The answers show that 63% of respondents had ‘range anxiety’ – the fear that they wouldn’t be able to drive far enough before needing to recharge their car’s battery. But 87% underestimated how far they could drive on a fully charged electric car. Around a quarter of people thought used electric cars had a battery range of less than 100 miles. Nearly half of the respondents thought it was below 150 miles and almost three quarters thought they’d run out of charge before 200 miles. The average guess was 162.46 miles.
Just under half of those questioned (49.2%) said a range of between 150 and 300 miles would be acceptable, while a quarter said they’d be happy with a range of less than 150 miles.
The good news is that Department for Transport statistics show that the average car journey is just 8.4 miles, meaning that even with smaller battery capacities, you’ll be able to fit in several trips before having to top up. On top of that, battery technology is developing very quickly. There are now electric cars on the market that promise more than 400 miles from a full battery, such as the Mercedes-Benz EQS and the smaller EQE.
Other options can do more than 300 miles, including the Tesla Model 3 (360 miles), the Volkswagen ID.3 (336 miles) and the Hyundai Kona (300 miles). There’s also a long list of cars that will easily top 200 miles on a full charge. These include the Kia e-Niro (282 miles), the Nissan Leaf (239 miles) and the Renault Zoe (238 miles).