In a video shared Friday by carwow on YouTube, Mat the host drives three electric vehicles until their batteries run out of juice to test their range. The cars tested include a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus (SR+), a Model 3 Performance, and a Polestar 2.
The claimed ranges according to the cars starting each test were 249 miles for the Model 3 SR+ and 307 miles for the Performance, with the Polestar 2 displaying 260 miles. While these ratings signify nearly-perfect conditions, and don’t always reflect quite how far a given EV can go, the results of this range test were fairly staggering.
In the end, the Polestar 2 drove just 75.8% of the range it claimed it could, with its battery dying after just 197 miles driven. While the Model 3 SR+ faired slightly better, with 87.8% of its claimed range driven at a total of 218 miles driven, the Performance held up best of all, with 93.2% of its claimed range driven at 286 miles.
As Reddit user u/dixi_normous explained on the video posted in the Tesla Motors subreddit, “Any claimed [range] number is going to differ from your reality unless you are replicating the exact scenarios of the range estimate test. With regen braking, these would actually get better range in the city and this test was done almost entirely on the highway. The outside temperature will drastically [affect] range and this test was done in the UK where it is colder than where I assume Tesla tests in California.”
We’ve also seen how cold weather can affect battery and range on a Model 3 from Colorado, though this particular test doesn’t look quite that cold.
