Australian EV range test: How far can Model 3, Kona, Leaf, MG and e-tron go?

In an Australian first, the team at Chasing Cars conducted an all-out range test for five different vehicles that were driven from fully charged until they couldn’t move and had to be put on the back of a tow truck.

The cars in question were broken into two groups: the first are a pair of short range EVs in the Nissan Leaf ($49,990) and and the MG ZS EV – the latter of which is Australia’s cheapest EV at $40,990.

Following behind was the long range crew made up of the pre-facelifted Hyundai Kona Electric Elite ($60,740), Tesla Model 3 Long Range ($77,900) and finally the Audi e-tron 55 Sportback ($157,100).

The cars were all tested under the same conditions on a drive from Sydney and heading towards Goulburn, with the long range crew pushing on towards Canberra.

With a goal of being fair and also realistic in the testing, the five EVs were driven at the speed limit at all times, with the air conditioning kept at either 24ºC or to the highest temperature before the air started to blow warm.

During the experiment, drivers drove conservatively with overtakes kept to a minimum. Music was allowed at a low level and nothing but very light luggage was allowed onboard.

As Australia’s cheapest EV, it’s no surprise the MG also had the shortest WLTP range at 263km but still fell notably short of that figure when it ran out at 191km.

The Nissan Leaf has a claimed range of 270km (WLTP) in the entry-level model, but  found itself unable to move at 226km.

Next in line was the Audi e-tron 55 Sportback which claims 436km (WLTP) and was the second closest to its claim by reaching 392km before the tow truck was called.

The Hyundai Kona Electric was the only one of the five to match its 449km WLTP range claim, and finished just over the mark at 450km.

As many of you might expect, the outright range winner went to the Tesla Model 3 Long Range that travelled 508km on a single charge.

The Tesla was also the most efficient overall using just 13.8kWh/100km on the trip but was still notably down on its WLTP claim of 580km.

You’ll find the 24-minute video version of the EV range and consumption test on the Chasing Cars Youtube channel and website, or click the EV Challenge video link here.