First Independent European Real Range Test for Electric Vehicles

AUTOBEST checks and validates the real range of +200 km of all the EVs on sale in Europe in a daily use

• AUTOBEST, in cooperation with the Spanish online media coches.net, and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, had tested 10 EVs on sale in Europe to check the real range. Professional journalists drove the cars in the surroundings of Barcelona city.

• Most of the tested models achieved the homologated range under the new WLTP legislation showing how close to the real life the new protocol is.

• The Tesla models are the EVs with the longest real range on the market

Barcelona – 23 July 2018. AUTOBEST, the largest European motoring jury and the leading Spanish online motor media, coches.net, in cooperation with the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, organised the first Independent European Real Range Test for Electric Vehicles. The professional motoring journalists of AUTOBEST drove ten electric vehicles (EVs) available in Europe (all with more than 200 kilometres of homologated WLTP range) to answer the critical question that people considering the purchase of an EV have: Which is the range I can expect in a real use if I buy an electric car?

“The most important result of this comparative test is about the real range of more than 200 km for all the ten cars sold in Europe nowadays. This distance is far beyond any daily commuting in Europe, making any of these cars suitable for everyday drive. It is a crucial achievement of the car industry, signalling the end of the range anxiety”, said Dan Vardie, Founder & Chairman of AUTOBEST. “More, no less than 4 cars exceeded 300 km real range –the two Tesla, Model S and Model X, Opel Ampera-e and Jaguar I –Pace- a remarkable real autonomy able to offer great electromobility. This is already a great achievement of EVs. We are convinced this will be the norm from now on. For the next year comparative EV test we are expecting a larger number of EVs delivering +300km and more real range!” Vardie added.

Joan Dalmau, coches.net Editor and Spanish AUTOBEST Jury member added: “We were surprised by some cars that achieved and even overtook the WLTP range figures. The real range obtained in this test, the evolution of the charging stations and the charging speed in the fast chargers turn the EV to a valid alternative both in the urban environment and even for motorway use”.

Some of the tested models as the Hyundai Ioniq, the BMW i3, the Kia Soul EV, the Volkswagen e-Golf or the Opel Ampera-e achieved or even exceeded their homologated WLTP figure. Other models, such as the Renault Zoe or the Model S and Model X Tesla cars went beyond the 90% of its confirmed WLTP range leaving Nissan Leaf and the new Jaguar i-Pace to rank lower in the `AUTOBEST Index 1` from the homologated figures.

With this event, AUTOBEST is introducing two new indexes dedicated to EVs. The ‘AUTOBEST EV Index 1’ represents the percentage of real range versus WLTP homologated range. The second, ‘AUTOBEST EV Index 2’ focuses on the efficiency of the battery, indicating the real range for every kWh of the battery. “These are the first two indexes proposed by AUTOBEST to give a new perspective on the performance of electric cars. We will come later with other ones, more innovative, non-linear assessment, to make comparisons between cars in different segments. It is in line with our AUTOBEST Credo strategy released in February last year during the AUTOBEST Gala in Lisbon, Portugal,” stated Dan Vardie.

The Kia Soul, Volkswagen e-Golf and Hyundai Ioniq are the top three performers of AUTOBEST EV Index 1, with all of them exceeding the ‘official’ suggested range, a great result for a consumer type test. For the ‘AUTOBEST EV Index 2’, the best three cars were the BMW i3, Hyundai Ioniq and Renault Zoe. All the results and AUTOBEST indexes are in the tables included.

Real Range Test conclusions:

– The Tesla cars (Model S and Model X) are the EVs on sale with a more extended range (+400 km for both models). The models used in this test were 100 versions with a 100 kW/h capacity battery. Both models are also available with a 75 kW/h battery (75 version).

– Half of the cars achieved the homologated WLTP figure which shows this protocol is closer to reality compared with previous NEDC cycle. WLTP is mandatory for all passenger cars sold in Europe from 1 September 2018.

