Real range vs WLTP: how far does your EV actually go?
WLTP figures are measured in mild, gentle conditions, so real driving almost never matches them. Pick your car, then set the temperature, how you drive, climate use and battery health to estimate your real-world range. Every value is editable.
Estimated real range
Estimated real range
231 mi
93% of WLTP
WLTP range
249 mi
Real-world use
3.85 mi/kWh
Where the range goes
Your car & conditions
Optional — pick make, model and spec to fill the values below, or edit any field for a custom one.
How to read the result
We start from the WLTP range and apply a multiplier for each condition: temperature (cold costs the most, because the battery is less efficient and the cabin needs heating), how you drive (motorway speeds use far more energy than town, where regenerative braking helps), climate-control load, and battery health, which shrinks the usable capacity as the car ages. The breakdown shows roughly how many miles each factor adds or removes.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is real range lower than WLTP?
- WLTP is a lab cycle run at mild temperatures with gentle acceleration and no motorway cruising or heating. Real driving — cold mornings, fast roads, the heater on — uses more energy, so 70–85% of WLTP is typical.
- Why does cold weather hit range so hard?
- Two reasons: a cold battery is chemically less efficient, and heating the cabin draws a lot of power directly from the battery rather than from waste engine heat. Preconditioning while plugged in and using seat heating instead of cabin heat both help.
- Why does motorway driving use more than town?
- Air resistance rises with the square of speed, so steady fast cruising is the worst case for an EV. In town, low speeds and regenerative braking recover energy, so EVs are often most efficient there — the opposite of a petrol car.
- Where do the figures come from?
- The car list uses approximate manufacturer WLTP range and usable battery; the derate factors are seeded from published cold-weather range studies. They're sensible defaults, not a promise for a specific car — edit any value to match yours.