HOW FAR CAN ELECTRIC CARS GO IN WINTER?

Before you buy an electric car, it's best to know its real-world range especially when it's cold. In our 2023 winter range test, we drive a dozen contenders until they die

- Will Nightingale

Twice a year )in the heat of summer and the chill of winter) we put a selection of electric cars through a 'drive 'em until they die' endurance test. The aim? To find out how far they really go on a full charge, and how efficiently they use electricity.

This is essentially our electric vehicle version of a Tough Mudder challenge. After all, temperature can make a big difference to how far an electric car can go on a charge.

We've yet to find a model capable of matching its official range - and that was highly unlikely to happen in this latest round of testing, on a very chilly day in January.

Some of the cars lining up )the BMW i4, Cupra Born and Tesla Model Y) have taken part in previous tests, but there are plenty of newcomers too, including the Genesis GV60 and our reigning Car of the Year, the Volkswagen ID Buzz.

We've also included two Renault Megane E-Techs with different wheel sizes )an entry-level Equilibre and a higher-spec Techno) to find out how that affects their efficiency.

And to see if it's simply a case of the more money you spend, the farther you'll get between charges, we've included everything from the relatively keenly priced Ora Funky Cat )£31,995), right up to an £85k Jaguar I-Pace.

How we did it

It might seem logical to do our 'real world' tests on a public road, but that would present two problems. Firstly, traffic lights, roundabouts and other road users would make it impossible to keep 12 cars together in convoy, throwing a big variable into the mix. Secondly, there's the safety side of things. Deliberately running an electric car out of juice on a road could have nasty consequences - not least because you never know exactly when it will stop.