2026 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD Tested: Does Juniper Deliver?

MotorTrend

As one of the world’s top-selling cars—both electric or otherwise—the Tesla Model Y is undoubtedly important. With the recent so-called “Juniper” refresh for the 2026 Tesla Model Y

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00:00The Tesla Model Y, one of the world's best selling cars, EV or otherwise, just got a

00:09refresh codenamed the Juniper update. This is a big deal because the EV SUV space is

00:15a highly competitive one, so everyone needs to bring their A-game in order to stay ahead.

00:20With the Juniper refresh comes an updated exterior. You can see that immediately in

00:26the full-width front and rear light bars, which makes it kind of look like a Chinese

00:30EV. Inside, you get plusher seats and better cabin trim materials. However, the right-hand

00:40transmission control stock has been removed in favor of a touchscreen swipe control, though

00:45if that fails, there are always the ceiling controls. The physical turn signal stock remains

00:50though, thankfully. The rear seats remain spacious, but now with a recline function and

00:56automatic raise and fold-down capabilities. There's also a rear-facing screen for those

01:01passengers. Hardware-wise, the Model Y Juniper remains largely the same as the outgoing car.

01:10In our testing, we clocked the 397-horsepower long-range all-wheel drive test car to accelerate

01:16to 60 in 3.8 seconds, an improvement of 0.6 seconds over the outgoing model. On the quarter-mile,

01:23there were notable improvements, too. The Model Y crossed the finish line at 12.2 seconds

01:28at 116.3 miles an hour, also improving by 0.5 seconds. This is quite a bit faster than

01:35the old car, and with weight and power similar across the two, we attribute the difference

01:40to tires and retuned drive components. Testing its real-world range came back with a respectable

01:46252 miles, as compared to the EPA's 311-mile rate. By comparison, the outgoing Model Y came

01:53back with 229 miles of range, per Motor Trend testing. As for the Motor Trend Fast Charging

01:59Test, the new Model Y was able to regain 133 miles of range in 15 minutes and 194 miles in

02:0630 minutes while plugged into a public fast charger. By contrast, the old Model Y only

02:11gained 118 miles in 15 minutes and 176 miles in 30 minutes. Of course, numbers only tell

02:18part of the story.

02:20In practice, the updated Model Y is much quieter thanks to improved sound-deckening materials.

02:26Tesla goodies such as the fast steering, one-pedal driving, and rapid acceleration remain. But the

02:30biggest improvement? Ride quality. Small road imperfections no longer completely upset the

02:36car, and you no longer feel them as badly from the inside. Bigger bumps still tend to

02:41result in body movement, but the Model Y is now much more livable.

02:46We still wouldn't call it a comfy ride. Think more a firm ride. As tested, this silver example

02:53comes to a total of $63,630. It's cheaper than what we paid in 2023, but it's still not the

03:00most affordable EV SUV out there.

03:03Of course, the big question is, are the Juniper updates enough to keep the Model Y at the head

03:08of the pack? We're not so sure. Check out our full EV SUV comparison test to see why.

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