The main question asked by any one thinking of getting an electric car is, how far can I really get between charges?
A new controlled test has revelled the true distance today’s most popular zero-emission EV’s can drive, and unfortunately, some of the models are falling short of their manufacture’s claims by nearly 100 miles.
What Car? Tested the ‘real-world’ ranges for 12 models of electric cars on sale today in the UK and they have now been published. This new test aims to reflect the way people actually drive and allows anyone considering an EV to directly compare the ranges of different models in the ‘real world’. It also tells potential buyers what to expect a full charge to cost and the efficiency of each car in miles per kWh.
The top of the pile goes to the new Hyundai Electric with a range of 259 miles, closely followed by the Jaguar I-Pace and Kia e-Niro both of which can handle 253 miles (that’s roughly Plymouth to Lincoln? Or London to Snowdon?) While all three provide decent ranges, they are way off the figures that car makers advertise, falling short by some 33 miles. The Tesla Model S 75D has a real range of around 204 miles, which is 100 miles shorter then Tesla advertises on its website.
While range anxiety is the biggest concern of consumers looking to switch to the electric car, new research has suggested that most UK motorists could use the EV for a full week without every needing to plug it into a charger. The researchers analysed mileage covered by most households in a typical week travel for social and leisure (89 miles) shopping (82 miles) school runs (24 miles) and commuting (70 miles) all of which fall within claim ranges.
Vicky Parrott, associate editor of What Car? Electric car site, said, “So-Called range anxiety is consistently named by motorists as a main barrier to going all electric, but the facts suggest that range really shouldn’t worry most of us. We are now seeing a widening gap between the perceptions of consumers about the range of electric cars and the capability of the cars themselves. Just a few years ago the earliest Nissan Leaf could only manage 124 miles. In the same conditions, today’s Leaf will do 235 miles.”
So, does this research into typical UK driving habits and the real-world ranges of EVs mean that electric cars are perfectly poised for a breakthrough into the mainstream motor sales?