Top 10 Electric Cars with Longest Range in 2021

Electric cars have been on the roads around the world for quite some time, but no matter how hard automakers try, none of them have yet managed to break the entrenched stereotype: if you want to go far on a single charge, be prepared to open your wallet wide. However, as technology advances, the situation may change.

Until recently, an electric car with a range of only a few tens or a little more than 100 kilometers on a full charge cost more or even twice as much as a similar car with an internal combustion engine. Given that manufacturers such as Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and Polestar are consistently working to find solutions to make batteries cheaper and increase the range of an electric car on a single charge, it is expected that in the long term, drivers no more compromises will have to be accepted.

“It is important that this process of searching for the car you want does not take too long, because more and more countries and regions are talking about banning the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines. Such bans force manufacturers to hurry – there are already electric cars on the market with quite a long range. You can even say, that few are able to cover the same distance as cars with conventional engines and a smaller fuel tank.

However, despite this, for the majority of drivers, such a forced transition to electric cars causes anxiety: insufficient and unfamiliar infrastructure, as well as the lack of technological knowledge scares them,” observed Dina Sergienko, co-author of the Lithuanian automotive podcast “Overdrives”.

A list of electric cars with the greatest range has been created

According to her, even though electric cars are already quite common on our roads, the worry about what will be done when it is no longer possible to buy a new car that runs on fossil fuels is still heartbreaking. For example, in Great Britain it will not be possible to buy a new passenger car with a diesel or gasoline engine as early as 2030.

Recently, the journalists of the British publication “AutoExpress”, taking into account the official results of the standardized driving efficiency tests WLTP, compiled the ten best electric cars that can travel the furthest with a full charge of the battery. The Mercedes EQS SUV luxury electric car with a range of 585 km is included in the list. Also on the list is the “Ford Mustang Mach-E”, which in the larger version of the battery can travel up to 595 km on a single charge.

The list also includes the Tesla Model 3 with a range of 598 km, the Polestar 3 with a WLTP-tested range of 606 km and the BMW iX with a range of 608 km on a full charge.

The list created by “AutoExpress” also includes the new “Hyundai Ioniq 6” model, which is made on a special platform intended for electric cars and has aerodynamic improvements that allow it to travel up to 614 km on a single charge. On the other hand, the “Mercedes EQS” luxury sedan is confidently ranked at the head of the list of electric cars with the greatest range, being able to travel approximately 720 km without recharging.

The only problem is that it is expensive

“Looking at the entire list, it is easy to see an obvious trend: it is basically dominated by manufacturers of the “premium” segment. Its buyers are used to paying more, so they don’t hit their pockets as much when buying an electric car with a longer range,” says Sergiyenko.

Such “premium” segment models usually have very high-capacity batteries, which make up a significant part of the car’s price. Also, car manufacturers of this segment do not skimp on luxury finishes and extensive equipment, which only further increases the final price of an electric car. As a result, an electric car in the “premium” segment can easily reach a six-figure price if we are talking about leaders in electric range.

Looking at the compiled top ten electric cars with the longest range, only the South Korean manufacturer “Hyundai” and its latest model “Ioniq 6” stand out. Two versions of this model are offered in Latvia – both with a 77 kWh battery. The rear-wheel drive model with a full charge can travel approximately 614 km in the combined cycle and costs from 60 thousand euros.

Efficiency is determined by a set of decisions

“Ioniq 6” is by no means the first “Hyundai” electric car – its predecessor is “Ioniq 5”, which won many awards around the world. “It has been obvious for a long time that the first significant leaps in increasing the range of electric cars in the world of electric cars were made by platforms specially designed for these models, and not by attempts to integrate batteries into a chassis made for cars with an internal combustion engine,” emphasizes Sergiyenko.

The “e-GMP” platform used in the construction of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 has already been tested and proven with the previous Ioniq 5 model. British journalists note that although the two cars are completely different, their most important features – innovative technologies and efficiency – are similar.

“Undoubtedly, the greater range of the Ioniq 6 is also facilitated by a much better aerodynamic coefficient than its predecessor. The previous model has an aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.28, while the Ioniq 6 has an aerodynamic coefficient of 0.21,” says Sergiyenko.

“Hyundai” managed to achieve a significantly better aerodynamic coefficient by paying special attention to the design of the body of the “Ioniq 6”: the pointed front of the car has an active aerodynamic grille, reduced gaps between the arches and wheels, as well as narrow digital side mirrors instead of traditional ones. In addition, the car’s completely covered bottom and improved airflow deflectors also contribute to the positive result.

All this has made it possible to reduce energy consumption (WLTP test result – 14.3 kWh/100 km) and correspondingly increase the range with one charge. Similar to its predecessor, Hyundai’s latest electric car can be charged with a power of 350 kW, which allows charging the electric car’s battery from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes.