[RahulNagaraj]

Consumer Reports has released the results of another study evaluating the advertised vs real-world range of EVs. As per the new study testing the highway range of EVs, CR found that half the electric vehicles in their test fleet offered less real-world range than what was advertised by the brand. Reports mentioned that for the study, CR considered 22 different EVs from the USA, Korea, Japan & Germany.



Jake Fisher, Senior Director of CR's Auto Test Centre, stated, "Real-world comparative tests are critical to understand if an EV is right for you. That’s why we purchase our vehicles like a consumer would and drive them at highway speeds like a consumer would on a road trip."

Alex Knizek, Manager, Auto Testing & Insights, CR, stated, "Range is much more important when you’re far from home and away from reliable charging. If you run out of charge on the highway, you may need to be towed, which could be both inconvenient and costly." He further added, "Even if the car indicated zero miles of range, we didn’t stop driving until the car came to a stop. Then we brought the car to a charger on a flatbed."



As per the study, the Ford F-150 Lightning had the biggest difference between its rea-world & EPA-estimate ranges. The F-150 Lightning ran out of charge at 370 miles - 50 miles less than advertised. Lucid Air Touring had the second biggest difference, falling short of its EPA estimate by 40 miles. Rounding off the top 3 was the Tesla Model S Long Range whose real-world range came up to 366 miles - 39 miles less than advertised.



However, the CR study also mentioned a few EVs that outperformed their advertised range. Top of this list was the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4MATIC, which offered 72 miles of additional real-world range than what it advertises. The BMW i4 and iX also offered 47 and 46 miles more than their advertised range, respectively.

Source: Consumer Reports

Link to Team-BHP news

[aniyo]

There is bound to be difference in real owrl vs advertised. Same is applicable to ICE as well. The more data we have from the road the better the accuracy will be.

Also the range is shown with 100% charge or 90% charge. Many car companies warn against charging above 90% for better battery life.

If the test was done with 100% charge and till 0, then we will have to further discount real world range.

[sgiitk]

This is quite a normal occurrence. Also, surprisingly the range may be lower on long runs since there is no regenerative braking. I take it at about 75% of the claimed figure.

An interesting corollary is that long range runs may be even worse. Why, due to no or little braking there is no 'regeneration'. Braking from a high speed is mostly 'physical'.

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

However, the CR study also mentioned a few EVs that outperformed their advertised range. Top of this list was the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4MATIC, which offered 72 miles of additional real-world range than what it advertises. The BMW i4 and iX also offered 47 and 46 miles more than their advertised range, respectively.

Only surprising thing is Mercedes and BMW cars consistently giving more range than advertised. 40-70 miles difference is huge 😅.

[Pontiac]

Originally Posted by aniyo

Same is applicable to ICE as well.

Not necessarily. For BEV's, range drops exponentially with speed. Same is not the case with ICE. Usually ICE vehicles under rate their range.

Stating one example, my 2019 A6 gives me a mileage of 32 mpg on highways at 90-100 MPH. Try running a EV on that speeds, and the range will dive down to half of what is claimed.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Pontiac

Stating one example, my 2019 A6 gives me a mileage of 32 mpg on highways at 90-100 MPH. Try running a EV on that speeds, and the range will dive down to half of what is claimed.

I would be very surprised if you can drive for one hour a where in Colorado for one hour at 100 mph. And that is irrespective of the maximum speed limit of 75 mph.

Jeroen

[V.Narayan]

The range I can understand has a theoretical value given the incomplete Ev charging infrastructure.

But why would anyone drive an EV till the last joule of energy in its batteries. Most of us including me don't drive our ICE cars till we have consumed the fumes in the tank! EVs only need a little bit more planning. That is all. And the real life range has increased in leaps and bounds over the last 5 years and I believe the trends will continue for the forseeable future. My EV has a real range of ~450 kms. While I have not used it for a real cross country ride I have used it {without the need for planning} for several round trips of 200 kms - Mathura & Meerut. With a few exceptions most of us are not doing non-stop 500 kms road trips every week or even every month.

