Motoring

Ten electric cars put through their paces to see their real-world driving ranges

"New electric vehicles fall as little as 3% short of their quoted range in real-world driving conditions." This, according to a study done by What Car?

The Porsche Taycan 4S Performance Battery Plus achieved 474km’s range in real-world driving conditions as part of a new What Car? range test, representing a 3% shortfall from its official 490km Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) range. The Taycan 4S Performance Battery Plus also took home the Best Electric Performance Car award at the annual What Car? Electric Car Awards in association with ONTO.

What Car? tested the WLTP ranges of 10 cars. The test was conducted on a closed vehicle proving ground, on a 362km route consisting of 4,18km of simulated stop-start urban traffic, four miles of steady 80km/h driving and 12,8km of driving at a constant speed of 118km/h, to simulate motorway journeys.

Each of the 10 vehicles was fully charged and left outside for 15 hours, before being fully charged again ahead of the test. The cars were then driven until they ran flat, with on-road position and driver changes at the end of each lap.

The Porsche Taycan 4S beat the Mazda MX-30 SE-L Lux into second place, with that falling just 7,1% short of its quoted 199km range. The Fiat 500 42kWh Icon was farthest away from its official range, falling 29,2% shy of its 318km WLTP figure. Meanwhile, the Ford Mach-E Extended Range RWD fell 20,2% short of its official figure, but achieved the highest outright test mileage, covering 609km before its battery ran out.

“On average, the 10 vehicles tested achieved a shortfall of 14,8% from their quoted WLTP range,” said What Car?

Steve Huntingford, the editor of What Car?, said, “Range is one of the key criteria for new and used electric car buyers. Our real-world driving test shows that some electric vehicles can get incredibly close to their quoted figures in the real world, while others are farther behind, so it’s important buyers do their research and organise test drives when considering a new electric vehicle.”

To read the full Electric Car of the Year Awards feature and range test, visit: https://newspressuk.com/publicReleaseView/98878/54965?token=XdyNQVBCYW21H008Pj9o

Miles and miles per hour – converted to approximate km and km/h.

Source: Newspress

Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here.

Matthys Ferreira

Served in SAPS for 22 years - specialised in forensic and crime scene investigation and forensic photography. A stint in photographic sales and management followed. Been the motoring editor at Lowveld Media since 2007. "A petrol head I am not but I am good at what I do".
Back to top button