The Consumer Reports organization has a good reputation for product testing. A major concern potential EV owners have is how far they can drive without recharging.
Recently CR published “range tests” for electric vehicles. Many fell short of the range claimed on the window sticker.
Their test was to take a fully charged vehicle and drive it at 70 mph until the battery went dead. They tested 22 different vehicles from 14 brands.
Ten of the 22 exhibited ranges that fell short of the window sticker claim, for an average shortfall of 21.3 miles. The three worst offenders - a Tesla, a Lucid, and a Ford - fell short by 39, 40, and 50 miles respectively.
“Most drivers travel relatively short distances on a daily basis and are highly unlikely to reach the range limits of most new EVs. But long road trips are a different story. We feel that consumers should have an idea of how far EVs can travel on a long highway-centric journey,” said Alex Knizek, CR’s manager of auto testing and insights. “Range is much more important when you’re far from home and away from reliable charging.”
COTTonLINE adds, this fine test would have been even more realistic if done with the air conditioning running. Most long, away-from-home-and-charger trips are taken in summer heat when kids are not in school. Anecdotal reports (and logic) suggest range is significantly shortened by running the AC.
Home owning two car families can easily have one EV to use for the many close-to-home trips every family makes day in and day out. That is, if they also have a petroleum-fueled vehicle which can do it all - both short and long trips. In the foreseeable future, renters and most single car households won’t find an EV practical.