On Sunday last I had to go to Mathura for work. The precaution I took was to fast charge the car to 90% the day before - took 35 minutes - so that I had a range of 450 kms showing on the odometer before sailing forth. Reached home the same day with around 250 kms done with a roughly 40% charge remaining. This with highway driving and the aircon switched on only when I entered Mathura to keep out the dust. Most of the trip I enjoyed the cold bracing wind of a North India winter.

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by Pontiac

Not necessarily. For BEV's, range drops exponentially with speed. Same is not the case with ICE. Usually ICE vehicles under rate their range.

What about driving in city? ICE vehicle mileage drops exponentially compared to claimed value in slow moving traffic.

[rapid_fire]

In Indian context, ARAI milage for EVs is a joke. The real world milage is somewhere between 60-70% of ARAI milage.
Nexon EV max (LR according to new terminology) gives around 280-300 km real world mileage while ARAI milage is 454 km.
We should come up with something more realistic so that owners can make an informed decision and buy asper their needs.

[Pontiac]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I would be very surprised if you can drive for one hour a where in Colorado for one hour at 100 mph.

Colorado has access to plain roads that lead to Salt Lake City in the north, New Mexico and Texas in the south, Las Vegas in the West, and Chicago in the East. I drive to all these places often on 4–5-day weekends. Without these speeds, it's just not possible. And on an EV, forget it.

Originally Posted by Joe367

What about driving in city? ICE vehicle mileage drops exponentially compared to claimed value in slow moving traffic.

In City, I average a 29mpg while it is rated for 25mpg. There is nothing exponential here.

[VSEV85]

Originally Posted by rapid_fire

In Indian context, ARAI milage for EVs is a joke. The real world milage is somewhere between 60-70% of ARAI milage.
Nexon EV max (LR according to new terminology) gives around 280-300 km real world mileage while ARAI milage is 454 km.
We should come up with something more realistic so that owners can make an informed decision and buy asper their needs.

Totally agree with you. I bought my ZS EV in aug 2021. The company claimed range was itself 320 kms. In late 2021 when ARAI released the figures for the same 44.5kw battery, I was shocked. It claimed to run 419 kms. The real world range at speeds around 90-100kmph, the car world run 260 - 290 kms depending on the elevation. The car's range was around 320-350 in city.

The car's range has decreased to around 240 - 260 kms at speeds around 90-100kmph. The car's range in city has reduced to 300 - 320 kms in city. My car has run 98000 kms till date in the last 2 years. The battery degradation is around 9.5%.
We should have better ways rate the real world range of EV's in India.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by rapid_fire

In Indian context, ARAI milage for EVs is a joke..

While considering an EV, the WLTP range makes the most sense. Most manufacturers will publish this. Though practically, this will also vary greatly on how you drive. EVs are best around 100-120 Kmph. And practically, this is all we need. In Indian contact, despite newer expressways or highways, it is almost impossible to get an average speed of 90 Kmp/h on most inter-city drives. Overseas, legal speeds in most countries max at 110 Kmp/ h. Say, another 10%- one can drive at 120 ish, but that's it.

Originally Posted by Pontiac

Without these speeds, it's just not possible. And on an EV, forget it.

Why? Are there Bandits chasing people?. I'm curious to know the maximum legal speeds on these stretches.

In City, I average a 29mpg while it is rated for 25mpg.

Maybe the member had mentioned relating to the Indian context. Also, your extremes - 100 Mph highway runs in the States and 15% higher mileage than published in the City. Don't you think these are exceptional, and perhaps something is unique with your abilities? This is certainly not a norm for most ordinary folks.

[rapid_fire]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

While considering an EV, the WLTP range makes the most sense. Most manufacturers will publish this.

The problem is WLTP range is not available for cars of Indian Manufacturers like Tata and Mahindra and for the EVs specifically made for India. These cars constitute the vast majority of EVs sold in India and for these vehicles only ARAI data will be available officially.
However most dealers will give an unofficial approximate real world range (usually the higher end of practically achievable) during sales enquiry.

[Pontiac]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I'm curious to know the maximum legal speeds on these stretches.

The answer is not simple one liner, and I must warn it’s going to be a long post, and these are strictly my take on things and do not want to challenge anybody else. I have driven to San Francisco, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Chicago multiple times to Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Texas and once even to the southern tip of Texas that borders with Mexico known as Boca Chica.

