“In a previous piece, we dove into the nuts and bolts of the NEDC testing standard. Now, let’s shift gears and get into two other testing standards that hit closer to home when it comes to accuracy—WLTP and EPA.
WLTP
Short for ‘World Light Vehicle Test Procedure’, or you could just say the global standard cooked up by the likes of Japan, the US, the EU, and others. It’s like the universal recipe for measuring how thirsty your car is for fuel. The WLTP test drives your car for a total of 1800 seconds, broken down into a mix of slow, medium, fast, and super-fast phases, with each part timed and speed-rated to mimic real-world driving as closely as possible. The idea here is to throw in everything but the kitchen sink—like how heavy your car is, what gear you’re in, and how much drag you’re dealing with—to make sure the test is as real as it gets.
To sum it up, the WLTP test shakes things up by covering a wider speed range and stretching the test period, making it a better match for your car’s actual range. Compared to the NEDC, WLTP is a step up, giving us a more realistic peek into how far your ride can actually go. Just take the WLTP’s range figure, shave off 10-15%, and you’ve got a decent estimate of your real-world mileage. With the UN’s vehicle regulation forum giving it the thumbs up, don’t be surprised if China starts using WLTP as the new yardstick for electric car range.
EPA
The EPA range test standard is something the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) whipped up to figure out how far electric cars can go before they run out of juice. It’s a big deal in the States and is seen as one of the test standards that really gets how cars are used in real life.
The EPA’s method for testing how far an electric car can go involves four main scenarios: city driving, highway cruising, aggressive driving, and running the air conditioning. City driving is all about simulating stop-and-go traffic, like hitting red lights, speeding up, and slowing down. Highway driving looks at how the car does when it’s going faster and more steadily, like on an interstate. Aggressive driving is about pushing the car harder, with sudden accelerations and hard stops. And the air conditioning test checks out how using the A/C impacts the car’s battery life.
For the test, they charge the car fully and then drive it under these conditions until the battery’s flat. The final range number comes from looking at how the car did across all these tests.
There’s also a bit where they test how long the battery lasts, checking the range when the car runs just on electricity and then when it’s using a combo of gas and electric power (for hybrids). This approach gives a better picture of what you can expect from the car in real-world use.
What’s cool about the EPA test is that it considers a bunch of stuff that can affect battery life, like how the weather might make your car use more power. So, their numbers are usually pretty on point when it comes to how long your car will run before needing a recharge. Still, remember that real driving conditions can change a lot—things like how you drive, the roads you’re on, and how much stuff you’re hauling around can all make a difference.
In a nutshell, the EPA’s way of testing electric car range is thorough and reflects what driving is actually like.Basically, the EPA test results can be compared with the actual cruising range. It’s a solid guide for anyone thinking about going electric.