Real World Electric Vehicle range claims – does any car do what it “says on the tin”?

The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) today released the results of what they are calling “Real World Testing” of several electric cars to see if the range claimed by the manufacturer was backed up by results on the road, and the numbers seem damning for Electric Car brands with one publication claiming these EV’s “don’t do what it says on the tin”. Our question on this very thing is – does any car?

Using European testing protocols on a specific 93km circuit around Geelong and Melbourne the AAA found solid discrepancies in what range was available on a car vs what was advertised as the range.

Here’s the cars they tested and how they stack up:

As you can see, the BYD Atto 3 came out poorly, with a 23% variation in range, down to 369km, lower than the 480km claimed on the sticker.

Not for one second do I disbelieve these figures, as the owner of two EVs and someone who has driven many a City kilometre as well as many highway journeys the range and usage can vary a lot from what is stated by the manufacturer.

But here’s the rub. No car does exactly what the lab suggests.

AAA claim they have previously tested many Petrol cars too with 77% exceeding the fuel consumption claims of the manufacturers.

But that doesn’t stack up with my experience. At all.

I owned a Kia Carnival – 2020 model – Petrol engine, with a 11.6l/100km claimed fuel consumption. When we sold it the total life usage on that was over 16l/100km. Day to day it was always 14-15 litres per 100km. When I went on the highway, It might run along at 8 or 9 – amazing.

But you see, I never, ever on average saw anything close to 11.6.

That’s not headline grabbing stuff though.

My Kia EV9 (Earth) has a claimed energy consumption of 22.3 kWh/100km – Yet our usage is more like 19-20kWh per 100. WAIT – THAT’s BETTER THAN CLAIMED.. No Headline there – because people love to hate on EVs.

Take my Kia on the highway and that consumption rockets up, because Electric Cars are horrible on consumption when you are at more than 90km/h on the freeway. Quite the opposite, a Petrol car exceeds all expectations when on a freeway.

So you see, it all depends on what driving you do.

If you’re living a long way from where you drive regularly, and spend a large amount of time on highways, then yes, the claimed range of your EV will be far higher than what you expect. In my very solid history of highway drives in Electric Cars you should expect a 20-30% reduction in range, and if you’re like me and still drive the same speed as you did in that petrol car, run the climate control the same and all such things, it might be worse.

But that’s not news to ANY medium to long-term EV owner.

YES, the Dealers, and sales people should explain this to people, ask them what driving they do.

However, for those driving to the shops, around town, doing the regular life things, I’ve got a huge shock for you – the range on the “tin” (or sticker) will be far less than you will expect to get day to day .

Quite the opposite to petrol cars, Electric Cars are staggeringly great around town. Our KIA EV9 has a sticker range of 512km on a full battery. When we charge to 100% and it estimates it’s range (because EVs do this based on actual use of the car) – our car shows a range of well over 600km.

That’s not worthy of a headline though is it – the haters can’t hate on that.

People buying Electric Cars need to educate themselves, that’s a big deal, it’s a huge change, everything about owning an EV is different, and for the most part – for the better.

Which is why we have the Podcast Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars – learn from us, learn from other real people, and if you have an experience – good or bad, get in touch – send us an SMS on 0477 657 657 and we’d love to have you on the show.