We tested our Tesla Model Y on a winter road in weather that almost one hundred percent of people here consider “unflyable.” I’m serious, on the way back, at 8-9 PM, we encountered the first private car on a four-lane highway after 45 kilometers of travel. Meanwhile, snowplows appeared literally every two minutes.
A lot of snow had built up, and then it started to rain. After a few hours of parking in a snowbank at a friend’s house, the car was covered with an inch-thick layer of ice. We even got a bit stuck on the exit, but together we managed to push the car out of the “snow pit”. The most challenging part is the last mile on small paths, which the machinery doesn’t clean quickly enough. Now, I’m writing at 10:30 PM, and right outside my window a tractor is clearing the driveways, while in most places, this is usually the homeowners’ responsibility, and of course, everyone prefers to wait it out. Actually, we didn’t even make it to the friend’s house because the last 100 meters were just knee-deep snowdrifts, and even walking through them was difficult, let alone driving.
Very pleased with the Tesla’s behavior on snowy roads and maneuvering in snowdrifts. Here, nobody uses winter tires (the snowy season is very short), and everyone has “all-season” tires on their wheels.
On the highway, there’s a lot of snow removal equipment, and overall the highways are in pretty good condition – the driving is very predictable, with no skidding. But as soon as you try to turn off onto a smaller road, that’s where the test for the all-wheel drive and clearance starts. Again, no surprises at all – it passes like a tank wherever needed. 627 “horses”, dynamically distributed across four wheels, apparently helps.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 