A man from the UK has driven at speeds from 60mph to 70mph on a highway in a Tesla Model 3 EV to see how speed can affect the range.
We hear about quoted range figures from manufacturers, but real-life conditions, such as temperatures and speed, can really impact them.
YouTuber Ben Goes Electric has decided to see how much the speed affects the range of his Tesla, taking it from 60mph to 65mph and finally 70mph.
That last figure is the speed limit on British highways, making it the fastest speed at which this test could be done.
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Does speed really affect the range of an EV?
Range can be easily affected by different speeds with an EV.
The faster you go, the more of that energy you are using, and the less efficient the car is.
Ben Goes Electric’s test took place on the same part of the motorway and in the same conditions.
This aimed to keep things as consistent as possible.
Each run will be 20 miles in total, 10 each way.
As the speed increases, wind resistance picks up, meaning the car has to use more of that energy.
So in theory, the faster speeds will sap energy faster.
The car chosen was a Tesla Model 3 long-range rear-wheel drive.
Ben also took an all-wheel drive version out for a comparison.
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The results from the range tests
At 70mph, it took just over 16 minutes, using 255.8 watt-hours per mile (WH/MI) and consuming 5kWh of energy.
That equated to a range of 308 miles.
At 65mph, the trip took 17 minutes, but had an increased efficiency of 229.3WH/MI, and consumed 4.4kWh of energy.
That gave a total figure of 344 miles from a 100 percent charge.
The final run took just under 19 minutes, and efficiency stood at 211WH/MI, consuming 4kWh of energy.
That left a total from 100 percent of 373 miles.
A quick test of the long-range all-wheel drive Tesla Model 3 EV showed it as less efficient at 70mph than the standard model.
The main takeaway, however, was that the speed of an EV can really impact its overall range and efficiency, just like cold weather can.
So if you normally drive at 70mph, there is no harm in throttling back to 65mph or 60mph
SB Media/Google Gemini
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