2026 Tesla Model Y Performance Review

• The Model Y Performance is Tesla’s quickest SUV, hitting 100km/h in 3.5 seconds.
• New adaptive dampers provide real-time adjustments for better handling and comfort.
• It offers a class-leading 580km WLTP range, outperforming BYD and Hyundai rivals.
• The “Juniper” interior refresh adds carbon fibre, ambient lighting, and bolstered seats.
• Storage remains massive, with 854 litres in the boot and an additional 117 litres in the frunk.

With cheaper alternatives flooding the market, the Tesla Model Y is working hard to keep its title as the most popular electric vehicle in Australia. BYD, Geely, and Zeekr have all caught up to the Model Y in the sales charts with feature-packed offerings at lower price points. It’s pushing Tesla upmarket, for now.

Until the Model Y “Standard” arrives in the market (TBC) at a more competitive price, Tesla’s life as an all-electric competitor to Kia, BMW, and Volkswagen has only just begun. Today, the Model Y Premium is positioned as an alternative to the likes of a BYD Sealion 7 and Geely EX5, but it’s not priced like one. Meanwhile, the top-spec Performance model that we tested for this review is priced to compete with the best from Europe. To see how it stacks up, we jumped behind the wheel to compare the brand’s most expensive vehicle against its newfound competition.

There might be cheaper alternatives on the market now, but Tesla has been making the top-selling EV for years. Does the Model Y Performance bring enough to the table to be considered a cut-price Porsche Macan 4S in the same way that the BYD Sealion 7 is considered a cut-price Model Y? Is it worth a $20,500 price premium over the next most expensive Model Y? Let’s find out.

Price and Competition

	Tesla Model Y Performance	BYD Sealion 7 Performance	Zeekr 7X AWD Performance
0–100 km/h	3.5s	4.5s	3.8s
Top Speed	250 km/h	215 km/h	210 km/h
Max Power	461 kW	390 kW	475 kW
Range (WLTP)	580 km	456 km	543 km
10-80% Charge	~27 mins	~25 mins	13 mins

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The 2026 Tesla Model Y Performance is priced from AUD$89,400 before on-road costs. That makes it $20,500 more expensive than the Model Y Premium Long Range All-Wheel Drive (from AUD$68,900 before on-roads).

Here’s a list of the added visual upgrades over the standard car:

• Bespoke Fascias: Unique front and rear bumpers
• Gloss Black Accents: Front fascia, rear diffuser, and side mirror caps.
• 21-Inch Arachnid 2.0 Wheels: Forged wheels with integrated aero covers.
• Staggered Stance: Wider rear tyres give the vehicle a muscular, planted stance.
• Lower Ride Height: Thanks to the adaptive suspension, Performance sits visibly lower.
• Carbon Fibre Spoiler: Woven carbon-fibre lip spoiler on the tailgate.
• Red Brake Calipers: Signature Tesla Performance oversized red brake calipers.
• Exclusive Badging: The “Ludicrous/Performance” badge on the liftgate.
• Illuminated Puddle Lamps: Custom puddle lights that project the Performance logo onto the ground.
• Performance Sport Seats: Deep side bolsters, shoulder support, powered thigh extenders.
• Carbon Fibre Trim: Genuine carbon-fibre inserts across the dashboard and door panels.
• Aluminium Pedals: Covers for the accelerator and brake pedals replace black rubber.

It works out to be approximately $96,200 drive-away for most postcodes, placing it in firm competition with cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (from AUD$111,000 before on-roads), Ford Mustang Mach-E GT (from AUD$98,490 before on-roads), and Porsche Macan 4S (from AUD$149,300 before on-roads), but also cut-price competitors like the Zeekr 7X (from AUD$72,900 before on-roads) and BYD Sealion 7 (from AUD$63,990 before on-roads).

The Zeekr 7X AWD Performance is the closest match to the Tesla Model Y Performance on the stat sheet, with similar range, straight-line performance, and overall build quality. Still, the Tesla is leaps ahead of the Zeekr when it comes to on-road dynamics, but more on that in a moment.

Performance, Range, and Charging

Metric	RWD	Long Range	Performance
0–100 km/h	5.9s	4.8s	3.5s
Peak Power	220 kW	378 kW	460 kW (Est)
Max Torque	430 Nm	493 Nm	741 Nm
WLTP Range	466 km	600 km	580 km
Top Speed	217 km/h	217 km/h	250 km/h

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The 2026 Model Y Performance sends power to the ground through the Performance 4DU (4th-generation) drive unit that we first saw in the Model 3 Performance. This produces 461 kW of power, but the main story here is the higher thermal limits that allow sustained high-speed driving without power soaking.

Despite its relatively small Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) battery (79 kWh usable), the range is a claimed 580 km (WLTP), and that’s significantly more than what you’ll get from key competitors in the Zeekr 7X Performance (543 km), BYD Sealion 7 Performance (456 km), and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (448 km). It’s also incredibly efficient on the highway thanks to its slippery body design, and we were able to validate the claimed 16.2 kWh/100km of energy use.

