Norway’s summer EV range test with a large selection is led by Polestar 2

The debate over electric cars is mostly about range anxiety – going further in an EV than the official 60-90 mile figure; worries of battery failure before you reach a recharger. Although manufacturers will tell you how far they expect cars to go on a single charge, it’s not unheard of for an electric car to do 50% less. A recent trial that compared 12 different EV models in a highway range test provided some insight into their real-world capabilities.

Each vehicle was also driven until the battery was completely dead, testing as done in the UK with seasonal weather approaching ideal summer conditions.

The top of the list was held by the Polestar 2, which could manage a long range of 333 miles on one charge. While this only represents an 18% improvement off the top end of its official range (406 miles), it still remains the longest non-hypermiling distance Polestar was able to achieve during its time with the car following its software update. Remember, we were less impressed with the outgoing version.

In second place of the new imports is the all-electric Renault Scenic E-Tech at a very creditable 322 miles. Despite this, it was still short of the advertised 379-mile range.

By fashion, the Kia EV9 caused quite a stir, if only because of its sheer size. It managed an impressive 314 miles before requiring a charge, not far off its claimed 349-mile range. So even big EVs can come with impressive ranges that might be considered suitable for a long drive.

Performance for vehicles equipped with larger battery capacities, such as the EV9, was strong in the test, although their greater weight resulted in lower efficiency. For its part, the Tesla Model 3 was the most efficient model across that range, with an efficiency of 4 miles per kilowatt-hour.

And this was all accomplished in seemingly ideal conditions! The of course are estimates, and real-world driving will likely return slightly lower figures due to variables like terrain, weather, accessory usage (including air conditioning), and driver behavior. That’s only an experiment, of course—and a single demonstration can’t negate range anxiety—but the test does highlight the progress in EV technology and help to alleviate concerns about electric cars traveling long distances on a charge.