What's the difference?
This is the new Tesla Model Y L, of course, but before we even start I need to ask you a very important question.
How often, honestly, do you use all seven seats in your seven-seater? Or if you only have five seats, how often is there a human in every single one?
Rarely, if ever?
Yep, me too. So stick around, because this is, by far, the best family SUV seating layout. And one where there’ll finally be no fighting over who gets stuck with the dodgy seat.
And as a result, the six-seat Tesla Model Y L might just be among the best all-electric SUV offerings around.
The latest VS20 Vito range, comprising Vito/eVito light commercials and Tourer/V-Class people movers, brings the first major facelift to Mercedes-Benz’s mid-sized (2.5-3.5-tonne GVM) van since 2015, along with numerous comfort, convenience, technology and safety upgrades.
The workhorse fleet is available in medium wheelbase (MWB) and long wheelbase (LWB) Panel Vans and Crew Cabs, with a variety of drivetrain specifications including the all-electric eVito LWB van.
We were recently handed the keys to one of the latest turbo-diesel variants to see how it measures up from a tradie/business perspective in one of Australia’s most competitive vehicle markets.
If you like the five-seat Model Y, then you'll like the six-seat L version even more. I think this the best example of Tesla's electric SUV to date, and the cabin layout just makes a lot of sense, and would suit plenty of families who don't need to squeeze someone into a compromised middle seat.
Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number of automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
The Vito 119 Panel Van LWB offers excellent performance and driver comfort, with styling and all-round refinement that could make it an appealing business partner. However, the absence of an ANCAP star rating and a sub-one-tonne payload limit could be deal-breakers for some tradies and fleets alike, along with a list price that exceeds its Toyota HiAce LWB equivalent by almost $30K. Therefore, only a potential buyer can decide if its positives outweigh its negatives.