Why Is EV Total Range Subjective?
The distance one can travel in a fully charged electric vehicle defines the usefulness of said EV. Thankfully, battery technology has advanced well this past decade to allow them to travel between 250km to 500km on a single charge.
However, there’s a difference between what the manufacturer says its EV will do versus the actual distance that drivers can achieve on a single charge. That’s because energy consumption depends on several varied factors.
But before that, we need to understand how car companies determine their EVs’ range. There are three methods: WLTP, NEDC and EPA. The former two are both European standards while the latter is meant for the US. The main area where the European and US Standards differ is on priority that’s given to either city or highway driving.
The European testing standards favour city driving while the US standard places more emphasis on highway or long distance runs as it’s more in line with Americans’ daily commutes. This is why you can’t compare EPA ratings with that of the WLTP.
WLTP stands for Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure. It’s a standard used by manufacturers for testing passenger and light commercial vehicles all over the world.
NEDC stands for New European Driving Cycle, and it’s meant to test an EV’s range in a lab using ideal testing conditions. It’s considered outdated compared to WLTP, which uses more practical and realistic testing methods to determine the range of any given vehicle.
That said, despite the WLTP being tested closer to real world conditions, the chances of you achieving the manufacturer estimates are bleak at best. That’s because driving behavior differs between drivers and the following are the reasons for that:
Accelerator use
When it comes to power consumption, it’s the same for ICE cars as it is for EVs. The more enthusiastic you are with the accelerator pedal, the higher the power drain. As such, you’ll need to be frugal with the throttle on journeys and try to coast when possible. This should allow you to retain vital kms on each trip.
Traffic congestion
Bumper to bumper crawls is a major contributor to bad fuel/power consumption. Constantly having to inch forward as the vehicles in front of you do the same, zaps a significant amount of power.
If this is what your daily commute looks like, you’ll receive range figures far less than what’s been stated in the brochure. What compounds the problem even more is the electricity that’s also consumed by air conditioning unit on full blast as well as the infotainment system throughout the journey.
Stop and go traffic is worse on EVs without regenerative braking because you’re unable to reclaim lost energy when applying the brakes. Those that are equipped with such technology can get back a few kilometers in range over the course of each journey.
Tyre type and size
EVs are usually fitted with rims and tyres that offer a good balance of range and grip level. It’s a compromise that tries to offer drivers the best experience possible. Choosing to swap the OEM choice for ones that are vastly different in terms of size and width can contribute to lower overall range as well.
