{"id":57265,"date":"2022-01-17T12:28:34","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T01:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=57265"},"modified":"2022-01-17T15:32:02","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T05:02:02","slug":"real-world-ev-range","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/real-world-ev-range\/","title":{"rendered":"EV Ranges In The Real World — How Far Will You Really Go?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Real-world<\/p>\r\n

Electric car manufacturers know exactly how much range drivers get on average from a full charge.\u00a0 Despite this, they continue to give inflated figures based on unrealistic tests rather than a realistic real-world range.<\/p>\r\n

This annoys me so much I’m almost peeved.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

I decided to look up the real-world ranges of EVs and compare them to manufacturers’ official figures to get to the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find good information on real-world ranges.\u00a0 Not for Australia.\u00a0 We’re not exactly a hub of EV activity here.\u00a0 At least, not compared to places like Norway<\/a> or China<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

I found the ranges of EVs given by the European Electric Vehicle Database<\/a> for when they are driven on a pleasant day without any heating or air conditioner use1<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 This does not represent typical driving in Australia.\u00a0 While we have more pleasant days than Europeans, right now, in the middle of summer, it’s hard to remember such things even exist.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\"\"

“I have felt temperatures Europeans wouldn’t believe…\u00a0 Thermometers over 46 in Adelaide City…\u00a0 I watched Dutch tourists suffer heatstroke sitting in the shade…\u00a0 All those moments will be lost, in time, due to beers in my brain…”<\/p><\/div>\r\n

The EV Database also has figures for real-world range that include heating and cooling, but because they may not reflect Australian conditions, I decided to give EV manufacturers a huge break and start with the figures that don’t take cabin comfort into account.\u00a0 This decision made me feel like I was bending over backwards to make EV manufacturers look good, but I needn’t have worried because none of them actually managed to do that.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The EV database does have “worst-case” figures for driving at -10 degrees that takes heating into account, but I’ll ignore them as they may only apply to the very small number of Australians who drive in the Snowy Mountains or are in the habit of chucking laps around ice rinks.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Electric Car Selection<\/h2>\r\n

The Australian Electric Vehicle Council site gives 33 fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles<\/a> available down under — although some are easier to get your hands on than others.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

I’m only going to look at full EVs under $100,000.\u00a0 I see little point in considering vehicles out of reach of normal Australians. If you spend over $100,000 on a car, it’s not a form of transport, it’s a statement to the world you weren’t hugged enough as a child.<\/p>\r\n

This means I’m leaving out the Tesla Model S, but you can read my review of the Tesla Model S here<\/a>.\u00a0 It’s a great car, as it should be because it cost my boss over one hundred…\u00a0 Oh.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Maybe I shouldn’t have brought this up.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\"finn

A child who needs more hugs. Allegedly.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

EV Manufacturer Website Ranges<\/h2>\r\n

Here are electric vehicle ranges taken from manufacturers’ Australian websites2<\/a><\/sup>:<\/p>\r\n

\"Manufacturer<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
EV Model<\/strong><\/td>\r\nClaimed Range (km)<\/b><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Mini Cooper SE<\/td>\r\n233<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Nissan Leaf<\/td>\r\n270<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Hyundai Kona Std Range<\/td>\r\n305<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Hyundai Ioniq<\/td>\r\n311<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Nissan Leaf e+<\/td>\r\n385<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Volvo C40 Recharge<\/td>\r\n420<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Hyundai Ioniq 5 Long Range<\/td>\r\n441<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Kia e-Niro 64 kWh<\/td>\r\n455<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Hyundai Kona Extended Range<\/td>\r\n484<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Tesla 3 Standard Range +<\/td>\r\n491<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
BMW i4 eDrive40<\/td>\r\n590<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Tesla Model 3 Long Range 75kWh<\/td>\r\n614<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

In the graph above, the ranges don’t look too bad.\u00a0 When I drive around town, I average under 45 km per hour, so it appears even the shortest range electric vehicle — the Mini Cooper SE<\/a> — is good for over 5 hours of city driving.\u00a0 Unfortunately, appearances are deceiving.<\/p>\r\n

Some of the manufacturers indicate their EVs aren’t likely to have as much range as the figures they give:<\/p>\r\n