How far do electric cars go between charges? 

How far do electric cars go between charges? 

Unfortunately, asking how far an EV can travel between charging, is a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string?’ question. An EV’s range depends on a number of things, but the two main ones are the size of the battery and the car’s efficiency, usually measured in kilometres per kWh.

While the officially claimed WLTP range is a good guide, the reality is that it can be hard to match that during real-world driving.

Instead, reckon on an average efficiency of 4.8-6.4 kms per kWh with some smaller EVs managing more than that and sportier or larger models covering less. If you then multiply that by the car’s battery size, then you’ll get the real-world range.

There’s a caveat to that though, which is that some of the car’s onboard equipment and the outside temperature will also have an effect on your range. Batteries don’t like cold temperatures and your fully-charged range will drop during the winter months. Heat pumps, an option on some electric cars, can help to prevent this by keeping the battery within its working temperature range.

Of course, it also doesn’t help that during that colder weather, you’re more likely to use the car’s heater too. If you have them, heated seats and a heated steering wheel are often a more efficient way of heating those inside than the main heater.

It may sound a lot to take in, but the reality is that it doesn’t take long living with an electric car for you to find your way and find out what works and what doesn’t.