- The Polestar 2 achieved the longest range of this group test, followed by the new Renault Scenic E-Tech.
- One of the 12 entrants was a 2015 Tesla Model S with almost 260,000 miles on its odometer that still did great for its age.
Range anxiety is not as big a concern with the current crop of electric vehicles sold in Europe. Even the lowest-range cars can now easily exceed 200 miles on one charge thanks to bigger batteries and improved efficiency.
The UK's What Car? gathered a group of 12 electric vehicles, of which 11 were brand new models, together with a high-mileage Tesla Model S 90D and drove them until they died.
Unlike the similar-format tests performed by other outlets, which are done on public roads and some variables and results can’t be controlled, What Car? used a track instead.
By having a track with no traffic or other variables that could affect the result, all the cars in the test went through the same regime of simulated city and open-road driving—it’s just a little bit more scientific. That’s why it’s perhaps unsurprising that the vehicles with the highest claimed range also performed the best in this test, and the car that came in second is a brand-new EV that could soon become a favorite in Europe.
It’s the Renault Scenic E-Tech, which for its latest generation abandons its minivan body and combustion power and becomes an all-electric crossover. It has a 92 kWh battery pack with a usable capacity of 87 kWh and a WLTP estimated range of 379 miles. It also looks great and was one of the roomiest and most practical vehicles of this test.
The Scenic E-Tech managed 322 miles before it ground to a halt, missing its claimed range figure by 15.2% and it came in second place. Only the recently updated Polestar 2 in rear-wheel drive long-range guise, with its 82 kWh battery, beat it, covering 333 miles, or about 18% less than its claimed WLTP range of 406 miles.
The biggest-battery EV of the test, the 99.8 kWh Kia EV9 in rear-wheel drive guise, took the third position. It stopped after 314 miles, or 10% short of its claimed WLTP range of 349 miles. This is actually better than the 304 miles the EPA says you should expect to achieve from a same-spec model in the U.S., so this really is an impressive result.
Coming in fourth position—and perhaps more relevant to any U.S. readers out there—was the BMW i5 eDrive40, which came closest to matching its WLTP range. It stopped after 314 miles of driving or about 8.1% short of the claimed 338 miles. It was followed by the Cupra Born VZ, which achieved 294 miles, or 11.9% less than its 334-mile WLTP claim.
The reviewers expressed their disappointment with the vehicle that came in sixth position, the Audi Q6 E-Tron, a brand new model built on the PPE architecture shared with the Porsche Macan EV. Its 94.9 kWh battery, which makes it the longest-range electric Audi, took it 289 miles, missing its WLTP range of 344 miles by 16%. Next came the Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive, which was the most efficient vehicle of this test, but it recorded the biggest difference between its real-world range and the WLTP number.
It achieved 255 miles, or 19.7% less than the advertised 318-mile WLTP range. The Hyundai Kona Electric came within 9.7% of achieving its 282-mile WLTP range and stopped after 255 miles. This puts the Volvo EX30 in a bad light with the 17.9% difference between its 242-mile test range and the 295-mile WLTP claim.
The oldie of the group test was a 2015 Tesla Model S 90D that had covered almost 260,000 miles. It kept going for 213 miles, surpassing the Peugeot e-308 SW (212 miles) and the Mini Cooper SE (211 miles). That’s quite a remarkable achievement for such an old EV whose battery had only lost 13% of its original capacity.
