Peter Lyon
July 8, 2024
Electric vehicles in the modern era, given that the first EVs were launched well over 130 years ago, surfaced as mass-produced models in 2011 when the Nissan Leaf landed in showrooms. Only able to travel around 100 miles, or 160 km on a full charge, the first production EV was essentially an experiment—and took over 8 hours to charge.
Fast-forward 13 years and most EVs coming onto the market today boast ranges exceeding 400 miles or 644 kms and charging times of around 30-40 minutes.
In first place, the EV with the longer range now is the Mercedes-Benz EQS with a claimed range of 481 miles or 774 km according to the official WLTP testing routine. One reason for the EQS’s phenomenal range is its so-called “jelly bean-style body” which has a Cd coefficient of 0.20 making it the most aerodynamic car on the market.
WLTP vs EPA range is very different
Although, to be bluntly honest, as a rule of thumb, we feel you can subtract between 15-20% of the claimed range to arrive at a more real-world figure. Also it can be charged from 10-80% in 30 minutes at up to 200kW. America’s EPA regimen however puts the range at a more realistic 390 miles or 627 km, which is still a healthy number indeed. Just to give you an idea, the EQS’s WLTP range of 481 miles is 19% higher than the EPA’s 390 mile range.
In second place is the Volkswagen ID 7 with a claimed WLTP range of 436 miles or 701 kms. This VW can also charge at up to 200kW and take a little over 30 minutes to reach 80% charge.
In third place we have the Peugeot e-3008 which employs a 98kWh battery pack and can cover a claimed 422 miles or 679 km and charge at up to 160kW which translates to an 80% charging time of closer to an hour.
Ranking in at fourth spot is the high performance Porsche Taycan with 422 miles or 679 km. Boasting a newly fitted 1100-hp ultra-high-performance powertrain, the Performance Plus battery pack can charge at up to 320kW taking around 30 minutes to charge.
And in 5th place we have the Polestar 2 with claimed range of 406 miles or 653 km, with the Telsa Model 3 just behind with a reported 405 miles.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
So even if we think along the lines of range figures for more real-world figures, the EQS, ID 7, Taycan, Polestar and Model 3 all offer range of over 500 km which is rapidly becoming the new industry standard for EVs. What range would you expect from an EV before you buy one?
