Electric Cars

Most electric car coverage reprints the manufacturer’s range figure and moves on. That figure depends entirely on which test produced it: a CLTC number runs roughly 35% above the EPA equivalent, so a 700 km Chinese saloon and a 700 km American one are not the same car. We convert before we compare.

Beyond range, the things that decide what a car is like to live with are the charging curve rather than the peak power number, the pack chemistry, and what the warranty actually says about degradation. Those are the questions this section keeps returning to.