I should also admit before I start that speed enforcement is stricter in the US than in Japan and when I moved to the States from Japan, I was accumulating speeding tickets and warnings like some kind of collectible.

After 3 speeding tickets and couple of warnings, here are my observations on speed limits in the US.

Legal Speeds.

Most of the highways has a max speed limit of 75MPH except for Interstate in Wyoming which has an 80MPH limit.

Legal Speed when traffic is moving at a higher speed.

Even if a road has a speed limit, the law states if the traffic is moving at a higher speed, one needs to follow the speed of the traffic. I remember this as this is the only question, I got wrong on my Driver Ed questionnaire.

You might ask why the traffic would move at a higher speed if the limit were lower? This leads to my next observation.

Legal Speeds + tolerable delta.

This is the band of speed between the posted speed limit and the speed that will get you a ticket. Here is an example speed band. Left is the limit, right being the speed which is considered not ticket able.

35MPH – 40MPH (These are in towns, and they are very strict about this limit.)
45MPH – 50MPH (These are in towns, and they are very strict about this limit.)
55MPH – 60-65MPH (Depending on the town)
65MPH – 75MPH (Depending on the town)
75MPH – 85MPH
80MPH – 90MPH

Now you realize that traffic is already moving at this tolerance band on these roads.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Why? Are there Bandits chasing people? .

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Also, your extremes - 100 Mph highway runs in the States and 15% higher mileage than published in the city. Don't you think these are exceptional, and perhaps something is unique with your abilities? This is certainly not a norm for most ordinary folks.

The idea is simple, when I start on a road trip, I like to know the arrival time at my destination so I can plan on restaurants and activities. Google maps give arrival time based on the traffic speed and no breaks. Remember the traffic speed is the Second item on the above list and not the speed limit. One can travel slightly higher speed than this speed of traffic and ‘gain’ time on google map estimate that you can spend on your breaks. I typically take a break every two-three hour and still reach at your predicted time at the start of the trip.

I am not getting to ‘what does it take to go beyond this limit discussed’ as this will upset a lot of people here and it’s beyond the scope of the discussion here. I will certainly give some pointers if one is interested to know. I will leave a clue however, Radar Detectors.

Now coming to EV part of the question.

My car has a 600mile range and I stop to fill gas when the range left is 150-200miles as I have found stretches where there are no gas stations for even 200miles. Well, this is not possible as the maximum range of a Tesla model3 long range at 80MPH max speed is 260-280Miles. Imagine having to stop for charging when you have 100Miles left. See my point?

I often see traffic patches and often you will see there is an EV trying to mile slowing the entire traffic down when Semi trucks try to overtake these slow moving EVs. Worse when they occupy the passing lanes also.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

15% higher mileage than published in the city. Don't you think these are exceptional, and perhaps something is unique with your abilities? This is certainly not a norm for most ordinary folks.

I should have mentioned, my 2019 A6 has a 48V mild hybrid system. It has regenerative breaking and uses battery for acceleration and any power surges required. My friends get baffled when I say my car has a 600-mile range on a full tank of gas that drops only a 50 at speeds more than 95MPH.

This is a photo I had taken some time back to explain how technology in cars have progressed over time. Current generation of cars once they are at a speed, needs very less rpm to maintain.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Pontiac

Not necessarily. For BEV's, range drops exponentially with speed.

This is another one of those unfounded EV takes I am being honest. The drop is nowhere near "exponential" - infact it is quite linear. If it is can you please explain what the exponential function is or atleast give us some data points?

Referring to Bjorn Nyland's, one of the most famous youtuber who tests EV's, spreadsheet on range

Tesla Model Y LR @ 90 kmph consumes 142 wh/km
Tesla Model Y LR @ 120 kmph consumes 195 wh/km

So an increase in speed by 30 kmph increases the consumption by 28% - which nowhere near exponential especially given that the engine (or in this case motor) has to work even harder due to significant increase in aerodynamic drag which increases with the square of speed.

My experience with my own Model Y Performance is similar. The difference in consumption at 100 kmph vs 110 kmph (the max speed in my state) is not exponential.