To really test the innate handling characteristics of a car, you need to push it to the limit. That means doing one of two things: increasing speed or reducing grip. Either is a recipe for a good time, but in my book it's the second option that really delivers the grins. And after waiting months for the right conditions, I was ecstatic when I finally had a golden opportunity to get our long-term Model Y sideways.

I don't mean sliding around in a frozen parking lot. Oh no, I mean on ice -- in this case, a frozen lake. I've been ice racing in and around the Upstate New York area for nearly 15 years, and it's thanks to the Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club that I had this chance to ease our EV SUV onto a frozen lake the day after a race. 

This wouldn't be my first time getting a Tesla loose in the slippery stuff. Back in 2019, I made a trip up to Alaska to visit Tesla's then-secret winter testing facility to slip and slide every then-current Tesla model around on specially groomed low-grip circumstances. But back then, the Model Y was only a rumor, and so now its time has come.