- The Polestar 2 achieved the longest vary of this group check, adopted by the brand new Renault Scenic E-Tech.
- One of many 12 entrants was a 2015 Tesla Mannequin S with nearly 260,000 miles on its odometer that also did nice for its age.
Vary nervousness just isn’t as huge a priority with the present crop of electrical automobiles offered in Europe. Even the lowest-range vehicles can now simply exceed 200 miles on one cost thanks to greater batteries and improved effectivity.
The UK’s What Automobile? gathered a gaggle of 12 electrical automobiles, of which 11 have been model new fashions, along with a high-mileage Tesla Mannequin S 90D and drove them till they died.
Not like the similar-format checks carried out by different shops, that are executed on public roads and a few variables and outcomes can’t be managed, What Automobile? used a monitor as an alternative.
By having a monitor with no site visitors or different variables that might have an effect on the end result, all of the vehicles within the check went by means of the identical regime of simulated metropolis and open-road driving—it’s just a bit bit extra scientific. That’s why it’s maybe unsurprising that the automobiles with the best claimed vary additionally carried out one of the best on this check, and the automobile that got here in second is a brand-new EV that might quickly develop into a favourite in Europe.
It’s the Renault Scenic E-Tech, which for its newest era abandons its minivan physique and combustion energy and turns into an all-electric crossover. It has a 92 kWh battery pack with a usable capability of 87 kWh and a WLTP estimated vary of 379 miles. It additionally seems nice and was one of many roomiest and most sensible automobiles of this check.
Renault Scenic E-Tech Electrical
The Scenic E-Tech managed 322 miles earlier than it floor to a halt, lacking its claimed vary determine by 15.2% and it got here in second place. Solely the lately up to date Polestar 2 in rear-wheel drive long-range guise, with its 82 kWh battery, beat it, protecting 333 miles, or about 18% lower than its claimed WLTP vary of 406 miles.
The largest-battery EV of the check, the 99.8 kWh Kia EV9 in rear-wheel drive guise, took the third place. It stopped after 314 miles, or 10% in need of its claimed WLTP vary of 349 miles. That is truly higher than the 304 miles the EPA says you must anticipate to attain from a same-spec mannequin within the U.S., so this actually is a formidable end result.
Coming in fourth place—and maybe extra related to any U.S. readers on the market—was the BMW i5 eDrive40, which got here closest to matching its WLTP vary. It stopped after 314 miles of driving or about 8.1% in need of the claimed 338 miles. It was adopted by the Cupra Born VZ, which achieved 294 miles, or 11.9% lower than its 334-mile WLTP declare.
The reviewers expressed their disappointment with the car that got here in sixth place, the Audi Q6 E-Tron, a model new mannequin constructed on the PPE structure shared with the Porsche Macan EV. Its 94.9 kWh battery, which makes it the longest-range electrical Audi, took it 289 miles, lacking its WLTP vary of 344 miles by 16%. Subsequent got here the Tesla Mannequin 3 rear-wheel drive, which was essentially the most environment friendly car of this check, however it recorded the largest distinction between its real-world vary and the WLTP quantity.
It achieved 255 miles, or 19.7% lower than the marketed 318-mile WLTP vary. The Hyundai Kona Electrical got here inside 9.7% of reaching its 282-mile WLTP vary and stopped after 255 miles. This places the Volvo EX30 in a foul gentle with the 17.9% distinction between its 242-mile check vary and the 295-mile WLTP declare.
The oldie of the group check was a 2015 Tesla Mannequin S 90D that had coated nearly 260,000 miles. It stored going for 213 miles, surpassing the Peugeot e-308 SW (212 miles) and the Mini Cooper SE (211 miles). That’s fairly a exceptional achievement for such an outdated EV whose battery had solely misplaced 13% of its authentic capability.
