- All You Need to Know About the Range of an Electric Car
- Short to Long Electric Car Range
- The 10 Electric Cars with the Longest Range: The Leaderboard
- How Can I Take Out the Most Range from My EV?
Driving an Electric Vehicle (EV) is more fulfilling than driving an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle. These vehicles accelerate faster, cost less to drive, and positively impact the environment by featuring zero tailpipe emissions. The only issue is that a few drivers consider that several EVs in the market feature a less-than-ideal driving range.
If you are looking for electric cars with the biggest range that can surpass any expectation, this article is for you. Here we explain the aspects that affect the driving range for an EV, how to pick the ideal driving range for you, list the top 10 best range EV vehicles, and explain how you can make the best out of the driving range for your vehicle.
All You Need to Know About the Range of an Electric Car
Figure 2: Tesla Model 3
The electric car max range is the overall distance you can drive on a single battery charge. This distance is affected by using auxiliary electronic components, driving at very high speeds, and even more by using the HVAC unit. There are two ways to obtain an EV battery range:
The first method is dividing the capacity of the battery by the driving efficiency of the EV. We can obtain the range for popular EVs using this method. For instance, the Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor has a 300 miles range thanks to a 75 kWh battery and 250 Wh/mi efficiency, while the Mercedes EQS 450+ delivers nearly 350 miles thanks to its 107.8 kWh battery and 273 Wh/mi efficiency.
The second method calculates a more realistic range in a test performed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This method measures an electric car distance range in highway and city conditions until the battery is discharged. The EPA electric car average range for the Tesla Model 3 sets the range in 358 miles, and the Mercedes EQS 450+ can deliver 350 miles.
Short to Long Electric Car Range
Figure 3: Mercedes Benz EQS 450+
There are many vehicle options in the EV market, going from EVs with a short range up to the most extended range electric vehicles. There are potential EV drivers that do not consider a short-range EV because of range anxiety, but in truth, this is a common fear based on the misconception that the range is not enough for daily usage, which is a myth that has been debunked several times.
The average U.S. citizen drives around 14,263 miles per year, which is why the average EV with a driving range of 211 miles is more than enough to drive you daily and requires to be charged once every 5 days generally. If you can recharge your EV at home, there is nothing to worry about, since you can easily charge the vehicle overnight or extend its range by top-up charging it.
EV cars with the highest range have to be recharged even less than the average ones. For instance, both the Tesla Model 3 and the Mercedes EQS 450+ need to be recharged only once every 7 days to drive that daily commute. Depending on your driving needs and your budget, you might want to pick a short-range vehicle or one of the electric cars with over 300 mile range.
The 10 Electric Cars with the Longest Range: The Leaderboard
Figure 4: Lucid Air dream Edition
If you are looking to choose an EV featuring one of the best ranges, you should pick from the list of the best electric cars by range. In this section we bring you the leaderboard with the top 10 electric cars with a range of over 300 miles:
Electric vehicle model | Driving range |
Lucid Air Dream Edition Range | 520 miles |
Tesla Model S Plaid | 405 miles |
Tesla Model 3 Long Range | 358 miles |
GMC Hummer Pickup EV | 350 miles |
Mercedes Benz EQS | 350 miles |
Tesla Model X | 348 miles |
Tesla Model Y | 330 miles |
BMW iX | 324 miles |
Ford F-150 Lightning Extended Range | 320 miles |
Table 1: Top 10 EVs with the longest driving range
How Can I Take Out the Most Range from My EV?
Figure 5: Acceleration & Regenerative Braking
Whether you pick a short or even one of the highest range EV cars, it is important to know how to get the maximum range of electric cars. In this section, we provide you with a list of important considerations to implement in order to take the most range out of your vehicle.
-
- Reduce your driving speed: Driving at fast speeds like you do on highways, consumes more energy because it heats the battery, which in turn increases power consumption on the EV. Drive at slower speeds to increase the driving range.
-
- Optimize regenerative braking: You can get the best range in electric cars by taking advantage of regenerative braking. To do this, we recommend coasting if possible, and breaking softly, since stomping on the brakes does not allow power to be absorbed efficiently.
-
- Lower your HVAC consumption: Using the heating or the AC system is one of the factors that consume more power on your EV. Go low on the HVAC to extend your range.
-
- Beware of the tires: Properly inflated tires in good condition can save you up to 4% of power consumption on your EV.
-
- Lower your cargo: Driving with heavier cargo will put a larger strain on your electric engine, making it consume more power. Reducing the cargo on your EV will slightly reduce battery consumption.
- Extend battery life by using a good SoC: To get the best electric car mileage range out of your EV battery it is recommended to keep the State of Charge between 20% and 80%. This allows your battery to retain a larger energy capacity for many more years, reducing its degradation.