It would depend on what config of your vehicle but I have a 386 EPA vehicle and tho not driven in the mid west in Gravity, given the other factors you mention, I would expect to get pretty comfortablely to about 320 miles on my config.
I would never count that though. 99% of drivers would never want to risk that. And anything below 0% should never count toward the advertised range IMO.
But from what I can tell, just about every EV manufacturer advertises the full capacity projection of their battery, not just the usable battery, to give their top range estimates. They all overstate the real world range as a result. Up to us to figure out what is ‘practical’ from that peak range.
Exaggerating EPA is common, although not universal. Both of my other EVs (current Macan and previous Mach-E) I could actually reach the EPA range in the summer with combined (mix of city/highway) driving. Semi-consistently in good conditions. I still hold out an ounce of hope that the Gravity can get close to 450 at times in summer temps, but so far I'm not seeing people in Southern states really even getting close, so it seems unlikely. It's looking like even in ideal conditions it'll come up around 15% short, but we'll see. I kinda doubt I'll ever see 400. So far 360 is my top but that's still in Spring temps, not summer yet. I'm guessing about 380 in ideal conditions (I have the 450 trim).
You might have to be driving 50 or 55 mph to have a chance at 450 miles of range
I doubt city speeds (like 40) would even get there. I haven't even done a road trip yet and the best I'm seeing for mixed city/hwy is 3.09 MPK (360). And that's on the good side compared to what many are seeing.
It is frustrating, as unlike ICE cars that actually attain or exceed EPA in real world driving, Lucid/Tesla don’t come close. So makes total sense, that majority of general public that make the move to an EV from one of these mfg’s would be very disappointed. EPA should go to the conservative test that BMW/Euro’s and others use and not this overly optimistic one.
Right, EPA is mostly a city speed number. It's been a few years since I looked up the methodology but IIRC the average speed works out to something in the 40's.
Yes, EPA (flawed as it is) tends to be more realistic than WLTP (Europe) and CLTC (China), which are both commonly way over-optimistic.
Exactly! As @dbsb3233 summarized, some EV manufactures (Tesa, Lucid) use the 5 cycle tests, with adjustment factors they insert, and advertised those numbers (e.g., Lucid AGT EPA 5-cycle rated at 516 miles range). It is no wonder that most (if not all) owners will never realize this kind of performance in their road trip driving. It has been well-reported that most German EV (using the 2-cycle test) and conservative rating often meet/exceed their range rating. In contrast, most Lucid owners will not realize Lucid's implied range. The delta could be as large as 20-25% off (e.g., AGT range advertised as 516mi, but (my) reality is more like 400-mile range when driven at 75mph on US highways). Gravity will likely see similar discrepancies, 20-25% less than the quoted EPA range. Some US EV manufacturers are more conservative. My Rivian R1S often meets/slightly exceeds the manufacturer's rated range specs.
Until they're forced to produce an actual highway number, it's known that we'll usually never achieve the EPA number at highway speeds (road trips). That's just how it works right now with the lack of a true highway EPA range number. What's more annoying to me right now is that 450 looks out of reach even for the city driving that the test is mostly geared for. 400 EPA seems like a fairer number to have used and set expectations for.
The strange this is EPA testing themselves drives to the car is out of juice and no longer moves, so it does use all buffer and whatever the OEM calibrates the SOC guessometer too. The germans have done it best by being conservative and aligning their testing to a highway range in ideal conditions, but then they also tune it so 0% means you stop moving.
First, I think Lucid makes one of the most efficient EVs. I give them credit for that. On paper, and how Lucid advertises it, the Air and the Gravity is like 20-25% more efficient than their closest competitor. Well, it is not. Maybe 5% better than their closest competitor.
That's a decent explanation for the higher variance EVs experience in efficiency vs ICE (which translates to range) due to different driving patterns and conditions. But that's different than the average being off. If the EPA number were a good representation of the overall results, we'd see roughly half of the outcomes being lower and roughly half being higher. In the Gravity's case (450 trim), I don't think I've seen a single report of anyone coming even remotely close to 450, let alone exceeding it, even with favorable city driving.
