There’s something incredibly trite or cheesy about it, and the way the charging cable is such an object of mirth and merriment; it reminds me of the *women laughing alone with salad* photos.
The thing about standardised tests is that unless you’re replicating the test scenarios exactly, your results will vary. We’ve seen the same with ICE mpg values for decades – nobody seems to ever get close to a car’s rated MPG unless you drive like a nun. I’m actually surprised that any of the cars came close to the WLTP estimates, although some of the differences are absolutely shocking.
I’d be very interested to know more about Which’s methodology and how it might vary from WLTP.
“Polestar has since released over the air updates and vastly improved the car’s range”
It’s so interesting that such a difference can be made with a software update. Obviously terrible that they are lying about the range tho.
Unless you carry out exactly the same test as the WLTP in exactly the same conditions you’ll get a different number.
But all these ‘official’ numbers are like mpg numbers on the brochures, you’ll never get them.
If you want to know the likely range of an ev you multiply the battery capacity in KWh by 3.5 for summer and 2.5 for winter. That’s close enough to give you an idea when shopping. If what they are claiming is less than this (polestar 1) then they have no idea how to make an ev.
In actual use the car itself gives you a constantly updated range, so you’ll never get taken by surprise.
When I was researching which electric car to get, every review mentioned the WLTP and then added “so that’s about x in real world use”. Usually about 20% less than the WLTP.
I also found that – in a surprising display of honesty – the actual car salespeople I spoke to also did the same.
I got my car knowing full well that it wouldn’t get the WLTP numbers and it’s been pretty much what I expected. It has surprised me a couple of times by going further than I expected before needing a charge. That’s been due to weather and perfect driving conditions.
The other surprising thing to note is that charging in quicker than I expected in real world scenarios. Just today I had about 20 mile range left on a 15 mile round trip. I pulled up at a fast charger outside a McDonalds, plugged the car in, got myself some food and by the time I was done the range was 78 miles. I live in a city so this is perfect for me. I charge the car while I’m doing something else. Obviously everyone’s situation is different, but I think the mental model of a petrol station is what puts a lot of people off going electric when in actual fact they’d probably save more time than they would filling up an ICE vehicle.
That said, none of this excuses the shyster WLTP numbers. I’ve never hit my EVs stated range so fuck knows what magical conditions they’re using to derive these figures.
Range in electric cars varies hugely based on how you drive, where you drive, the weather conditions, the list goes on; no one should be surprised, the same is true with ICE cars. Which? Is going for shock value rather than being useful.
My EV advertises 200m but I get more like 120m.
It’s because it is 2nd hand from Peugeot and was a company car left plugged in to trickle charge all day. Fucked the battery right up.
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I do believe this is the stockiest of stock photos that I have ever seen: https://i.imgur.com/04iWExQ.jpg
There’s something incredibly trite or cheesy about it, and the way the charging cable is such an object of mirth and merriment; it reminds me of the *women laughing alone with salad* photos.
The thing about standardised tests is that unless you’re replicating the test scenarios exactly, your results will vary. We’ve seen the same with ICE mpg values for decades – nobody seems to ever get close to a car’s rated MPG unless you drive like a nun. I’m actually surprised that any of the cars came close to the WLTP estimates, although some of the differences are absolutely shocking.
I’d be very interested to know more about Which’s methodology and how it might vary from WLTP.
“Polestar has since released over the air updates and vastly improved the car’s range”
It’s so interesting that such a difference can be made with a software update. Obviously terrible that they are lying about the range tho.
Unless you carry out exactly the same test as the WLTP in exactly the same conditions you’ll get a different number.
But all these ‘official’ numbers are like mpg numbers on the brochures, you’ll never get them.
If you want to know the likely range of an ev you multiply the battery capacity in KWh by 3.5 for summer and 2.5 for winter. That’s close enough to give you an idea when shopping. If what they are claiming is less than this (polestar 1) then they have no idea how to make an ev.
In actual use the car itself gives you a constantly updated range, so you’ll never get taken by surprise.
When I was researching which electric car to get, every review mentioned the WLTP and then added “so that’s about x in real world use”. Usually about 20% less than the WLTP.
I also found that – in a surprising display of honesty – the actual car salespeople I spoke to also did the same.
I got my car knowing full well that it wouldn’t get the WLTP numbers and it’s been pretty much what I expected. It has surprised me a couple of times by going further than I expected before needing a charge. That’s been due to weather and perfect driving conditions.
The other surprising thing to note is that charging in quicker than I expected in real world scenarios. Just today I had about 20 mile range left on a 15 mile round trip. I pulled up at a fast charger outside a McDonalds, plugged the car in, got myself some food and by the time I was done the range was 78 miles. I live in a city so this is perfect for me. I charge the car while I’m doing something else. Obviously everyone’s situation is different, but I think the mental model of a petrol station is what puts a lot of people off going electric when in actual fact they’d probably save more time than they would filling up an ICE vehicle.
That said, none of this excuses the shyster WLTP numbers. I’ve never hit my EVs stated range so fuck knows what magical conditions they’re using to derive these figures.
Range in electric cars varies hugely based on how you drive, where you drive, the weather conditions, the list goes on; no one should be surprised, the same is true with ICE cars. Which? Is going for shock value rather than being useful.
My EV advertises 200m but I get more like 120m.
It’s because it is 2nd hand from Peugeot and was a company car left plugged in to trickle charge all day. Fucked the battery right up.