear selector that's now on the screen, though (you slide your finger forwards to select drive, backwards to select reverse, and you tap the screen to go into Park), and the air-conditioning is among the worst and most confounding systems I've ever used. It blows so hard (and yet not so cold) that on a sweltering Sydney day I pulled over and got out to make phone calls.

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

And, of course, there's no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. I miss it, definitely. But I have to say Tesla's native and Google-powered navigation is probably the best in the business, and the broader tech offering is very strong, too. Using my phone as the key gave me access to all sorts of functions (temp in the cabin etc), and just unlocking, getting in and going is super easy – which, believe it or not, is not something you can say about all of its rivals.

But back to the performance of the Performance. It's really something – proper push-you-back-into-the-seat stuff  – and it doesn't feel unsuited to the car. Whether in a straight line or cornering, the power comes on thick and strong, but the rest of the car feels buttoned down, stiff enough through the chassis and ready to respond. Competent across the board, really, and more nimble than its 2.0-tonne weight would suggest.

Be warned, though. There is a total lack of fanfare involved here. It feels more like one of those superfast rollercoasters that propel you into the future rather than a properly engaging and emotional experience, like a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, for example.

2026 Tesla Model Y Performance

But it offers big performance bang for buck, and its ability to putter through traffic – complete with a claimed 580km driving range – before teleporting you into another dimension is one hell of a party trick.

For the record, though, a four-year, 80,000km warranty is entriely underwhelming by today's standards, even if the battery is covered for eight years and 192,000km.