Hi folks, I'm trying to work out the range of an EV needed for regular long distance driving based on manufacturers' quoted ranges. I've arrived at these approximate numbers: Real world range is: 94% of EPA 85% of WLTP 70% of NEDC and about 80% if you don't know what test cycle is quoted. Any thoughts on these? Are they accurate enough? Thanks for any feedback you can give.
I think there needs to be a cold temperature test rating for electric cars. Maybe test them at 0 degrees F and 30 degrees F. Otherwise, I think the tests are good enough as long as the vehicles are tested under the same conditions.
My experience, drive any car at 62-63 mph with tires at maximum sidewall pressure in 55F-85F and you'll get EPA numbers. Outside of this range, your mileage will be less. This comes from Prius driving tests starting in October 2005. Bob Wilson
Sure there are many variables and we can only take very approximate averages. That, however, is what I'm looking for. A very approximate idea of what to multiply the manufacturers' quoted ranges by in order to get a rough idea of the required range. More specifically, someone who is driving long distances regularly who can drive for about 2 hours before wanting to stop can do about 140 miles here in the UK with a 70mph national speed limit on motorways. Assuming rapid charging from 20%-80%, real world range needs to be about 233 miles. Assuming that the real world range is about 85% of WLTP range, we need to look for cars with a manufacturer quoted WLTP range of 275 miles. It's getting that percentage - 85% used in this example - which I'm looking to get accurate numbers on. I appreciate that the EPA range is more accurate than WLTP in the case of motorway/interstate driving.
Autocar did their own real world range tests last year. These are the top range cars. It is surprising how poor some did compared to EPA. And then there were a few that did much better. https://insideevs.com/news/407807/eletric-car-real-world-range-tested/
My experience has been considerably better range than any of the posted ratings in summer months, but much lower in winter. I'm in an area with pretty extreme seasonal changes in conditions (-30C to +30C are not uncommon with the span of a few months, and I need to run on winter tires for up to 5 months) so any agency trying to get test results would be hard pressed to get something accurate for all locations. Achieving the rated numbers on any vehicle are a crapshoot, but even more so with EV's given their increased sensitivity to driving conditions.
Yes, for sure, summer is better than winter. And city driving is better than hwy (opposite with ICE vehicles).
As others have stated, it depends a lot on what type of driving, and temperature. I live in a warm climate and average the WLTP range year round. There are some trips I use more, and some less, but my average since new is, to the 1/10 of a km, exactly the WLTP range. It is about 31% more than EPA and 15% less than NEDC. My best ever consumption was actually over NEDC, but that was in ideal conditions and driving like a snail. So, for warmer climates, WLTP seems spot on, for cooler climates, somewhere between WLTP and EPA is probably closer, and for arctic regions (ok, cold) then EPA is probably a good measure. It also depends on the car. Most European cars generally outperform their EPA range by some margin whereas US built cars (eg Tesla) rarely even reach their EPA. This is not a fault, but probably more accurate testing by Tesla, and more lax EPA testing by the European manufacturers.