“No Model Y ‘refresh’ is coming out this year,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated earlier this year. “I should note that Tesla continuously improves its cars, so even a car that is six months newer will be a little better.”
Aside from the constant software updates, expect a substantially updated Model Y to land in Q1 of 2025. Efficiency and performance will be enhanced, and new damping will improve the ride. Inside, more of the primary controls will be moved to the touchscreen—including the gear selector—360-degree acoustic glass will be introduced, and rear passengers will gain entertainment screens for streaming content, gaming, and climate control.
All of which will be dissected and debated in that manic manner peculiar to Tesla adherents. Not everyone, however, who ends up in a Model Y has a voice. Point of fact, some of them can’t even speak. Yet they’ve exerted a powerful influence on the car’s design, and concerns for their well-being have reportedly contributed to the delay in the car’s rollout.
Yep, apparently the car’s “cramped third row” is being redesigned to make it more dog-friendly and thus potentially more popular in China, where domestic rivals have roomier interiors. This is an unusual admission and one that raises a question: How many carmakers actively consider canine needs when developing new models?
Pooch Purchasing Power
“Our approach is to be function-agnostic. We try to make a great car that people will then find uses for,” says Andrew Wheel, director of production design and quality at Jaguar Land Rover. “We’ve always been cognizant of the fact that versatility and flexibility are key USPs.”
There isn’t a single carmaker that’s not fixated by its products’ “lifestyle” attributes. Some of this is marketing flimflam, of course, but plenty of us number dogs among the family unit, and the bigger breeds definitely crave space.
On which basis, there have been some interesting innovations. Tesla offers a “dog mode” that allows owners to maintain a comfortable cabin temperature while owners leave their vehicles. That’s monitored via a mobile app and a live camera feed, while passers-by are mollified by the cabin temperature shown on the car’s main display screen alongside an explanatory graphic. Note that the electric windows won’t work in dog mode, to avoid accidental pressing of the buttons, though that’s taking the idea of canine sentience a bit far.
Nor is it strictly advisable to leave your dog alone in the car for even short periods of time, as Tesla owner Ross Hunt of Dublin, Ireland, discovered. Having left his poodle Loki in his Model S while he had lunch, someone called the police, and a charge of animal cruelty swiftly followed. Citing the car’s dog mode as part of his defense, he pleaded not guilty and the judge subseqently dismissed the charges. Hunt, it turned out, was a qualified safari ranger and animal lover who ran an agri-tech firm that uses AI to monitor the health and well-being of farm cows in North America.
Extended Wolf Pack
Aside from clever software applications, family cars have to satisfy multiple use cases, as Wheel confirms. “Dogs are highly sensory animals, and a lot of their psychology is about protection. Ultimately, they’re a wolf pack, and the family is an extended wolf pack. It’s why an alpha always emerges. They need a solid and well-lit environment so they can see what’s going on. They need proper space to check out their surroundings. So the big story here is really about the psychology. What animal wouldn’t want to know about what’s going on around them? Make the interior as nice a place to be as possible no matter where you happen to be seated.”
Wheel also admits that customer feedback has altered the trajectory of some of the company’s designs. Take the smaller Discovery Sport, for example. “It might not look that roomy, but the interior packaging is phenomenal,” he says. “It was designed as a seven-seater, with space for a couple of 50th-percentile humans in the third row of seats. Then people told us they wanted a five-seater because they owned big dogs and wanted the space for them rather than seats they were never going to use. The deeper load floor that comes as a result means more room for larger dogs.”
Indeed, Honda once made a crossover customized specifically for dog owners. In 2009, the maker revealed its “Dog Friendly” package for its Element crossover. You got ramp access into the cargo hold and a deployable rear kennel with a padded dog bed. It also had a dedicated cargo compartment electric fan included in the list of canine-focused components for the car. The humans weren't ignored either, with dog bone–themed seat covers and rubber floor mats.
Fido Fitments
Then there are the materials carmakers use, a major factor in the luxury space in terms of perception and tactility but very significant when it comes to creating something durable in the rear compartment. The hardest-wearing material for this area is carpet, though if you own a breed that sheds fur, keeping that clean can be tricky.
Many of the challenges can be dealt with via the accessories list, a lucrative area for all carmakers. Among other items, Land Rover offers a pet access ramp (£417.77), model-specific quilted loadspace liners (£334.21 for the Velar), and partitions (£387.65 for the Range Rover Sport).
Aston Martin has gone a step further with its DBX off-roader, offering a “pet pack” that includes a partition, dog bed, bowl, lead, a portable washer, and rear bumper protection. Yours for $3,100. Joining the party, Rolls-Royce lets you “reward the loyalty of your canine companion” with a collar and lead crafted from the finest Rolls-Royce natural-grain leather with contrast stitching, then finished with a polished metal Spirit of Ecstasy charm.
But back to the design. The trim that frames the load area uses different grades of plastic, such as polypropylene. These generally have a high talc content (talcum powder enhances the mechanical properties of plastics and acts as a reinforcing agent when added to polymers). That’s why a claw scratch leaves an indelible white mark. The alternative is to use what are called ABS plastics, but these tend to be shiny and generate cheap-sounding resonances. Not ideal in an expensive product such as a Rolls, Land Rover Defender, or Aston SUV.
But away from the pet packs and access ramps, dogs have even been involved in designing car exteriors. TVR's Chimaera may have been the project championed by owner Peter Wheeler in the early ’90s, but infamously, his beloved German pointer, Ned, is credited for assisting with the final look. No doubt proud of his pooch, at the time Wheeler said Ned “was charging about as usual and took a bite out of the polystyrene model of the Chimaera we had on the table.” But far from being sent to the dog house, this creative input was subsequently turned into the design of the front indicator recesses.
“The buzz I get from a design perspective is in solving real-world problems,” Wheel says. “How close can we get to a Tardis? It’s much more challenging these days because of structural requirements, the amount of package that’s required in a car, the safety systems and airbags. Success is about trying to find hidden storage areas or making the most effective use of space—for everyone on board.” Including Fido.
