EV range fails to match official figures

The electric car has entered a critical chicane in the road to mainstream acceptance with questions being raised about truth in the claims manufacturers are making about range. At the centre of the controversy is BMW's Mini E (pictured), the two-seat all-electric incarnation of the Mini, 300 of which have spent the last year on a leasing program with civilian users in metropolitan New York, New Jersey and California.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the feedback in BMW's recent survey of participants has revealed a consistent shortfall of about 30 percent in real-world use against early estimates based on US Environmental Protection Agency testing.

"The Mini E was supposed to have a 156-mile (250 km) range," NJ lessee Tom Moloughney told the paper. "But that only translated into a real-world range of 100 to 110 miles (160 -- 175 km)."

BMW says the best anyone achieved on a charge was 127 miles (204 km). The clear real-world average was around the 100-mile (161 km) mark. While a number of the participants were pleased with the Mini E's results in heavily trafficked city driving, the testing revealed the major problems lay in sustained freeway trips speeds of over 100 km/h. California participant Greg Boyer suggested that driving in such a way would more realistically yield a range of "60 or 70 miles" (100-125 km).

BMW and the EPA have both admitted the testing regime failed to reflect real-world conditions. BMW has told media in mitigation that drivers have found the Mini E capable of sufficient range to serve most of their needs. An EPA spokeswoman told the Journal the agency hasn't finalised its EV testing methodology, and that it remains a work in progress.

The affair sheets home the ways in which the limitations of current EV power pack technologies will translate into limitations in day-to-day use by real-world consumers. For some time, it's likely the EV will at best find its way into the runner-up spot in the garages of consumers with the bank balance and environmental conscience to stump up for a car specific to work-and-Woolies duties.

All of which, as the Journal pointed out, could spell trouble ahead for Nissan's Leaf. Nissan's claims for its upcoming EV are based on the same testing as the Mini E. The four-seat Leaf's battery packs substantially less power -- 24 kW, against the smaller Mini's 35 kW.

For now, Nissan is sticking with its 100-mile (160 km) range claims, albeit with qualifications taking into account variations in driving patterns, climatic conditions and use of heating and air conditioning facilities.

"You are going to see people who get more than 100 miles and people who get less than 100 miles," spokesman Mark Perry told the Journal. "The most impact on range really is how hot and cold you have set your interior cabin."

Despite their reservations, both Tom Moloughney and Greg Boyer have put down US$99 deposits to join the queue for the Leaf, set to arrive in Nissan's US showrooms later this year.

"I really hope they haven't oversold the range," Mr. Moloughney told the paper. "If they start selling these cars and they run out of charge at 60 miles, Nissan is going to have a huge black eye, and it's going to set them back as well as the whole EV [electric vehicle] industry."

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