Every electric car falls short of its official range figure. That is not a scandal — it is what happens when a laboratory cycle meets a motorway. What is worth knowing is by how much, because the size of the gap varies a lot between cars, and a predictable car is easier to live with than a nominally longer-range one that surprises you.
Ranked from the 18 cars in our database that have a sourced figure for this. A car with no published figure is left out rather than ranked as a zero. Figures are US units; every model page carries the metric equivalent and the source.Figures are metric; every model page carries the imperial equivalent and the source.
How this is calculated
The shortfall is the WLTP figure minus the observed figure, as a percentage of the WLTP figure. Both inputs are shown in the table and both are credited on each car’s own page. The calculation is arithmetic on two published numbers — there is no model, no weighting and no adjustment.
It is labelled as an estimate for one reason: the observed figure comes from independent testing rather than from a regulated procedure, so it carries the uncertainty any single test carries. The WLTP figure is exact; the real one is a good measurement.
Why WLTP overstates every car
WLTP runs at a modest average speed, in mild ambient temperature, with no wind, no hills, no roof box and no passengers. It is repeatable, which is its purpose, and repeatable is not the same as representative. Raise the speed and drag rises with the square of it; drop the temperature and both the battery and the cabin heater take their cut.
So a shortfall of twenty to twenty-five percent is normal and not a criticism of the car. It is the cars at the extremes of this table that tell you something.
What a big gap actually means
A large shortfall usually means the car is optimised for the test in ways that do not transfer: low rolling-resistance tyres on small wheels, a gentle power delivery, aerodynamics that work best at cycle speeds. A small shortfall usually means a car whose efficiency holds up at speed.
The practical consequence is planning. If your car reliably delivers 78 percent of its claim you can subtract a fifth and trust the answer. If it delivers 73 percent in summer and rather less in January, the brochure figure is not a number you can plan around at all. It is also why our price ranking admits a car on its observed figure rather than its claim: the cheapest cars with 400 km of real range are a shorter list than the cheapest cars claiming it. It is also why our price ranking admits a car on its observed figure rather than its claim: the cheapest cars with 400 km of real range are a shorter list than the cheapest cars claiming it.
Frequently asked questions
Is a manufacturer with a big gap being dishonest?
No. WLTP is a mandated procedure and the figure is the figure. What manufacturers choose is how hard to optimise for it, and that is a legitimate engineering decision even when it flatters the brochure more than the owner.
Does EPA range have the same problem?
Much less. The EPA cycle is harsher and includes more high-speed running, so EPA figures land far closer to real driving. That is why our car pages publish both rather than picking the flattering one.
Which cars are missing from this table?
Any car without both a WLTP figure and an observed figure — which excludes cars sold only in North America, since they have no WLTP number at all. The count under the table says how many cars it was drawn from.