How close do you think real world range will be to EPA range?

[RforRivian]

It's becoming clear that EPA ranges vary widely from real world range depending on the manufacturer. So what is your prediction for Rivian. Will they fluff their numbers, get pretty close, or exceed the EPA range? Make your prediction above!

Edit: For clarification this is just asking what you expect to get for your driving style and typical conditions in your area of the country.

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[Drterreur]

I have been burned by Tesla before which was on the overly optimistic side and my commute is less than ideal. I would be suprised, in my situation to see anything better than 25% less than EPA.

In Canada, there are 2 seasons. Winter and preparation for the next winter. Heating decreases significantly the mileage we can achieve on each charge, making EPA numbers almost impossible to achieve. I hope Rivian do better in that regard.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Weather alone will cause a larger than 10% swing in efficiency.

 

[Reed]

I opted for over 10% less than EPA range. In general, I expect to drop more than 10% in the winter and more like 5% in the summer.

However, I do very little city driving. And, I'll be driving a lot faster than that 48 mph they use in calculating the EPA rating. And, I'll be doing that driving on the 20 inch rims with off-road tires. So, ya, throw in some cold weather and driving on logging roads, likely leaves me with considerably less than the EPA rating.

Which is why, in my last update, I switched to the extra large double double battery.

 

[Jsidell]

Our E-Tron Sportback advertised an EPA estimated 220mi...we get maybe 175mi on a full charge...

My hope is these Rivians don't fall that far behind the EPA estimates...we'll "seen soon"

 

[DucRider]

Before I can even hope to answer this, you need to put some kind of a definition on "real world".

70 degrees on dry and clear roads with mixed city and hwy?
80 mph on the freeway towing a travel trailer in sub-freezing temps?
70 mph steady freeway driving?
30 mile commute in mostly stop and go?

In Canada, there are 2 seasons. Winter and preparation for the next winter. Heating decreases significantly the mileage we can achieve on each charge, making EPA numbers almost impossible to achieve. I hope Rivian do better in that regard.

Unlikely. Physics dictates this to a large degree. Anyone looking at the EPA numbers needs to use it as a baseline and tool to compare to other vehicles. You need to factor in your climate and individual use case. Any standardized test is not going to be valid under all condition - an owner using it around town in San Diego is going to achieve different results than one in a part of the country that has winter and does a lot of freeway driving.

I live in the relatively mild PNW climate. In spring and fall under conditions similar to the EPA test it has been easy to far exceed the EPA number (in fact pretty darn close to the raw numbers before derating). I Summer, the EPA number is pretty realistic. In winter, as much as 40% off of the EPA. This is based on over 7 years with different EVs.

I dont know of any manufacturer that "fluffs" their numbers. The differing results vs "real world" are a result of the limitations of the defined test procedures.

Tesla tends to build to the test at least a little bit. I don't see Rivian doing that based on the type of testing we have seen them perform. However, they seem to be making some changes to the pack/design to hit the promised marks - 300+ and 400+ miles. The 135 kWh pack is now the Large Pack and "a little smaller" than the previously published 135 kWh. Were they getting too much range? Not enough differentiation for the additional $10K for the Max Pack?

 

[Trandall]

The real world range will likely be "close to EPA range" when driving at 68 deg. F. Non aggressive town driving may even exceed.
I think to answer the essence of the question however "real world" will likely be 10-50% less than EPA depending on "spirited" driving, cold temps., loose terrain (off road/ snow), towing.
EPA range and efficiency ratings for ev's are possibly useful as a metric for comparison but not so much to indicate actual performance.

 

[Trandall]

DucRider, Totally agree. You stated it a little clearer than I.

 

[RivianXpress]

Summary: Model-Y = 234 miles, Mach-E =268 miles, WOW... Another reason why EPA rating system is a joke

 

[kanundrum]

However, they seem to be making some changes to the pack/design to hit the promised marks - 300+ and 400+ miles. The 135 kWh pack is now the Large Pack and "a little smaller" than the previously published 135 kWh. Were they getting too much range? Not enough differentiation for the additional $10K for the Max Pack?

So I would agree but also think about kW/m rating. If the vehicle is very inefficient (2.8kW/M) and lets say as a 125 kWH pack with 115 usable that still puts the vehicle at 322 miles. I am hoping for at least a 3.0 average efficiency due to size, rolling resistance (I assume the vehicle EPA figures will be based on ECO tires) and weight of the vehicle I think the 300 figure (again depending on pack size) should be pretty stout even in a worse case scenario with a somewhat not crap efficiency rating.

 

[azbill]

Any number like mile/KWH or W/mile, is just an estimate based on EPA and is completely variable. Many factors affect the efficiency.

 

[jimcgov3]

"real world" will likely be 10-50% less

Is that a typo?

**EDIT**

You have towing in there too...

 

[Trandall]

Is that a typo?

**EDIT**

You have towing in there too...

Not a typo... Even without towing I would not be surprised to find 50% reduction when driving on unplowed snow in 14 deg. F. common in the north.

 

[Babbuino]

Personally I'm most interested in average highway only range. City range for EVs is kind of useless in my opinion since 95% of the people will charge at home.

 

[slawwach]

Personally I'm most interested in average highway only range. City range for EVs is kind of useless in my opinion since 95% of the people will charge at home.

I agree. I'm hoping R1T LE will do 240-250 miles on the interstate.

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