– The Jaguar i-Pace and the Nissan Leaf are the models which real range result was less from the homologated WLTP range. The Jaguar was the only non-production car in the test. The available unit was a car coming from the European Press Launch, a prototype level build and running with a prototype level of software, without the last software evolution.

– The Hyundai Ioniq and the Volkswagen e-Golf are the electric cars with more than 200 KM range consuming the less, with little more than 12 kW/h.

– The environmental conditions, driving style, vehicle charge, the use of some equipment as the climate system and traffic conditions are critical factors in the range measurement. What we consider is that is could be possible to achieve better results using the eco mode of some cars, driving carefully and not using the climate system, but the goal of this test was to reproduce the usual traffic conditions in the surroundings of a big city faithfully and to use real-life situations of the average owner.

Dan Vardie, Chairman of Autobest Jury, explains: “This was not a performance or a handling test and not even a maximum range test. Our goal was to check the real range of all those models to know how far it was from the announced WLTP figures (and having a reference to old NEDC), and to show the potential users of these vehicles what real range they can expect if they buy an electric car. However, AUTOBEST is not claiming that the released figures are the ‘real-life’ range for the average customer of Europe, coming from a scientific approach. The figures for this test are for reference only, are authentic and represent the reality of our performed test in Barcelona surroundings. Under our ECOBEST Challenge project umbrella, we are also working to improve the test for next year in a more scientific way.”

The participating AUTOBEST Jury members’ comments on the test and how each car behaved at the end of the range are included in the second annex.

About the First Independent Comparative Real Range EV test:

The test started and finished at Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit where the cars were also recharged. All the vehicles used were production models (except the Jaguar, a pre-production unit with a prototype level build and running with a prototype level of software), tested with one person onboard, the climate system on and the tyre pressure set to the recommended pressure by the respective brand.

Mixed trip: road, motorway and urban environment.

All the vehicles travelled the same 180km journey mixing motorway, conventional roads and urban streets. The cars with an extended homologated range followed a new journey with similar characteristics. All the vehicles were used in normal mode (without Eco or Sport mode), and all were fitted with a measuring device from Blunik. This piece of hardware is used in regularity rallies and known for its precision in measuring distances.

All the drivers exchanged cars at 30- 40 km to avoid the effect of the driving style in the final results. All the vehicles drove in convoy behind a lead car which indicated the correct route and established the average speed.

AUTOBEST and coches.net performed the test twice to obtain two different measurements and get an average real range. Two inspectors from Bureau Veritas observed the test regarding a possible official validation in future editions of this test the years to come.

All the cars entered the Barcelona-Catalunya GP Track with an amount of less than 50 km remaining range and ran at 70 km/h average speed until the cars indicators announced a 0% battery level. Then, the cars were still run in the paddock until they stopped completely.

About AUTOBEST

The AUTOBEST organisation was established in 2001 with the revolutionary concept of “best buy car” available on the European market. A total of 31 European nations is now represented in the Jury, covering the vast majority of the European population. For a car to become an AUTOBEST winner, it must represent the best offering for most European customers. Price, service network, spare parts distribution and versatility are the most important criteria in the voting process. Design and new technologies are becoming essential criteria for voting. AUTOBEST uses a transparent voting system, with a complex matrix of 13 criteria to decide the winner.

About www.coches.net

coches.net is a car marketplace that hosts the bigger motor fans in Spanish market. With 13 million visits and more than 200 millions viewed pages monthly, coches.net is the leader in car content in Spain and owns the Youtube Channel leader the country with more than 4 millions views per month. Coches.net also includes the site motos.net. coches.net is owned by Schibsted Spain, the biggest classified and job offer company in the country. Managing the brands coches.net, vibbo, InfoJobs, fotocasa, habitaclia, motos.net and milanuncios, Schibsted Spain is part of the Norwegian Schibsted Media Group, present in 22 countries and with 7.300 employees. More information at Schibsted Spain.

