EV Range of your car and from what % usage battery are you claiming it?

Oscar_Madison · 06-02-2026 09:27PM #1

Sorry- a long winded thread title - but I thought it does need spelling out a bit

So as a recent purchaser of an EV, my mind is now focused on all things “range”- simply because I’m in learning mode. But also because since we now have KW per 100kms consumption (which is a great universal statistic in fairness) vs battery size vs Summer/Winter - it’s very hard to determine what car is achieving what - but especially when it comes to “range”-

I see posters here saying - “I get X kms in winter from my Niro” or “z summer range from my ID3” etc

Great but…I can’t help but think you’re all coming from slightly different perspectives - are some of you stating your range is based on 100% charge down to say 10% charge where maybe others are 80-20%?

Is there a “my car does X range” standard reply that can be accepted to mean say 100-20% - would that work?

It’s especially pertinent to people who are considering an EV purchase for the first time- seeing some posters claiming say a Cupra Born generally does X kms per full charge while others or other websites it does Y kms can be quite confusing.

Anyone else think you have to clarify with posters what THEY mean by range? I know some state %charge to %Charge which does help but others just claim “I get X kms “

Gumbo · 06-02-2026 09:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058432270/ev-range-of-your-car-and-from-what-usage-battery-are-you-claiming-it

kWh/100km is the accepted universal metric.
No point reinventing the wheel.

It’s the same way we don’t measure an ICE range from 60L to 10L. We stick with MPG.

Oscar_Madison · 06-02-2026 09:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213218#Comment_124213218

I totally agree with you - but I’ve noticed on this forum, when range is mentioned, it’s more often than not in kms per charge vs Kws per 100- with no mention of whether they went from 100% to 0% which makes it somewhat meaningless

I won’t quote posts as that’s just unfair to posters being helpful here but it would be a great addition to the forum if everyone could include their KW per 100kms when quoting range

10-10-20 · 06-02-2026 09:40PM

Hi, have a look at the Long Distance Suitability on the ev-database, it has a composite first leg-charge-second leg measurement which takes an rapid 15min charge into the range metric.

https://ev-database.org/car/3443/Volvo-EX60-P12-AWD

That should answer your question somewhat.

Gumbo · 06-02-2026 09:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213258#Comment_124213258

kWh FYI.

Range is dynamic. It’s based on speed, weather, wind and terrain.

You won’t get a one size fits all range figure.

Buddy Bubs · 06-02-2026 09:45PM

I do think most people give 100% to 0% when talking about range - their theoretical max range, with the proviso that they will of course be plugging in before 0% of course.

Mine is a 77kwh battery, averaging 18kwh per 100km since I got it a year ago and I usually say its a 400km car in real world, I exceeded this by a little on motorway journey once.

80% to 20% woukd be about 240kms and I would never describe my car as that, even if it would be a typical charge cycle for me and many others.

Over many short journeys I could maybe get more, but that doesnt matter at all because I have 20 chances to plug in.

Oscar_Madison · 06-02-2026 09:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213271#Comment_124213271

But thats kindof my point - it doesn’t 😀

Posters on this forum are SUPER helpful - but claiming your car can do X Kms in winter means nothing unless there’s a universal understanding of “range” - is it the standard say 80-90% charge down to say 10-20% charge or is it going from 100-0?
I know what the ev databases say - but what are they assuming? 100-0? And do posters also assume 100-0 charge when quoting their range?

Oscar_Madison · 06-02-2026 09:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213285#Comment_124213285

“I do think most people give 100% to 0% when talking about range”

OK- that’s interesting - you’ve provided a LOT of information about your real world experience of your car -but your KW per 100 coupled with battery size might be the clearest way to describe our “range” on this site - just a thought, but especially for people new to EVs which this language can be a little hard to grasp at first

Oscar_Madison · 06-02-2026 10:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213275#Comment_124213275

Yeah sorry KWh 👍

I know range is dynamic - I understand that aspect. And certainly don’t want to cause any upset here - but the term “range” for me, when used as a term on this forum, does seem to mean different things to different posters, when they’re claiming, let’s say- how far they travelled on a full charge - some are good saying they started with X% and arrived with y% and did Z kms- that’s clear - but others don’t do that - I guess that’s my point.

