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Range estimates are exactly that – estimates. We show you what you can expect from an EV in the real-world
Battery technology and charging infrastructure is constantly improving, quickly turning EVs from niche vehicles to viable replacements for combustion-engined cars. But how far you can drive between top-ups is still a valid concern.
Manufacturer range estimates vary wildly, and aren’t always achievable in everyday driving conditions – so how far can you really go on a single charge? Our sister site What Car? puts every electric car through a range test and these are the results.
1. Hyundai Kona Electric, 259 miles
Our current long-distance champion for electric range isn’t the car with the biggest battery, and nor is it the most expensive. That it comes from a mainstream brand rather than a luxury one and can be had for under £35,000 speaks volumes for EV adoption.
When we road tested the Kona Electric last year, we said it offered “the most compelling blend of usability and affordability yet seen in an EV,” and with a real-world range of over 250 miles from a 64kWh battery, it bests premium names like Tesla, Jaguar and Audi.
In fact, its combination of price, performance and popular compact crossover bodystyle have proved so in demand that Hyundai is struggling to meet demand.
2. Jaguar I-Pace, 253 miles
As the first European carmaker to release a premium model to challenge the likes of Tesla, Jaguar beat its closest rivals to the punch, while also setting a high bar for them to follow. It is a true driver’s car that happens to be powered by electricity, with impressive amounts of acceleration and the kind of handling you expect from the brand.With a 90kWh battery powering its twin electric motors, the I-Pace achieves a real-world range of 253 miles. That narrowly puts it into second place behind the Kona Electric, but with support for faster DC rapid charging, it may spend less time plugged into a compatible charging point to regain any lost range .
3. Kia e-Niro, 253 miles
Sharing the second row of the podium with the I-Pace, the recently replaced Kia e-Niro also managed 253 miles of range – despite having a significantly smaller battery than the Jaguar. It shares its powertrain with the Hyundai Kona Electric, but has a slight weight penalty on account of its larger body. The all-new replacement features a similarly-sized battery and claimed range as this mode, so we’d expect it to perform similarly in the real world.
When we road tested the new e-Niro, we were extremely impressed with its usability, refinement and ride quality, while the improvemts to the interior and handling made it an even more desirable choice.
4. Tesla Model 3, 239 miles
The long-awaited mainstream Tesla model only recently arrived in the UK, after a year of massive sales success in the USA. The Model 3 is available in Rear Wheel Drive or Long Range AWD specification, plus there’s the Performance model with its BMW M3-baiting power and that delivers the 0-60mph sprint in 3.1 seconds and a 162mph top speed. It was this version we tested, with the optional Performance Pack adding larger 20in wheels over the standard, aero-optimised 18in alloys.
In our tests, the Model 3 Performance achieved 239 miles of real-world driving. That puts it beyond the longest range Model X, which costs significantly more, and comfortably ahead of the Audi E-tron electric SUV.
In our tests, the Model 3 Performance achieved 239 miles of real-world driving. That puts it beyond the longest range Model X, which costs significantly more, and comfortably ahead of the Audi E-tron electric SUV.
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6. Nissan Leaf e+, 217 milesThe first generation Nissan Leaf was among the first affordable electric cars, but it wasn’t a distance champion. The second-generation model made gains, but it was the e+ version that made the biggest leap, thanks to a 62kWh battery. Compared to the 40kWh battery seen in the regular car, it allows for an extra 90 miles of real-world driving.
The e+ also has more power than the regular leaf, with 214bhp making it much more responsive. It does, however, suffer from a less refined ride than the standard car, so using that extra power through the corners isn’t quite as entertaining as it perhaps could be.
7. Mercedes-Benz EQC, 208 miles
Experiments with electric Smart cars and a battery powered AMG SLS sports car aside, the EQC is Mercedes’ first production EV. It’s a premium SUV with familiar yet different styling, so it doesn’t stand out too dramatically from the rest of the Mercedes line-up, and delivers the kind of interior we’ve come to expect from the marque.
An 80kWh battery pack has to power two motors, one for each to produce a combined 402bhp and 561lb ft of torque, giving it more accelerative thrust than either of its two mainstream rivals, the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-tron. While it has more power than the Jaguar, it depletes its battery faster for everyday driving – you can expect to see a typical real world range of more than 200 miles, which narrowly beats the similarly-priced Audi.
8. Audi E-tron, 196 miles
Audi had experimented with electric versions of its existing models before, but the e-tron is the first of a new generation, and potentially one of the brand’s most important cars for years.
It’s a luxury SUV first and an EV second, but with styling that doesn’t set it far apart from its combustion-engined stablemates. It is heavy, however, and even though it has a large 95kWh battery pack, drivers can expect a real-world range of around 196 miles. On the plus side, support for 150kW charging means you won’t spend too long waiting to resume your journey when the cells do run low.
9. Renault Zoe R135, 192 miles
The new generation Zoe arrived with a more powerful powertrain than the original car, which remains in the line-up as a new entry-level model. Exterior styling hasn’t changed dramatically, but Renault has made real gains inside the cabin, with elements shared with the new Clio greatly raising perceived quality.
