What does range mean with an EV? It means the distance you can drive in the car that is powered only by electricity. The importance of efficiency and range for these cars is paramount to their continued performance for you on the road. The fact that it takes much longer to charge up the batteries of an EV model than it does to fill up a tank of gasoline makes the range important, especially if you think you want to take the EV model you own on a long road trip across the country. As the numbers increase, we see a few models vying for the top of the range and efficiency prizes.

An Expected Performance

For months we heard about the affordable EV that was going to offer us the range we need for a price that came in under the $30,000 price. The Tesla Model 3 EV is certainly that model with the range of the base model of over 220 miles and the price you want. While this version of the Model 3 is admirable, it’s the longer range model that takes the prize as the most efficient model that can travel more than 200 miles on a single charge.
The Model 3 Long Range is built with a powerful motor and has the ability to reach as much as 310 miles on a single charge. This is an EPA equivalency of 131 MPGe in the city and 120 MPG on the highway to offer a combined efficiency of 126 MPGe. This is the mark to beat for other automakers as the Model 3 Long Range is now the most efficient electric vehicle with this long range. Unfortunately, this is also the model that costs more, but the number of preorders that Tesla already has allows us to know this is the model many choose.

Not the Efficiency Champion

While the Tesla Model 3 is the champion for those models that have a range of over 200 miles, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, which has a range of only 110 miles has a combined fuel efficiency of 136 MPGe to be the top model. Even though the standard version of the Model 3 will likely have a higher combined number than the long-range model, the Hyundai appears to be the champion in this category overall. Does this mean the efficiency matters and will become the decider; probably not.
Range is really what matters when it comes to an EV model. If you have an EV that is twice as far as another model then you will probably gravitate toward that EV model. Considering most EV cars have to be plugged in overnight to be fully recharged, the car with the longer range should be the one you choose every time you look for an EV model. While efficiency is commendable, especially in this first Hyundai model offered, the range of over 200 miles is the new mark that’s been set by Chevrolet and Tesla and where an affordable EV needs to be in order to offer the flexibility you need on a daily basis.