New research by carwow has revealed which of six popular electric cars, with some of the longest claimed ranges, can travel the furthest on a full charge. The short film hosted by Mat Watson, Car Expert at carwow, shows not only which make and model of vehicle travels furthest but the percentage of the manufacturer’s claimed range they achieved in real-world driving conditions.
carwow charged the vehicles to 100% then left them overnight. Each of the six cars lost some battery charge overnight, but all had over 95% of charge at the start of the test. To make it as scientific as possible, each car was driven in a similar way, in the most energy-efficient drive setting. The air-con was also set at 20-degrees, a mobile phone connected to the infotainment system (just as most of us would when driving) and, the cruise control set to the motorway speed limit.
While the Tesla Model 3 comfortably logged the most miles it was the Kia e-Niro which was the most impressive in terms of the percentage of its claimed range achieved, completing 255 miles on a full charge, 90% of the claimed 282-mile range.
Research conducted by carwow last year revealed that 35% of people admitted their biggest worry about driving an electric car was the concern of ‘getting stranded’. This new test shows not only how far each make and model can actually travel on a full charge in the real world but also exactly what happens when their battery runs fully flat. Each car was driven up the motorway until they were about to run out of power. They then left the motorway and drove close to a charging point until the car stopped and could go no further.
Mat Watson, Car Expert at carwow said: “Despite the test ending with me being questioned by a concerned member of the public as to why I was circling a charging point for over an hour in the dark it was great fun and hugely revealing.
We know that ‘range anxiety’ is a big concern for people thinking about switching from petrol to electric – no one wants to get stranded. But our test showed you could drive an average of 226 miles and all of the cars were able to keep going after their systems claimed their batteries were totally flat.
On average, only 81% of the manufacturer-claimed range was achieved and, if you allow a battery to run truly flat, electric cars can be difficult to move! But that’s a similar figure to the percentage of potential range you’d get in a petrol or diesel car. Plus in the real-world, these cars’ sat-nav systems would direct you to a nearby charging station long before you ground to a halt.
Of course, we’d recommend that anyone interested in buying an electric car try one out for themselves before they take the plunge. But there’s one thing that is in no doubt – 2020 is going to be another big year for electric cars.