Understanding Electric Car Range

How to understand your Electric Car Range

The education and understanding surrounding your EV (new or used) is paramount to your experience. Time and time again, mistakes have been made where BEVs are sold on their aesthetics, their ergonomics or on price.

That is not to say these elements are not important to the UK buyers / lease deal proponents. There are many constituent parts which make up a robust sale process. While improvements are continuing, which is very much leading to the increasing uptake of new AND used options, there are still shortcuts and corner-cutting processes, which are leading the customer away from the detail which matters.

Range, for example, will often be quoted as one figure (often WLTP calculated) and suggested without any real context or specificity. After the analysis below we will find out why this is not advisable.

So why does this matter?

As you may have read in yet another "catastrophic" review of the EV market, the FT  are purporting that the euphoria of EVs is now at an end, with carmakers facing huge bills for wasted time and investment. This is not a new contention from our news and media.

Only last week  we looked at the recently launched (and range-busting) BMW iX3 SUV and talked about the Telegraph's major concerns on the UK's battery electric market.

Not unlike that article, the FT reference some of the failures in America, where Ford have struggled to produce an economically viable option and are instead moving back to their historically popular petrol engines and meaty trucks / pickups. 

Referencing some $65 billion in global losses, the article highlights concern with the US move away from pro-EV and pro-climate policies, leading those organisations who had committed hardest to BEV tech, now being left with sizeable bills.

The Stellantis conglomerate have been hit more so than anyone but, as the FT does denote, there has been critique on product, vehicle choice and quality which may have contributed to these shortcomings. The same too for Ford, who have not managed to grip the consumer in the US, in the same way they have struggled in the UK with a swathe of indifferent options.

A common question we pose in our own thoughts on this matter - should e-car lease be worried? The fragilities in the EV system are not unexpected.

From innovation to design to mass-adoption, our global shift from combustion to battery electric transport has occurred at a lightening rate. So quick has been the cultural and logistical change, that manufacturers, charge point operators, energy companies and policy makers have struggled to keep up.

The end result for the consumers and businesses buying new and used EVs is that education and information has been sporadic at best. Poor choices lead to dissatisfaction and lower confidence; ultimately creating a more toxic and contentious market like the USA are now cultivating.

Not surprisingly, it is a simple element, like the RANGE of the EV which can be more clearly explained and disseminated to a customer in order to ensure the right product is being adopted.

Providing just one figure for range, especially when WLTP is calculated, is just wrong. As at 2026 we are conscious that this is not always a fair and accurate approach. More so when WLTP involves exhausting the battery in carefully controlled factory and testing conditions, as opposed to real-life/real-world driving.

It is not to say that the combined WLTP is of no use; only that it doesn't properly educate the customer procuring the vehicle. For used electric cars, this is even more crucial, as you need to take into account the battery degradation and wear too.

So many brands and dealerships have been reticent to do more; simple tools highlighting the operation of the EV are now available. In the used-sector, Clear Watt  and Aviloo are now providing more information to the discerning buyer but in the new EV market, very few are adopting our practical position on range analysis.

Electric cars operate according to driving style and the driver behaviours. We build on this in e-car "living with your" analysis which sets out the potential range (from 100% - 0%) in a series of environments including:

•  Motorway driving in warmer and colder climates;
•  City-driving in warmer and colder climates; and
•  Combined driving in warmer and colder climates.

What many of our potential and current customers note is that EVs do not perform as efficiently in motorway / dual carriage driving compared to city and urban stop start driving. There is also a notable difference in warm v cold driving, with the latter removing 10 - 30% of the range.

This isn't a ploy or a scam; electric vehicles perform brilliantly for low-mileage customers and especially those frequently driving in towns and cities. If you are operating in busy traffic, the EV simply comes into its own over combustion for efficiency. Even more so when you consider pollution and emissions. With higher speeds and motorway driving, you will note that the range metrics do drop. For customers who regularly commute at higher speed environments, the range capabilities are more impaired.

The weather / climate is more of a practical observation. Batteries operate better at an ambient temperature. In colder weather, the batteries use more energy achieving this temp, compared to warmer weather where this is not a consideration.

While pre-conditioning your battery does help (essentially warm your car up while it is plugged into your home charger) and heat pumps also assist (by using residual heat from your battery to warm the car), the demands on the vehicle are more apparent in winter and colder weather systems.

This is why defining your customer is so imporant. It is easy to say if you cover 8,000 - 10,000 miles per annum, you are a moderately low mileage driver, if you are freqeuntly on the motorway driivng at high speeds, you need to appreciate the demands on the battery. 

In the same way, some drivers will focus on bigger range vehicles, when their city driving and heavy congestion situation might not necessitate the extra spend on the battery. At the heart of this, is a customer truly understanding the vehicle's capabilities and making the decision which meets their needs and requirements. An empowered customer is a confident one.

For customers researching the Best Range electric cars in 2026, they may come across the new IM brand which the MG group (SAIC) are now producing. Very much competition for Tesla, Polestar and other dedicated long-range EVs, these new innovative products are making inroads into the UK’s leasing market.

The IM5 will perform as per below: 

•  Long Range - from £44,995 with a usable battery of 96.5 kWh this RWD Saloon offers 300 kW (402hp), top speeds of 137 mph and 0-62 times of 4.9 seconds. Real-world ranges suggest a combined 275 miles in colder weather with warmer temperatures to allow for 380 miles (on a full charge) - 325 miles combined . The 11kW AC allows for 0-100% charging times of 10 hours and 30 minutes with the 369kW DC enabling 10-80% in 17 minutes. The IM5 has confirmed Bidirectional charging - V2L functionality. It has a 136 mpg equivalent, 457L cargo volume (1290L with the seats down) and towing capabilities are yet to be confirmed. The heat pump is available as a standard option.

The IM6 will perform as per below: 

•  Long Range - from £47,995 with a usable battery of 96.5 kWh this RWD Saloon offers 300 kW (402hp), top speeds of 137 mph and 0-62 times of 5.4 seconds. Real-world ranges suggest a combined 260 miles in colder weather with warmer temperatures to allow for 350 miles (on a full charge) - 310 miles combined . The 11kW AC allows for 0-100% charging times of 10 hours and 30 minutes with the 369kW DC enabling 10-80% in 17 minutes. The IM6 has confirmed Bidirectional charging - V2L functionality. It has a 130mpg equivalent, 665L cargo volume (1640L with the seats down) and towing capabilities are yet to be confirmed. The heat pump is available as a standard option.  

Need more help and advice on your new, or used, EV?

Head to the e-car Lease brand website to build your perfect option or just get in touch with our expert team on 01942 910 001 or by emailing us at [email protected]