Three months and change into Model YL ownership, the odometer has gone past 17,000 km. A Model YL console table was nowhere on my shopping list back then.
We bought the car while three years of free charging was still on offer, so Superchargers are basically all I use. On a longer stop that means around 30 minutes with nothing to do.
I usually open a laptop in that time, but balancing it on my knees never works. The screen angle is wrong, the keyboard sinks as you type.
I did look at the folding tables made for cars. The problem with those is that you have to get them out every time, then fold them away afterwards. I could picture myself using one once, then leaving it in the boot forever.
Then AliExpress showed me a Model YL console table that just sits on the front centre console. ¥2,989, so I ordered it.
The Model YL console table was ¥2,989 on AliExpress
I ordered on 17 August.
The subtotal was ¥3,066, a discount brought it to ¥2,989 (approx. $20 USD), with free shipping.
It arrived on 23 August, six days after ordering. That is fast by AliExpress standards. Other interior parts have taken me two weeks.
This is the one I bought.
Unboxing
Starting with the packaging.
A white shipping bag with a plain cardboard box inside. No product name printed anywhere, which is standard for AliExpress.
Inside that, the table was wrapped in bubble wrap twice over.
Cheap interior parts often rattle around in the box and arrive with a chipped corner. This one was packed properly, so no damage.
The top panel has a slight lip around the edge, so whatever you put on it does not simply slide off.
It folds in half with the legs tucked underneath
Folded up it looks like a flat board. Turn it over and the structure makes sense.
A long hinge runs down the middle of the top panel, which is where it folds in half.
There is one leg on each side. When you are not using it they fold flat against the underside; opened out, they stand in a position that traces the shape of the console. The contact faces are covered.
There is nothing to assemble. You open it, then put it down.
The legs hold their open position without much wobble as long as you are not loading it up with something heavy.
Being easy to fold also means you can put it away on days you do not need it.
Fitting it means putting it down
There is no job here. Open the legs, set it on the front centre console.
It sits slightly higher than the factory armrest, so there is a small step. That step is what stops things on the table from sliding towards you.
No screws, no double-sided tape, so if you want it gone you lift it off. That casual quality matters more than I expected.
Here it is in place.
The panel spans the console, which is exactly the right size for a laptop. As a Model YL console table it does the one job I bought it for.
Working from either front seat while charging got much easier. Longer stops are covered in my Matsumoto Supercharger write-up, and the centre console organiser handles the storage underneath.
What using it taught me
The right height for working while charging
Exactly what I wanted it for.
With a laptop open the height is right, the keyboard does not sink, so you can type normally. Nothing like using your knees.
It is also handy as a place for a wallet or a phone. Things that used to get thrown onto the passenger seat now sit within reach.
It folds, yet you can leave it in place
This is the real difference from a folding car table.
Driving with it in place is no problem. You do not fold it when you get out, you do not set it up when you get in. The moment you want it, it is already there.
It still folds when you want it to, so the cup holders are one movement away.
It does block the cup holders
Worth flagging.
The panel covers the top of the console, so the cup holders are out of use while it is there.
I always use a flask that opens one-handed. A flask does not spill if it tips over, so it can live on the passenger seat or jammed in the door pocket.
That is why losing the cup holders has not bothered me.
Hard driving might launch it
Nothing holds it down, so there is nothing physically keeping it in place.
Driving normally it has not shown any sign of moving, but take a corner with real speed and I think it would shift, or this table could well go flying.
On a day when you plan to attack a mountain pass, taking it off first seems wiser.
It looks useful for sleeping in the car
As a table for eating in the car, it looks pretty good.
I still avoid eating in the car so I have not tested it, but I would definitely use it if we slept in the car. For putting food down in the front seats it seems about right.
The roof sunshade is the other part I would want for that. If you want to see how long a stop actually runs, Tesla’s Supercharger page has the network details.
I would like to build one if I find offcuts
Having just bought it, the structure is legs that match the console shape with a flat panel on top. That is all. It looks like something I could make.
Building my own, I would not need to reproduce the folding. Fixing the legs to the panel would be enough, and I could match the centre console height exactly.
It is not worth buying timber for, but if there are offcuts at home I might have a go. Wood would change the feel of the cabin, and I could size it to how I actually use it.
If I build one, I will write it up.
Summary
The Model YL console table from AliExpress, sitting on the front centre console.
- ¥2,989 (approx. $20 USD): subtotal ¥3,066 with a discount, free shipping
- The panel folds in half at a centre hinge, the legs fold underneath. Open it, put it down
- The right height for working on a laptop while charging
- You can leave it in place, so it does not become the folding table you never bother with
- It blocks the cup holders (not an issue for me with a flask)
- Nothing fixes it down, so it may move under hard driving
Thirty minutes of charging goes quickly with a laptop. This ¥2,989 table made it more comfortable still.
That said, looking at how it is built, the urge to make my own has not gone away. If offcuts turn up at home I will try it.
This article is also available in Japanese.
