Canadian Automobile Association tests 22 electric vehicles

A practical test conducted by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) involving 22 electric vehicles (EVs) suggests that energy consumption and charging speed are more critical to real-world usage than advertised range. The test involved a 230-kilometer route between Blue Mountain and Vaughan, Ontario, using a mix of urban, rural, and highway roads.

All 22 vehicles completed the journey without requiring a recharge, even the model with the lowest official range. On average, batteries retained approximately 60% capacity at the end of the trip. However, significant disparities were found in energy efficiency. The Toyota bZ4X was the most efficient, consuming 11.43 kWh/100 km, followed by the Tesla Model Y (11.81 kWh/100 km) and Tesla Model 3 (11.85 kWh/100 km).

At the other end of the spectrum, larger and heavier vehicles showed much higher consumption. The Lucid Gravity recorded the highest usage at 28.91 kWh/100 km, followed by the GMC Hummer EV SUV (23.55 kWh/100 km) and the Tesla Cybertruck (23.41 kWh/100 km). The difference in energy consumption between the most and least efficient vehicles exceeded a factor of 2.5.