Range – what to REALLY expect from an EV

Electric vehicle range is THE most common question buyers ask. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t that straightforward – which is largely to do with widely varying driving conditions and techniques. This issue is not new. MPG and any other measures of fuel efficiency vary too, with manufacturers’ ‘official’ miles per gallon being much higher than what we get in the real world.

EVs are no different, with most manufacturer’s EV range being higher than what most people experience in their day-to-day driving. In this short video, our founder, Gary Hayes, takes a trip in our ground-breaking Eco Revolution, the world’s only fully-electric, multi-purpose RV, to see how close he can get to the official EV range.

How do we get official fuel efficiency figures

Let’s first look at how manufacturers get their official efficiency figures. As suggested, the base-vehicle manufacturers test the range and MPG of the vehicle under ideal conditions. This involves reducing the weight of the vehicle, driving on very smooth, flat roads and in perfect weather conditions – and driven very carefully. They also increase the aerodynamics by removing things like windscreen wipers and car badges.

This ‘tweaking’ was taken to the extreme by VW and other big brands to the point it was ruled as cheating when they tricked the efficiency tests by putting their vehicles into hyper-efficient mode when tested, then switching it off when not being tested. Naughty! This resulted in the tests being revised, VW getting fined and new ‘more realistic’ WLTP tests being introduced.

These new Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) tests are a big improvement on the older tests and are closer to real life. All new cars use this test and give the WLTP data for range and/or MPG – but how realistic are they?

Eco Revolution range – what can you expect from our 75kWh model?

Stellantis who make the base vehicle for the Eco Revolution give a WLTP range of 205 miles for the 75kWh base-van (eg e-Vivaro, e-Dispatch, e-Expert, e-Scudo or Proace Electric).
To test that, we drove one from the Midlands to our HQ in central Scotland, a total of 275 miles, and were able to meet or exceed that range. Typically we get around 215 miles in Eco mode while test-driving the Eco Revolution. Click on the link to see Gary achieve this range on his drive back to CampervanCo HQ.

How did he get such a good range? First, he selected Eco Mode on the dash. This gives slower acceleration, greater power regeneration from the brakes and restricts the power going to the cabin heater.

He also drove at a steady speed using the cruise control as much as he can. And very importantly, he didn’t drive too fast. All car owners will notice that if they reduce their speed, do not accelerate out of traffic lights or junctions too quickly and try to slow down without slamming the brakes, gives you much better fuel economy – no matter the fuel type. During this journey he set the cruise control to around 62 mph while on motorways and while in town stuck to the speed limits (60 to 30 mph).

Heating

Unlike petrol or diesel cars that produce a lot of waste heat, electric vehicles have to use the battery power to heat the cabin. In cold weather, this can use a lot of battery power and reduce range by up to a whopping 20%! A very clever way to reduce this power grab, is to heat the individual and not the whole cabin. That is why we introduced the world’s first commercially available heated rock-and-roll camper seat/bed – the ThermaRoll. Not only are the two front seats heated on our Eco Revolution, the rear seats and bed are heated too. This means that you can stay warm for long-periods without spanking the EV battery.

In our 275 trip, we drove with heating on only when we needed it (10 minutes every hour or so) and drove like an old guy (Gary is OK with being labelled as one) with the cruise control and Eco Mode switched on.

He only needed to stop once, at Tebay services, to charge the vehicle. Being in a luxury campervan, he took full advantage of the 22 minute stop and had a yellow-sticker lasagne in the setting sun, heated in the campervan’s microwave (powered by the 3000 watt leisure battery and the 350 watt solar panel) washed down with a fresh cup of tea.

When he reached his destination he managed to get 3 miles per kilowatt out of the vehicle (2.9 miles per kW on the first leg and 3.1 miles per kW on the second leg) which can theoretically delivery 225 miles on a full 75 kWh battery (3 x 75 = 225). Using the on-board computer, the vehicle showed there was 13 miles left , which indicates a 216 miles range. Not bad for an old guy.

While Gary’s video shows what can be achieved in our electric Campervan is not only equivalent to the WLTP range, if you don’t rush and use the right settings, it can be exceed that. And if you pack some tasty food, you can also enjoy the stops as well as the journey – which is surely the whole reason buying a electric campervan is by far the best, cheapest and cleanest way to travel.

Every day driving

We acknowledge the range can be less. People who use the base van commercially for deliveries and such like, often report a range of around 170 miles. What we have shown in this video is that range and performance greatly depends on how you drive and how long you have the heating on for, for example. Like diesel vans, your economy depends on how you drive.

We advise using and driving your vehicle to satisfy your style and to look at how even small changes to how you drive (eg accelerating away from lights not so quickly) and turn on the heated seats and turning down the cabin heater can add many miles to your range as well as cutting running costs to as little as 2.5p a mile (see other article)!

For more details on our cutting-edge, multi-purpose Eco Revolution click on the link or call 01324 489211 for more details.

To reserve one that meets your own specifications, go to our Configurator now and follow the ‘build-your-own process and click on the Reserve Now button – finance is also available.