Having gotten my driver’s license at 16, I’ve driven lots of different cars in the past 61 years (from that you math wizards can figure out how old I am).
This makes the title of this blog post a huge endorsement of the 2026 Tesla Model Y Juniper — a car I’m liking much more than I thought I would after I leased a red model about nine weeks ago.
In mid-June I listed some of the things I enjoyed about the car. Here’s an updated list, now that I’m considerably more familiar with my Tesla. In no particular order…
(1) Full Self-Driving (Supervised) never fails to amaze me. Driving is much more pleasant when the car is chauffeuring me around 95% of the time.
(2) The Tesla app tells me I’m saving $75 a month by “fueling” with electricity rather than gasoline.
(3) I have a full “tank” every morning, since I plug my car into our Level 2 home charger every time I use it.
(4) Never have to change the volume on the sound system when I’m driving on a freeway, the car is so quiet.
(5) When I do change the volume (Sirius XM has a weaker sound than Apple Music), a scroll wheel on the steering wheel makes that easy.
(6) I’ve gotten several Full Self-Driving (Supervised) updates already; each improves FSD.
(7) A Navigation update a couple of days ago solved some glitches, such as the 25 mph speed limit on our neighborhood’s rural road that previously was shown as 55 mph.
(8) Never have had a car with anywhere near the frequency of wi-fi updates, a big benefit of almost all controls being electronic.
(9) The Tesla feels fast even when it is going the speed limit, thanks to 4.4 second 0-60 acceleration and no changing of gears.
(10) I can listen to Sirius satellite radio everywhere, even in parking garages, thanks to premium cellular connectivity that costs me $10/month.
(11) The Tesla learns my habits, so, for example, every Friday late afternoon it shows the Royal Thai restaurant as the navigation destination, since I usually get a take-out order at that day and time.
(12) I enjoy having the car decide when to pull out into a busy two-way street from a stop sign; no more looking left for oncoming traffic, then right, then left again.
(13) With its eight exterior cameras, the Tesla has way better eyesight than I do, so generally is a better driver than I am (or most people are).
(14) Visibility out the rear window sucks, but since the car is driving itself almost all of the time, that doesn’t matter.
(15) I like the expansive glass roof, but decided to put a sunshade screen on during summer months; the car still feels light and airy.
(16) The air conditioning rocks, best AC I’ve ever had in a car, instant cooling; the Juniper has an upgraded heat pump that works great.
(17) On hot days I enjoy being able to leave the AC set to 72 degrees when I park the Tesla to go grocery shopping at several stores.
(18) The seats are really comfortable; they remind me of VW GTI seats, supportive with good side bolstering.
(19) Plenty of storage in the front cabin, especially after I added aftermarket dividers to the central storage areas.
(20) I’m glad my wife urged me to get a red Tesla, since I was leaning toward silver; color cheers me up whenever I approach the car.
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Congratulations Brian. I have an 8-year-old Tesla. I bought FSD Full Self Driving and was slow to start using the feature. I am now 85. FSD drives me to the store, to a doctor’s appointment, and wherever I need to go. The car drove me to 5 national parks in Utah last year. It is safe, reliable, and it makes travel so relaxing. The car takes me door to door. It is the perfect answer for the 90-year-old who needs to get to places and continue “driving” in their 90s. It’s like having a chauffeur.