The Truth About Electric Cars: How Far Do They Really Go?

Forget the glittering promises of showrooms and the rosy numbers printed in brochures. In the United States, something quietly revolutionary happened—something every electric car buyer secretly dreams of. A test was carried out to see just how far these humming machines can actually drive. Not in the hush of a lab, but on real roads, at real speeds, under real summer skies.

Consumer Reports, America’s independent oracle of testing, lined up eight electric cars and sent them into the summer heat, driving them until every last drop of charge was gone. The temperature hovered between 20 and 32 degrees Celsius, air conditioning was on, regenerative braking was set to zero, and speed was locked at 113 kilometers per hour. The results? Some shone, others crashed and burned.

The biggest embarrassment came from the Volvo C40. The pride of Sweden didn’t make it far: just 373 kilometers, falling 58 short of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rating. The same fate met the Tesla Model 3, which missed its mark by 19 kilometers. But then came the Cadillac Lyriq and Acura ZDX, both outperforming expectations by 18 and 14.5 kilometers respectively.

The worst performance came from the Ford F-150 Lightning, which fell a staggering 80 kilometers short of its official promise. The Lucid Air and Tesla Model S Long Range didn’t fare much better, trailing their targets by 64 and 62 kilometers. Not exactly comforting news if you’re mapping out charging stops on a long trip.

Now, for the brighter side: the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4Matic stunned everyone, driving 116 kilometers beyond its EPA rating. BMW wasn’t far behind—the i4 M50 and iX xDrive 50 flexed their muscles, exceeding expectations by 75 and 74 kilometers.

The rest—Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Honda Prologue, and FIAT 500e—landed right on the money. Their deviations were just a few kilometers, the kind of margins only statisticians would bother debating.

So if you're planning your electric future around real-world range, you now know which cars will take you further—and which might leave you stranded with a blinking battery light.