Sorry, don’t at all mean this thread as a complaint - I just wanted to check if we’re all using the same language. My car has 420 “Range” at full charge - it will never make that in winter at least - but if advising someone I need to explain a number of statistics to them to make their potential experience of ownership in the real world clear - ie not going from 100-0 etc hence the somewhat ambiguous “range” term used on the forum

Oscar_Madison · 06-02-2026 10:53PM

Maybe I haven’t been clear so a few examples:

An old 2015 Nissan leaf or BMWi3 / - can it do 100kms?

”You’d be lucky and certainly not in winter-in summer you might be left with a few% left”

That’s clear and unambiguous - no need for any other stats- the quote is my own but it’s a common response to these two cars range (from memory) but totally clear to the poster enquiring - you’d be hard pushed to get a 100km commute out of these two cars without stopping off to charge

2. What sort of range are you getting from your ID3/ Niro etc

“Mine does 329 winter and close to 400 summer “

Again my made up quote but this time, the difference is, no context - is that 100-0% charge? We don’t know - generally it’s accepted that we shouldn’t normally be charging from 100% and driving to zero. OR- is it accepted that a range of say 329 winter is based on a charge of 80-20%? That’s the “common language” I’m talking about.

So when we say range - winter summer motorway or city or combined- isn’t there a lot more information we need to provide before we can answer the above question so we can be completely clear- hence the ask to include KWh stats consumption or else state % battery used when quoting kms you “achieved”

User1998 · 06-02-2026 11:37PM

If someone says their car has 300km of range they might have got 150km from 50% charge and just multiplied it by two. Or maybe someone gets 300km from 80% of their battery and does the maths to find their total range etc

10-10-20 · 06-02-2026 11:38PM

My approach is to look at the base efficiency at a standardised speed as that provides me with the overall indication of the efficiency of the platform (battery weight, aerodynamic profile, etc) as a whole (in kWh/100km), then look at the stated range in WLTP as an indicator of the range.

As a rough sense-check WLTP * kWh/100 should roughly equal the battery capacity.

Then I take into consideration the external lossy factors such as motorway speeds, low temperatures, added weight, roof box, bikes… and all that gives me a sense of the actual range and effectiveness for my mixed needs.

Oscar_Madison · 06-02-2026 11:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213632#Comment_124213632

Or maybe they quote the 80% figure - hence we’ve no way of knowing until they provide the detail - hence my thread - just how are posters quoting THEIR range- if this thread creates a difference, it will be greater clarity on claimed “range”- because right now my view is that figures quoted are in many cases, meaningless without context

Gumbo · 06-02-2026 11:57PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213670#Comment_124213670

I’m already confused by your misunderstanding 😂😂

Total range is 100-0.

Oscar_Madison · 07-02-2026 12:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213683#Comment_124213683

- total range based on starting with 100% and ending with 0% -we know what the indication will be when battery is fully charged - because that’s well documented - but in reality what range do you get ? And what % of battery do you use to get that range?
For the multiple time , claiming I get x kms range from y car- which is a common claim on this forum - is totally meaningless

User1998 · 07-02-2026 12:04AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213670#Comment_124213670

Why would someone quote their 80% figure as their total range? Nobody does that.

Oscar_Madison · 07-02-2026 12:12AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213704#Comment_124213704

The people who do that do so with total clarity - “I get x kms on a full charge with 20% left”

Claiming “I usually get 300kms” between charges is meaningless - did you charge from 20-90 or do you always go from 100-0 between charges (which pretty much no one does)- or did you do some calculations yourself in advance of posting that “range” based on a 100-0% usage

Oscar_Madison · 07-02-2026 12:25AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213741#Comment_124213741

I’ve obviously confused people so I’m too going to leave it there - I can’t do any more. I’ll continue to treat peoples claimed “ranges” where they don’t provide any context in terms of % battery usage, battery size or KWh per 100km to help set the context, with apathy - it’s absolutely meaningless - without the above context - and many posters are doing this . And if one good thing comes from this thread, it’s that posters will provide more context to their claimed range - which will be invaluable to those who are new to EVs and considering buying for the first time