These are the final test results:

Annex 1: Models Tech Specs

Annex 2 –

AUTOBEST jury’s statement on their driving experience when `killing` the car

Dan Vardie – AUTOBEST Romania

`The last miles of Hyundai Ioniq range are not on screen of the car. The latest available figure was 7 km left in the battery. After this figure disappeared, only dots remained on the screen. But `killing` the Ioniq turned to be pleasant operation, as the car started slowly to reduce the air-con, the power of the engine to finally have a very slow, gentle stop. During this process was informing the driver about the necessity/ urgency of recharging the battery. Finally proved to be very good performer in terms of autonomy, with more than expected range, better than WLTP figure.`

`Jaguar I Pace was keeping the remaining figures of range all the way on the screen, going for zero. To its merit, after the zero appeared, I was able to drive an additional 7,6 km, before the `dead` of the battery. During this latest part of the drive several indications appeared on the screen, informing about the limitation of the climate control first, followed by the request to charge immediately the battery and ending with informing about the imminent stop of the car. Which occurred quite abruptly, giving some fear that you might broke something. But was just an impression, the car was ok.`

Okan Altan – AUTOBEST Turkey

`Nissan Leaf, a lot of experience you can see on the car as industry first commercialized EV…

Beautiful design, less clatter, but like a toy the drive-N-park round shifter…

Material quality was enough. And you can not feel the >1.6 tonnes weight…

I was driving Leaf at the end or track and on last “killing” turns…

I entered to track with LAST 13kms screen…

In the first lap, the screens were showing the warnings, “go to charging”…

And 0 km/dots warning was coming on second lap on the track!..

But I continued turns on the track because the battery level was showing 3% left…

On the 4th lap this battery level was also “0″ and I was coming slowly out of track.

In the parking area around charging stations I turned may be 20-30 times more

till Leaf slowing with last energy drops and after one more turn it stopped…

On the test device Blunik was showing the end-result km,

but I remembered after the 0km/dots warning it was exactly 23 kilometers drive!..`

Alessio Viola – AUTOBEST Italy

`I can say I’ve been victim of something we can define electric pride. I finished the last lap on the track with the Tesla model X showing 0 on the cluster in the last three kilometers, and after the car continued to be perfect for at least other two kilometers. But I had to leave the car to a colleague: it was late and I risked to miss the flight.`

David Andersen – AUTOBEST Norway

`I drove the Opel Ampera-e for the last part of the test. This car is a little different, as it stops showing remaining range as it drops below 25 km. The Ampera showed a number of warnings during these last laps, and it suggested I switch to reduced power-mode, which I did not. At the end of the last lap, the car at one point noticably reduced power, but I could still drive. Other than that; all functions, inluding the AC was working as normal. Then we entered the the pits and parked for a few minutes before the last part: Emptying the batteries all the way in the lot. At this time the Ampera refused to allow selection of Drive, and hence could not be driven, even though it might have been able to go a few more kilometers. So that was the end.`

Tommi Lempinen – AUTOBEST Finland

`Kia Soul – Rather pleasant to kill. Audio warning at 3km, air condition functioning. Took quite long (clearly more than 2 km) when warning showed only 1 km left. Car really slowed down after that. No reserve capability any more, died after about 1 km like promised. Golf: Uncomfortable during last 10 kms; AC was totally off (not possible to force it on). Turtle mode when 5km left, still possible to use winter accessories like wind screen heater which is really positive! Car goes ok in city speeds but not possible to drive on motorway for example. When meter shows 0, it’s still possible to drive about 5 kms. Then car just stops. Emergency blinkers etc still possible to use.`

Szczepan Mroczek – AUTOBEST Poland

`TESLA S – intelligent and at the same time different way of thinking about cars.

I had a chance to drive Tesla S to the end of the energy. After the moment the car displayed the range 0 km the power off the engines went slowly down. After few minutes of driving in parking place Tesla displayed information that I should find safe place to park the car, so I pointed the Tesla to charging place.`

`BMW i3 – Very good in city, not too good on the motorway (stability problems, narrow tires). That was the car which had longest range after displayed information that the battery is empty. It was a distance close to 20 km, but I am not sure because half of the time Jutta managed to drive.`