An intriguing test performed by Consumer Reports has revealed that there are plenty of electric vehicles that fall short of their EPA range figures but there are some that can comfortably exceed their quoted ranges. So which cars came out on top?
Range figures provided by the EPA combine both simulated city and highway driving into a single figure. This is different than the EPA’s mileage estimates for ICE-powered vehicles which includes separate figures for city and highway driving. EVs are traditionally more efficient during city driving as they can more frequently capture energy using regenerative braking but for its recent test, Consumer Reports decided to test new EVs purely on the highway to see how they compare with the range figures provided by the EPA.
Read: These Are The 10 Shortest-Range New EVs In America
The publication’s test saw it put 22 of the most popular new EVs through the same highway range test with each car driving at a constant 70 mph (112 km/h) until they completely range out of charge. Each of the vehicles it tested had between 2,000 and 15,000 miles on the odometer and all tests were performed at temperatures between 70 and 90° F. The climate control of each vehicle was also set to 72°, cruise control was used, and tire pressure was set to factory specifications.
The overachievers
The new electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz and BMW comfortably outperformed their respective EPA range estimates. For example, the Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic achieved an impressive 332 miles (534 km) on a single charge, surpassing its EPA-rated range by a substantial 72 miles (116 km). Similarly, the EQE SUV 350 4Matic exceeded its estimated range by 31 miles (50 km), achieving 284 miles (455 km) compared to the EPA’s 253 miles (407 km) estimate.
In the case of BMW, the i4 M50 surpassed its range claim by 47 miles (76 km), achieving 318 miles (512 km) compared to the stated 271 miles (436 km). Similarly, the iX xDrive50 exceeded its estimated range by 46 miles (74 km), covering 370 miles (595 km) as opposed to the EPA’s 342 miles (550 km) estimate.
Several other cars have surpassed their EPA range figures, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD Extended Range (exceeded by 29 miles / 47 km), the Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL AWD (exceeded by 11 miles / 17.8 km), the Rivian R1T (exceeded by 20 miles / 32 km), and the VW ID.4 Pro S (exceeded by 13 miles / 21 km).
The underachievers
A number of EVs fell short. The worst performer was the Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat Extended Range traveling just 270 miles (435 km), a full 50 miles (80 km) short of the EPA figure. Other poor performers included the Lucid Air Touring (-40 miles / 64 km), Tesla Model S Long Range (-39 miles / 63 km), and Lexus RZ 450e Premium (-18 miles / 29 km).
Consumer Reports has asked the EPA to add a highway-speed range test to new EVs following its test.
