they should, apart from occasional threats of spontaneous combustion and stubbornness to recharge. There’s also weight: A Tesla battery pack weighs 1,200 pounds, more than four times the heft of the average four- cylinder engine. By the way, it weighs 1,200 pounds whether it’s fully charged or empty – unlike a gas tank – which should make us all question electric pickup trucks. A standard GM Silverado gas pickup requires three times the power to maintain 75 mph than a Tesla Model 3. Does that imply a 3,600-pound battery must be hauled everywhere the truck goes? A truck that’s fully loaded before it’s fully loaded? Is the potential mileage of EVs encouraging (see list to the right)? Well, insofar as EVs perform brilliantly as around-town errand- hoppers, yes. But notice that average ranges haven’t varied much in years. A family vacation still suggests the 500-mile range that one tank of unleaded provides in a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe or even in the spanking new Ford Bronco
RACING CURRENTS Car and Driver tests EVs on a formalized 200- mile loop until the vehicle whooshes to a halt, causing a traffic jam in Saginaw, where being stranded earns hazard pay. Random results: 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 190 miles 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV 180 miles 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance 220 miles 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range 200 miles 2019 Audi e-tron 190 miles 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric 160 miles 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus 180 miles 2019 Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor 230 miles 2019 Jaguar I-Pace EV400 170 miles 2020 Tesla Model Y Long Range 220 miles 2020 Tesla Model S Performance 222 miles 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S 209 miles 2020 Polestar 2 190 miles 2020 Audi e-tron Sportback 220 miles 2020 Kia Niro EV 180 miles 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S 170 miles
2021 VOLKSWAGEN ID.4
54
May 2021
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