HOW FAR CAN ELECTRIC CARS REALLY GO?

With electric car tech rapidly charging ahead, we put 12 important models new and not so new through their paces to test their stamina

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Twice a year (in the height of summer and the depths of winter) we put a selection of electric vehicles (EVS) through a 'drive 'em till they die' endurance test. The aim? To find out how far they can really go on a full charge and to see how efficiently they use the electricity stored in their batteries.

Some of the cars in this latest test (which took place in August), such as the MG 4, Genesis GV60 and Volkswagen ID Buzz, have taken part before but there are plenty of newcomers, too, including the BYD Atto 3, Mercedes-Benz EQE and Smart #1. We've also got two Tesla Model 3s- an entry-level RWD and a higher-spec Long Range - to find out if it's really worth paying extra for a bigger-battery version of an EV.

And for those who are in the market for a used EV, we also included a 10-year-old BMW i3 with 41,000 miles on the clock and a six-year-old Renault Zoe (with 33,000 miles) to see how they stack up today - models you can pick up on the second-hand market for as little as £8000.

HOW WE DID IT

For obvious reasons, it wouldn't be safe to deliberately run EVs out of charge on the public road, so we always use our test track in Bedfordshire. We follow a relatively simple test route of roughly 15 miles, which includes 2.6 miles of simulated stop-start urban driving, four miles at a steady 50mph and eight miles at a constant 70mph. The rationale for the high percentage of high-speed cruising is that drivers who want to travel long distances in one hit are likely to be using the motorway network.

The 12 cars were charged to 100% and then left out in the open overnight - for roughly 14 hours in 18-23deg C ambient conditions. The following morning, they were all plugged in again to check they were fully charged before the climate control was set to 21deg and the headlights switched to auto.