How far can an electric car go on one charge?

Most new EVs sold in Australia claim 350 to 550 km on the WLTP test. In real-world driving, expect 10 to 20 per cent less than the sticker figure, and budget closer to 60 to 75 per cent of it for sustained 110 km/h highway driving with the air conditioning on.

Why is my EV's real range less than advertised?

The WLTP figure comes from a lab test cycle dominated by gentle, lower-speed driving with no air conditioning. Australian highway driving at 100 to 110 km/h sits where aerodynamic drag dominates, which the test barely captures. It's optimism built into the test, not a fault with your car.

How much range do you lose towing a caravan?

A lot. Australian real-world towing tests have measured energy use rising 50 to 100 per cent with a caravan on, depending on speed, which means range can roughly halve. EV towing trips are very doable, but plan charging legs at half your usual highway range.

Does running the air conditioner reduce EV range?

Yes, modestly. On a 35-degree Australian summer day, air conditioning can cost roughly 10 to 15 per cent of range. Cabin heating in cold climates can cost a similar amount or more on cars without a heat pump. It's real, but speed affects range far more than climate control.

How Far Can an Electric Car Really Go? Range in Australian Conditions

Most new electric cars sold in Australia claim somewhere between 350 and 550 km of range on the WLTP test. In the real world, expect 10 to 20 per cent less than the sticker figure in everyday driving, and plan on 60 to 75 per cent of it for sustained highway running at 110 km/h with the aircon working. Towing can roughly halve range again. None of this is a defect; it’s the gap between a lab test and Australian roads, and once you know the discount rates, range becomes easy to plan around.

What’s a realistic range for today’s EVs?

The advertised number on Australian spec sheets is the WLTP figure, a standardised lab cycle that makes models comparable with each other. Popular EVs here span roughly 350 to 450 km WLTP for small SUVs and hatches, and 450 to 550 km or more for long-range variants of mid-size models. The Australian Government’s Green Vehicle Guide lists official range and energy-consumption figures for every model sold here, and it’s the right place to compare cars on equal terms.

As a planning number, research published in Australia puts real-world range at 10 to 20 per cent below the WLTP claim. So a 480 km WLTP car is realistically a 380 to 430 km car in mixed driving. In town, you can match or even beat the sticker; on the highway, you won’t.

Why don’t you get the WLTP figure?

The WLTP cycle spends most of its time at suburban speeds with gentle acceleration and no climate control running. Aerodynamic drag rises with the square of speed, so the energy cost of pushing a car through the air at 110 km/h is dramatically higher than at 60, and the test barely visits that territory. Australia’s long 100 to 110 km/h highway legs sit exactly where the test is weakest, which is why the gap feels bigger here than the brochure implies.

The flip side surprises petrol-car thinking: EVs are at their most efficient in stop-start traffic, where regenerative braking recovers energy every time you slow down. City driving, the worst case for petrol, is the best case for an EV.

What drains an EV’s range fastest in Australia?

In rough order of impact:

Speed. The single biggest factor. Sitting on 110 rather than 95 km/h costs real range; many EVs run 20 to 25 per cent below WLTP at highway pace.
Towing and roof loads. Australian towing tests have measured consumption rising 50 to 100 per cent with a caravan, climbing with speed. Roof racks and boxes carry a smaller but real aero penalty.
Heat and aircon. Expect around 10 to 15 per cent off on a 35°C day. Pre-cooling the cabin while still plugged in offloads that first blast of work to the charger.
Cold and heating. Less common here, but alpine and Tasmanian winters cost range too, more on cars without a heat pump.
Hills and headwinds. Long climbs eat range (you recover some descending); a stiff headwind is effectively a higher airspeed all day.
Battery age. Packs lose a few per cent of capacity early, then degrade slowly. If your range has genuinely shrunk over the years, an EV battery health check will tell you whether it’s degradation or just driving conditions.

How do you plan a road-trip leg?

A widely used rule of thumb: knock 20 per cent off the WLTP figure for highway pace, then plan to use about 70 per cent of what’s left, because on fast-charging road trips you typically run the battery between roughly 10 and 80 per cent rather than 100 to zero. Worked example: a 480 km WLTP car becomes about 384 km at highway pace, and 70 per cent of that is roughly 270 km between charging stops.

That’s why “250 to 300 km legs” is the standard road-trip rhythm for a mid-size EV, which conveniently matches how often humans want coffee. The 10-to-80 window also charges much faster; our guide to how long it takes to charge an electric car explains why the last 20 per cent is the slow part.

Build in a buffer for the unexpected (a closed charger, a headwind, a detour), and know your fallback: here’s what actually happens if an EV runs out of charge, which is less dramatic than the anxiety suggests, but still best avoided.

The honest summary

An EV’s range is smaller than the brochure says and entirely predictable once you apply the discounts: minus 10 to 20 per cent for real life, more at 110 km/h, more again with the aircon flat out, half when towing. For the daily life of most Australian drivers, that still means charging once or twice a week. For road trips, it means a stop every two and a half to three hours, planned around chargers that now line every major intercity route.