If an electric vehicle is advertised as having a top speed of say 80 mph and range of 100 miles......?

Question

does that mean that it will perform as well at 95 miles as it would when just charged? Or is it limping home with a nearly flat battery?

Answer 1

Toward the end of the battery charge, the speed will decrease.  I've got an electric moped, and for probably around the last 10% of the charge remaining in the battery, the top speed starts to decrease.

The miles per charge estimate is just that - an estimate.  It depends on terrain, load, weather, driving habits, etc.  For example, the Green Vehicles Triac specifically states that it has a range of 60-100 miles per charge depending on those factors.

Answer 2

Supposedly it is suppose to have a "reasonalbe" amount of energy so you don't end up having to go out of your way to keep it performing.

Problem is, the automotive industry ...at least for gas cars.....tend to use calculations instead of actual road testing to determine MPG and such.

I'd probably ask questions of the dealer regarding testing methods or read the ratings from a consumer magazine on rating them.

Answer 3

With the advancements made in many modern batteries, they are designed maintain a constant voltage output throughout most of the time the energy is being discharged, but twards the end of the charge you will have a quick voltage drop and it will lag severely, and you won't get very far after that.  If the range is 100 miles, I wouldn't recomend trips over 70 or 80 miles, and keep an eye on the battery indications.

Answer 4

I suspect they would mean an operational range of 100 miles at a specific voltage and amperage.  You do have a point, though, aggressive driving or constant driving at the top speed will reduce the overall range significantly.  I also wonder about declining performance of the batteries after repeated recharging.

This is one of the things I wonder about cars which run on compressed air; when pressure goes down it does so throughout hte entire power train.  Electrical power systems can control output in a more consistent manner.

Answer 5

It is limping home and after several charges the range could drop to half that.

Answer 6

Not sure, but do know the range will certainly be affected by the speed / acceleration when operated. The performance will also drop off toward the end of the battery cycle.