EV Real Range in Australia

My best real range in my EV Tesla 3LR is 610km and my lowest real range is 340km. My average is 440-460km.

The figure is simply how far I traveled by the odometer divided by what percentage of my battery I used, expressed as km per 100%.

The highest real EV range

Highest real range in my EV has been 610km for 100% of battery, in warm summer weather, from Bathurst to Sydney in summer of 2024.

The lowest real EV range

Lowest real range in my EV, was 340km per 100% of battery, driving uphill during very cold weather, in Winter of June 2023. I had left Gundagai and travelled 174km uphill at 110km/hr to Goulburn, arriving in 6 degrees C having used 51% battery. For the trip overall, from Melbourne to Sydney, my EV averaged 378km for 100% of battery. (808km trip travelling in 0 to 8 degrees C at 110km/h.)

Highway Real Range of EV

Most highway trips in first 2 years 2021-23 were at 110km/hr, and I averaged equivalent to 460km for 100% of battery

In April 2024, with my 3LR 2yr 7 mths old, my real range on a 4,849km return trip to Townsville at 100-110km/hr varied with conditions from 37.5km to 60.6km per 10% of battery with the overall average 437km per 100% of battery used.

Longest gap between EV chargers

The longest legs I have driven without a EV charger enroute has been 300km between Dubbo and Cobar and the 320km return trip Cobar to Bourke. Neither trip had charging available other than at Dubbo and Cobar, when I did them.

Longest drive without charging

The longest I have driven my EV in Vic without charging has been 367km between Melbourne and Orbost, which used 80% of my battery. There were chargers enroute if needed, but I didn’t use them. The Energy App in the car shows the energy used in driving, plus the other energy used. It used 79.6% of battery in total on that 367.4km trip.

Energy used over 367.4km Melbourne to Orbost by EV

Another example in NSW is 15 Nov 2024, when I started with 100% at Dubbo and drove to Sydney at normal highway and freeway speed limits, 110-70km/hr covering 416km arriving with 14%, so 86% used over 416km.

EV trip Dubbo to Sydney on single charge

Type of EV

My EV is an August 2021 Tesla 3LR with the standard 75kWh battery and 19” wheels. (In Nov 2021 they introduced a larger 82kWh battery to the 3LR, so cars built from Nov 21 will have slightly more range). My car has travelled 80,000 km over 3yrs. Trips used as examples above, were in Standard acceleration mode. Tesla recommend driving in Chill acceleration mode during cold weather, if you want to have the most range, but my trips are all in Standard acceleration mode, which uses more energy.

Use of electricity

1,000 km of travel, at my average consumption rate of ~15kWh/100km would use ~150kWh of electricity.

Some sample costs of EV charging electricity are set out in the table here.

Change in EV Battery Capacity Over Time

When new in 2021 the EPA range figure on my 3LR car touchscreen said 538km for 100% and in Nov 2024 at 82,408km, it showed 500km at 100%. That is a 7% reduction in storage capacity after 3 yrs. The table below shows how storage size changed over time.

Date	wdt_ID	wdt_created_by	wdt_created_at	wdt_last_edited_by	wdt_last_edited_at	Odometer	EPA Range	Battery Storage Capacity %
11/10/2021	1	maitland1	29/10/2024 04:18 PM	maitland1	17/11/2024 04:32 PM	1,423	538	100.00
01/01/2024	6	maitland1	29/10/2024 04:29 PM	maitland1	10/11/2024 09:05 PM	59,000	513	95.35
01/04/2024	7	maitland1	29/10/2024 04:30 PM	maitland1	10/11/2024 09:04 PM	68,274	510	94.80
01/08/2024	8	maitland1	29/10/2024 04:30 PM	maitland1	10/11/2024 09:04 PM	75,540	500	92.94
15/11/2024	19	maitland1	29/10/2024 07:21 PM	maitland1	16/11/2024 08:48 AM	82,408	500	92.94

Tesla says it’s normal for storage capacity and therefore estimated range to decrease slightly before leveling off. Over time, you may see a gradual, but natural, decrease in range at full charge – this depends on factors such as the mileage and age of the Battery.

Tesla says that average capacity reduction is 15% after 320,000 kms (200,000 miles).

WLTP, EPA and ADR EV range figures

The WLTP and EPA test ranges are just different lab test protocols for comparisons between cars only, not real range. The WLTP test is a 30 minute lab test with average speed without stops of 53.5km/hr. My WLTP range for my 2021 3LR was 580km but that is not displayed in the car. It’s the EPA test range that is displayed.

The driving range displayed on the top of the car touchscreen and app, shows an estimate of how far the car would travel with its current battery level, under the USA EPA lab test. When my 3LR was new at 100% the EPA figure was 538km and two years later was 513km (4.7% battery capacity drop after 2 yrs). The EPA figure displayed is based on 55% city cycle and 45% highway cycle EPA test protocol, that’s why on long highway trips, you will have less range than the EPA figure.

A third type of test is the ADR lab test. The Australian ADR 81/02 lab test is used on the fuel consumption windshield sticker in Australia. The Australian ADR 81/02 has a test phase average speed of 19km/hr in stop start traffic and long periods of idling and a second phase with average speed of 63km/hr. There is no testing for long periods of highway driving. The sticker from a 2021 Tesla 3LR, shows an implausible range of 657km, 77km more than the WLTP figure advertised by Tesla for that model of 580km. The test protocol would require driving at no more than average speeds of 19-63km/hr to get close to that range.

The Energy App vs the Trip Meter

For real time energy use and range, refer to the Energy App, in the Apps section of your car’s touchscreen. It gives a breakdown of the total energy used by your car while driving and parked.

Example
I find the trip meter kWh reflects energy used in driving and the Energy App shows the driving energy plus the rest. For example, if you park overnight with Sentry on your battery level % may decrease about 5% but your Total Energy on your trip meter won’t have changed as you haven’t used any energy driving.