There’s a Gap Between EV Range Estimates and Real-World Results
Government-certified ranges for electric cars are based on tests that never go above 60 miles per hour, putting them at odds with highway and road-trip travel.
EV range estimates provided by the government put more weight on how a car performs in a city setting than on a highway
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergWhen Bryan Nakagawa purchased an Audi e-tron in 2018, he fell in love with the car’s interior and handling, the space for his kids and surfing gear and, of course, its small carbon footprint. But the Salem, Oregon-based dentist soon discovered that his affection was fleeting — it flew away right around 70 miles per hour.
“I wouldn’t even drive a mile and I’d lose like three miles off the estimated range,” Nakagawa says of cruising the interstate in his electric Audi. “It always made me nervous.”