With a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 3.5 seconds, the Model Y Performance is the second-quickest car Tesla sells now that the Model S and Model X have been retired. It’s only marginally slower than the Tesla Model 3 Performance sedan (0-100 km/h in 3.1 seconds), which is impressive for a family-oriented SUV. However, we did find ourselves wondering who needs or wants this level of straight-line speed from what is otherwise a very pragmatic family vehicle.

The Tesla Model Y Premium Long Range All-Wheel Drive is already quick enough for most buyers with a 0-100 km/h time of 4.8 seconds, and even the entry-level RWD manages 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.

Still, we have to remind ourselves that the vast majority of buyers would never have felt acceleration like this. It’s true that you do eventually get over the speed, but not as quickly as your passengers, who will get progressively sick of you for planting your foot at every set of lights. Yet, there will be a moment during each drive when you’ll be satisfied with your choice of the quickest Tesla when you’re lined up against a Model Y Premium AWD and need to get an overtake done.

Chassis and Adaptive Suspension

Straight-line speed isn’t everything with the Model Y Performance. No, the chassis has had plenty of tweaks to justify those extra upfront costs. It’s not a Model Y Premium with the wick turned up because it features fully adaptive dampers, a 15 mm lowered stance, larger brakes, and exclusive software.

The Premium models use frequency-selective damping, but the adaptive dampers in the Performance are a few notches better. They’re controlled by an all-new algorithm that adjusts in real time to driver and road inputs, balancing comfort for daily driving and stiffness on mountain roads with two settings (Standard, Sport). They haven’t taken the system to the extremes of Porsche’s Active Ride or Audi’s RS E-Tron GT Performance, but it’s one of the few truly adaptive suspension systems you’ll find in a car under AUD$100,000.

Even in their softest (Standard) setup, we wouldn’t say the adaptive dampers deliver the soft, comfy ride quality of the Model Y Premium Long Range All-Wheel Drive or the active air suspension system with continuous damping control (CDC) in the Zeekr 7X. However, we actually prefer a slightly firmer ride, and the rebound in the Performance is noticeably improved over the standard car, which can be prone to oscillation and floatiness over wider bumps.

We didn’t have the ability to test the exclusive “Track Mode V3” in the Model Y Performance, but it allows you to adjust the handling balance (100% Front to 100% Rear), configure stability assist levels, and monitor g-force and laps via an exclusive UI. These aren’t things that many owners will use (you’d need a track), but it’s a welcome addition to a car that otherwise lacks the depth of drive mode control offered by rivals.

Ultimately, if it’s a track EV you’re after, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N would be a better choice, but the Model Y Performance is the pick of the litter for an all-rounder when range and ride quality are considered.

Comfort and Technology

The Model Y Performance elevates the standard “Juniper” cabin redesign with a host of exclusive upgrades. On top of the authentic carbon-fibre dash and door inserts, 360-degree acoustic glass (now including the panoramic roof and rear windows), customisable LED ambient light bar across the dashboard, and aluminium pedals from the standard car are the brands’ Performance Seats with larger bolsters for lateral support and powered thigh cushion extenders for under thigh support.

They’re very comfortable, not too tight, and offer a meaningful update to the vehicle’s interior. Most importantly, it’s something you’ll experience every time you get behind the wheel.

The same can be said for the new 16-inch touchscreen infotainment display in the centre of the cabin, which replaces the old 15.4-inch unit with 80% more pixels and increased touch sensitivity and accuracy for swipes, taps, and scrolls. You don’t notice the upgrade immediately, and you still don’t have in-built Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but we think it’s still the best touchscreen infotainment system on the market. How well it ages into the future now that brands have backflipped away from these giant tablet displays is our only question.

This touchscreen is backed by the brand’s top-tier immersive audio system, a 17-speaker setup with dual subwoofers and dual amplifiers housed in the rear of the vehicle. It’s still one of the best sound systems on the market (with high-fidelity streaming from Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal), but Chinese competitors are catching up quickly.

Rear seat passengers have great headroom, legroom, and continue to have the 8-inch second-row screen for climate and entertainment (Netflix, etc.).

Finally, storage remains a hallmark of the Tesla Model Y. The boot with underfloor storage is still best-in-class at 854 litres (approx. five large suitcases), and you even get a front trunk (frunk) with an additional 117 litres of space. Drop the middle row, and you’ll get a whopping 2,158 litres of space for those days that you can’t avoid a spur-of-the-moment IKEA flatpack.

Verdict

With a long list of upgrades that take the car from a commuter special to a true performance flagship, there’s no doubt that the Model Y Performance is the best car Tesla sells.

Despite the relatively hefty premium, it makes a strong case for itself with added straight-line speed, adaptive suspension, performance seats, design updates, and quality-of-life upgrades over the Premium models. However, the brand has some way to go to convince buyers that Tesla is both an affordable electric vehicle brand that competes with the likes of BYD and Geely, but also a premium brand that competes with the likes of Kia and BMW. Right now, it feels like they have a foot in both camps and can’t quite decide where to sit.

They perfected the original recipe, and then a few brands emerged on both sides of the market, pulling them in different directions.

Ultimately, the main reason you would buy a Model Y Performance is that you don’t want to drive a car that looks like every other Model Y on the road. You have the top-spec, the quickest Model Y with the special seats and suspension, and everyone knows you spent the extra AUD$20,500. Only you can decide whether it was worth it.