How Far Can EVs Travel After Their Batteries Are Completely Depleted?

Norwegian magazine Motor, together with the Norwegian Automobile Club (NAF), tested 24 of the latest electric cars until their batteries were completely discharged. They also monitored how the cars behaved when the battery dropped to zero percent.

Most electric car owners never drive with a battery below five percent charge, but sometimes it will happen. Tests show that the vast majority of modern electric cars can drive for quite a long time when the battery is at zero. Some cars start warning the driver when it is already 20 percent, while others wait until only 5 percent is left. Many electric cars enter a limited mode (with a turtle symbol on the dashboard) when the charge drops to zero. The power in the accelerator pedal is gradually reduced, the air conditioning is turned off to save energy, and finally the drive is turned off.

The test winner, the BMW iX3, had a real-world range of 780 km, warning of a low battery when it was 5 percent charged. The car could be driven for a little while after zero and then shut down. The rival Mercedes-Benz GLC warns when there are 50 km of range left. When four percent of the battery is left, the car starts to reduce the air conditioning. When one kilometer remains, the turtle comes, but it was possible to drive a kilometer after the battery was discharged to zero.

The new Toyota C-HR+ electric car proved to be impressive. The electric car warns the driver when 10 percent is left. However, when the car reached zero, there was still a lot of range left. The car covered another 27 km before it turned off.

• Also See: Cars Older Than 50 Years Consume Less Fuel Than Modern Vehicles