- The Audi Q6 E-Tron, Porsche Macan EV and Polestar 3 had been put by a freeway vary take a look at in chilly Norway.
- They had been pushed at 75 mph on a 120-mile route with their effectivity monitored alongside the best way.
- The Polestar 3’s greater battery made it the winner, despite the fact that it was the least environment friendly.
Chilly temperatures make EVs use extra electrical energy, which may cut back their vary by as a lot as 50% in some instances. Even the most recent fashions, just like the Audi Q6 E-Tron, Porsche Macan EV and Polestar 3, which function the most recent developments in battery chemistry and thermal administration, are at their least environment friendly in winter. In the event you additionally drive them at freeway speeds, the vary takes a fair greater hit.
Kris Rifa from Norway introduced these three posh new electrical crossovers collectively for a gaggle freeway winter vary take a look at. All three automobiles had been pushed at a relentless 75 mph (120 km/h) on a 120-mile (194 km) route, and their common effectivity was monitored all through the journey.
The take a look at was achieved in Norway with temperatures as little as 23°F (-5°C), which made all three EVs rather a lot much less environment friendly than marketed. The temperature contained in the automobiles was set to 70°F (21°C), and so they had been solely pushed of their most effective mode. The Macan EV didn’t have a range-boosting mode so it was pushed in regular.
Of the trio, the Polestar 3 (which was the most important of the trio with the longest wheelbase) was rated as being probably the most luxurious, quiet and comfy for freeway driving, whereas the Audi was significantly noisier than the opposite two EVs. The Polestar additionally had the most important battery pack of the take a look at (107 kilowatt-hours usable versus 94.9 kWh within the mechanically associated Porsche and Audi).
On the finish of the take a look at, which concerned going up and down the identical piece of freeway, the Polestar regarded prefer it was able to delivering the longest vary. They didn’t drain the three automobiles’ batteries all the best way down and as an alternative calculated the theoretical most vary by trying on the usable battery pack and effectivity numbers.
The Polestar 3 long-range dual-motor used within the take a look at had a median electrical energy consumption of two.15 miles/kWh (28.8 kWh/100 km), which gave it a theoretical vary of 225 miles (360 km) or round 57% of its claimed WLTP vary of 394 miles (634 km). This variant has a extra conservative EPA vary of 315 miles (507 km).
Subsequent got here the Audi Q6 E-Tron Quattro, which was probably the most environment friendly of the three automobiles examined, averaging 2.42 miles/kWh (25.7 kWh/100 km), and it virtually matched the Polestar for theoretical vary with 223.9 miles (358 km). That’s 64% of its WLTP vary of 344 miles (554 km) and even nearer to its 307 miles (494 km) EPA ranking.
Despite the fact that the Porsche Macan is constructed on the identical PPA platform because the Q6 E-Tron, the Macan 4 used on this take a look at was much less environment friendly than the Audi (possible due to its bigger wheels). It averaged 2.28 miles/kWh (27.2 kWh/100km), which solely gave it a theoretical vary of 211.5 miles (338 km) or round 63% of its WLTP vary. The EPA charges the Macan 4 at 308 miles, one mile greater than the Q6 E-Tron with the identical configuration.
Kris additionally launched a video displaying a extra in-depth side-by-side comparability of the three automobiles and he additionally prices them after the vary take a look at with out preconditioning their batteries with attention-grabbing outcomes. What struck me whereas watching these two movies was simply how totally different the Audi and the Porsche are despite the fact that they’re mechanically very comparable simply how tasteful the Polestar’s inside seems.
