Electric vehicle range - how far can an electric car go?

When looking at a new electric car, one of your top considerations is probably range. Range needs differ from person to person. If you’re using your EV for running round town to work and back, you’re probably not going to need 400 miles of range. However, if you’re commuting far distances regularly, you might feel the need to have a car with longer range.

So, let’s unpack EV range a bit more so that you can make the right decision for you.

We’re gonna chat through:

• What do we mean by EV range?
• WLTP range vs real world range
• What factors affect driving range?
• How far can an EV go?
• What’s the average range of an electric car?
• Do I need an EV with long range?

EV range is simply the number of miles an EV can travel on a single charge. Most manufacturers will provide two range numbers, the WLTP and the real world range.

When we talk about range here at Octopus EV, we take real world range data from EV database, instead of WLTP. This is because we want to give a more realistic view of how far you can go in your EV.

WLTP range is given after testing. To work out the WLTP, they will find the range the car travels (from 100% to 0%) when driving at an average speed of 46.5 km/h (28.8 mph) in summer temperatures.

However, because there are so many factors that can affect EV range, WLTP isn’t always reliable, which is where real world range comes into play.

Real world range is a range worked out by driving in more real world conditions, like up hills, in the winter etc. So, as the name suggests, it’s a little more realistic.

Your EV range can be impacted by lots of things, from driving styles to the surface of the road. Using real world range can be a good indicator of what your range could look like but you will need to consider some of the factors that affect range, whether they’re factors that boost your EV range, or reduce it.

You can read more about the factors that affect driving range in our blog: 5 things that can impact your EV range.

For early 2009-2019 Evs, reaching a range of around 100 miles was considered good, but now the most cutting-edge, newer models on the market have a range of over 400 miles.

Want to know more about some of the top long-range EVs on the market in 2024? Check out our blog: Electric cars with the longest range in 2024.

The average range of an electric car is estimated to be almost 300 miles.

For most people, any car with a range above 200 miles would easily fit into your lifestyle, especially if you can charge at home.

Whether you need an EV with long range depends entirely on you and your driving habits.

But, you might want to consider things like:

• If you have a long daily commute (or frequently drive long distances).
• Your charging capabilities i.e. can you charge at home or will you solely be charging on the public network?
• Your budget - the longest ranged EVs often come with a higher price tag.

Want to find out more about EVs? Head over to our EV Hub.