The Zoe’s 52kWh battery is officially capable of 238 miles on the WLTP test cycle, but our real-world testing showed the car could manage 192 miles in regular use. That puts it among cars costing significantly more and also makes it one of the few that comes close to matching its WLTP figure.
10. Tesla Model 3 Standard Plus, 181 miles
Tesla’s most attainable model had already proven itself a capable electric tourer in more powerful Performance guise, but this Standard Range Plus model is capable of fewer miles between charges. Now known simply as the Rear Wheel Drive (and with a slightly improved official range of 305 miles) it has one motor powering the rear wheels only, rather than the two found in the Performance version, and it has a smaller battery pack, but it still landed in the upper echelons of distance-driving EVs under our Real Range tests. Our testing produced a real-world range of 181 miles, putting it ahead of the similarly-priced BMW i3, but behind the capable Hyundai Kona EV and Kia E-Niro.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.
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Don’t know if it will be available on Motability but the Chinese company BYD are said to be launching their “Seal” model here later this year. It has a range of 435 miles costing £31,850. If that happens it would certainly give the established EV companies something to ponder!
A few more China.com cars that meet European specifications, woulddn’t be a bad thing if only to open the the eyes of European car makers.
I found this clip interesting:
“The other thing we’re going to see next year (2023 is a glut of Chinese-produced cars, sold under their own badges or those of existing European car makers. Chinese firms tend to make rather grandiose claims about delivery dates, but of all of those we’ve seen and driven it’s the BYD Atto 3 with its lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology that has impressed the most.
Most of the Chinese-made vehicles are aimed at the family crossover market, where price takes precedence over the badge, so think of Geely’s Lynk & Co, Shanghai Automotive’s MG brand or Great Wall Motor’s Ora brand and its Funky Cat as typical contenders, although only MG is calling its pricing strategy “disruptive”; a phrase calculated to send chills through the bones of non-premium giants such as Ford, which has a couple of family crossovers to launch next year, or Opel Vauxhall.
Then there are the Chinese-made cars sold by European brands, including the new Smart, new Mini and Volvo’s XC60, S90 and forthcoming small SUV models. Europe’s carmakers have called for tariff protection against what looks like Chinese cars sold at near to or even below the cost of production (known as dumping), but while the European Union has been quick to slap anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese-made electric bicycles, I wouldn’t expect any action against cars produced in China despite the damage they could potentially do to Europe’s car makers, as well as automotive jobs and investment.
Tariff protection would be difficult to frame and enforce and would be seen as inflammatory to Sino-European trade relationships. Moreover, since European carmakers are unable to produce soon-to-be mandated battery cars at the sizes and prices that ordinary folk can afford, these cheap Chinese battery-electric machines are a way of UK and European legislators justifying their monomaniacal battery-at-all-costs strategies. Oh, the things we give away in the name of the environment…
The other thing that might come under more scrutiny is battery-car range. Not only are the WLTP range tests completely hopeless for battery cars, but even within these figures, in real-life testing, some cars do well while others do appallingly. Again, our technically illiterate Government hasn’t understood the ramifications of battery-car efficiency or miles per kilowatt hour. ”
The article was based on the best cars in 2023, not something I particularly agrred with, but the content of the article pointed out above was interesting. More can be found here if you want to read it.
On the subject of Chinese cars what is also intersting is Nio’s ET7 and ES7 are useing a form of solid state battery along with other manufacturers that aren’t that much more according to Nio to manufacture than the normal wet batteries we see in EV’s. The Nio ET7 150Kw for example see’s a 620 mile range and may not be affected as much in colder climates!
At present its possible to buy am MG4 for around 32k for the top of the range Trophy, range 270 miles. Similar cars, the ID.3 and Kona are around the 40k mark. As a private buyer it could be difficult to justify the extra cost. The issue with the new Chinese electric offerings is the unknown and reliability.
The issue with the new Chinese electric offerings is the unknown and reliability.
I don’t think thats so much the case, rather currently the lack of dedicated dealers. Nor do I think they are less or more reliable than there European counterparts. Its worth remembering Chinese cars currently have a bigger market in other countries such as Aussie than here or aany country with RHD.
On top of that they will have to meet European standards before they are sold.
Just cast your mind back when Hyundai first came to the UK!
The issue with the new Chinese electric offerings is the unknown and reliability.
I don’t think thats so much the case, rather currently the lack of dedicated dealers. Nor do I think they are less or more reliable than there European counterparts. Its worth remembering Chinese cars currently have a bigger market in other countries such as Aussie than here or aany country with RHD. On top of that they will have to meet European standards before they are sold. Just cast your mind back when Hyundai first came to the UK!
Indeed or Datsun, as it then was.
My MG5 was extremely unreliable and I was getting nowhere near the 250 miles range either in spring, summer, autumn or winter.
erm please lucky I was not logged in do not post my post I am sure my iPhone just corrected a word to the n word wth
Indeed or Datsun, as it then was.
Did you find the the dealer network inexperienced at any faults.
How very odd @Elliot I quoted your post and it came out as quoting @fwippers post!!
Indeed or Datsun, as it then was.
fwippers Datsun was the overseas name for Nissan, before becoming known as Nissan everywhere and nowt to do with Hyundai lol
I was referring to the unknown quantity when any new manufacturer first appears. The famous 120Y
I running a bit slow today 🙂
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