Gumbo · 07-02-2026 01:06AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213756#Comment_124213756

You’ve confused yourself. And only yourself.

mr chips · 07-02-2026 02:20AM

I think people only talk about the 80%-20% thing in the context of how long it takes to charge from 20% back up to 80%, or else as the upper & lower SOC limits for those who (mistakenly) think they should never charge their cars higher than 80% and panic about depleting the battery below 20%. In other words, it's about charging duration on a trip or else battery health, but not a basis for calculating range. Certainly I only think of any EV's range in terms of what theoretical distance it can cover on a long drive before I have to top up. And honestly, that's what matters more to me than consumption figures, with the cost of charging the car being so low. By default, my car always shows the range estimate rather than a battery percentage (which I have to press a button to display), and I don't really care all that much if the consumption is say 16 or 20 kWh per 100km - what I really want to know is if I can travel from A to B without charging, or with just one charging stop.

Obviously I don't run the car down to 0%, but on two occasions since getting it last March I've managed to trigger the "restricted power" warning (aka turtle mode), when the remaining range estimate had gone down to 11 miles (or very roughly 5%) and quite soon thereafter only displayed "- - -" for the range. The first time was the most extreme, when I still had to drive about another 5 miles after that happened, but once I'd stopped and checked the battery percentage it was still showing 3%. The GOM generally stays pretty linear & accurate down to the "- - -" point without varying greatly from what it initially indicates at 100% - in other words, if it were to show a range of say 240 miles when full, and I then drove 225 miles at or near the speed limit, it would almost certainly have triggered the low-battery warning (which happens once you hit 17 miles of remaining range) but probably wouldn't have entered turtle mode yet.

I haven't checked the long-term average consumption recently, but in the first half of November I posted up a couple of pics showing it was 3.9miles per kWh, which converts to just over 15.9kWh/100km, calculated over the previous nearly 22 hours of driving. If I remember, I'll check tomorrow to see what it is now - I imagine it has probably dropped a bit, as I've done some 6000miles/10000km since then and some of that was in temperatures close to or below freezing.

Flinty997 · 07-02-2026 03:23AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124213729#Comment_124213729

If no one goes 100-0 then it's irrelevant.

Someone saying they get 250km means it will at least go that far, in similar conditions.

You don't need to work it out or believe anything people write. You can put all the info into an app like ABRP (a better route planner) and it will tell you the range.

So you can virtually test many different EVs for range under different conditions and different route.

I find it's mostly people complaining about EV that give misleading ranges. Majority of people are pretty honest because the are interested in the tech.

I find it interesting to fact check peoples range stories or charging difficulties with something like ABRP. Especially on Facebook Irish EV group lot of fake range and charging stories on there.

Coles · 07-02-2026 06:37AM

If you just give it a few months you'll chill out about it.

Buddy Bubs · 07-02-2026 07:34AM

People new to EVs get very hung up on range as if thats the furthest they can possibly go. You can recharge on the move just like filling a petrol tank, although its slower to do so. Ive never spent more than 30 mins charging since 2022 and I've driven all over Ireland in a 58kwh cupra born. Now that i have a 77kwh car, thats even less.

Theres 2 types of EVs, those that are suitable for your lifestyle and those that are unsuitable. Once you have a suitable one, you're laughing and will probably never go back to ICE.

fits · 07-02-2026 07:42AM

OP. I genuinely have no idea what range the GOM is giving on our car as I never look at it, I never think about it. The car is plugged in anytime it goes below 50% and so is usually ‘full’ in the morning. If I’m planning to do more than 350- 400 kms I’ll look up where to charge and that’s about it.

If someone was asking the range I’d be telling them what’s on GOM at 100%

Oscar_Madison · 07-02-2026 10:23AM

Fair enough - thanks all - mostly helpful posts as ever on this forum - I’ll “move on” 😀

MadeInKerry · 07-02-2026 11:02AM

I sat in the passenger seat of our, at the time, 9 month old ID4 on a trip from Dublin to Kerry so i could get some proper figures as I always thought the reading was off.

