What is an electric car’s range?
The range of an electric car refers to how far it can travel on a single, full battery charge.
All electric cars are advertised with an official range, which is determined by a test called the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, often referred to as WLTP. This is carried out in a lab and is the same for every new electric car.
Cars sold new before September 2017 will have undergone a slightly different test, called the New European Driving Cycle, or NEDC. This was replaced by WLTP as it was found to be less accurate for real-world driving. This means you should take the official ranges of older cars with a pinch of salt.
That said, the official range of an electric car will give you a good idea of how far it can go before you need to recharge, but it’s important to note that many real-world factors can affect your actual mileage. We’ll go into more detail on those shortly.
Official figures, however, are particularly useful in comparing the ranges of different electric cars because the tests are the same for each one.