During the trip the changes in the km/kwh figure did not compute to me. And neither did the battery percentage we used tie up with the efficiency figure for the amount of KMs driven either. They seemed to be using a very short period to calculate the figure and were jumping more than they should have been over short parts of that trip.

The last few km were down hill and the efficiency figure for the trip dropped by over 50% in that few km. So instead of calculating the trip figure that it gives you it on the display it only calculates it over a short distance.

So I did it again, resetting the main long term efficiency figure before leaving and I gave up have way becuse that overall figure was the same as the trip figure. When one changed the other changed so they were using the same factors to calculate, so both always going to be wrong.

So now I ignore the cars efficiency display as it is 100% wrong. I got a friend to do this in his EV3 too and he came to the very same conclusion. Now I just assume that im going to get 5 to 7 Km per battery percentage point in our car from experience. Anymore is a bonus and any less would be a concern.

The Helpful Engineer · 07-02-2026 11:03AM

When non-ev owning people ask me the range of my ev, I say I don't know as it depends on too many factors. They usually lose interest. When the odd person, who is actually interested, continues the conversation we discuss that it depends on conditions: summer/winter, wet/dry, fast roads/slow roads etc. I mention that I can drive to Cork in the summer (at the speed limit on all m-ways route) and have very roughly 20% left in battery.

People who actually own EV's just ask how big my battery is (its 60 kW btw). That is apart from one Tesla (LR) owner who regularly keeps asking my exact range. I think this is because he has a bigger battery than mine and wants to remind me of that fact or maybe he is just forgetful.

...Ghost... · 07-02-2026 11:15AM

Fair question.

You already understand that range is dynamic, depending on the vehicle, battery size, efficiency, weather, temperature, driving style, roads driven, speed driven and many other factors. What most people don't realise, is that ICE vehicles have the very same dynamic limitations, but they are never considered because a full tank is 500-100km. At times, those range figures are much lower, but are not noticed, because ICE drivers aren't thinking that way and don't pay attention to these things.

This is a hyper focus with BEVs because when EVs first appeared on the scene circa 15 years ago in this cycle, the range was realistically 100km and every km mattered. Over the years, ranges increased to the point where new EVs have ranges of 400-600kms on average. I've gone through this, starting with a real world 100km 24kWh Leaf, moving to a 350km Model 3 and now in a 500km Model Y. The potential ranges were always higher, but I tend to use real world expected range. Every 1% in my new MY is 5km in my mind. Every 1% in our 2017 Model S is 3km. Batteries are the same size at ~75kWh. I almost never think about range and I never worry about it. I haven't even checked the efficiency in the MY and I have had it since July.

eagerv · 07-02-2026 12:33PM

Similar to …Ghost… I leave my Model 3 on %, for my driving I use 4kms/1% which is accurate enough, a bit less during cold weather.

And I use the trip estimate arrival % when a destination set, which is very accurate most of the time.

Actually the EPA estimate which Tesla allow you to alternate on the screen is probably quite accurate for my mainly rural non motorway driving. But I don't use it.

Flinty997 · 07-02-2026 12:43PM

Even with a small battery like I have. I'm mostly doing local trips where I'm always back to the house. I have all the heating on full, drive full speed everywhere. So the GOM reflects that. It useless as a guide for a long trip.

I usually change at about 25% but often just top up if the car is parked at home for a while.

On a long trip (which I rarely) do I've never been below 16%. I like to leave a reserve where I've enough to get to another charger if there's a problem. But the last time I did a long trip it was 4 people and luggage in freezing temps and I was racing to not get trapped by snow. Not useful guide to range in other conditions.

Otherwise I just use ABRP it's taken most of the stress and range anxiety out longer trips for me.

I think with a newer EV or something like a Tesla its a non issue unless you're really bad at planning.

M83K · 07-02-2026 01:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124214163#Comment_124214163

Agreed. I often wondered how the 500m downhill stint at the end of my commute to work improved the efficiency so much after 30 minutes on a motorway. I don’t think regen technology has developed that much. I generally ignore the number now.

EV Range of your car and from what % usage battery are you claiming it?

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