Your electric car has more range than you think – new world record: 569 miles out of 373-mile Ford Mustang Mach-E in massive bid to improve electric car efficiency
A team from the United Kingdom has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest journey in an electric vehicle on a single charge, driving a production Ford Mustang Mach-E for more than 560 miles (915 kilometers) without stopping.
The enormous mileage achievement is even more impressive when you consider that the Ford Mustang Mach-E was equipped with a 91kWh battery pack with an official WLTP range of just 600 kilometers.
To be precise, the Mach-E Premium Extended Range SUV RWD Auto, which ran on 18-inch wheels, averaged an impressive 10.1 kilometers per kilowatt hour (kWh) on both public urban roads and country roads in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire.
The record attempt was supported by The AA (presumably in case they had any bad luck) and by Bridgestone, who provided a set of ultra-low rolling resistance tyres for the attempt.
According to record-breaking drivers Kevin Booker and Sam Clarke (both of whom previously held records for high electric fuel consumption), the attempt was verified with video footage, mileage, GPS and battery level data from Webfleet, one of the attempt’s major sponsors.
The previous record for a production vehicle was set in Hangzhou, China, where a Zeekr traveled 563.97 miles in a single charge.
Mercedes-Benz still holds the hypermiling record, however, after the EQXX concept covered 1,200 kilometres on a single charge from Stuttgart to Silverstone in 2022.
This is how they did it
Both drivers, Kevin Booker and Sam Clarke, have successfully set world records for fuel-efficient EV runs in previous years, so they know better than anyone how to get the most out of a battery pack.
On their most recent adventure, the pair simply used impeccable driving skills, avoiding sudden acceleration and braking and reading the road ahead to achieve optimum power delivery.
They also made optimal use of regenerative braking, putting as much energy back into the battery packs as possible by releasing the accelerator and letting the system feed the kinetic energy that is normally lost back into the car.
The team also recommended a low rolling resistance tire during an interview with Sunday Times Drivingstating that the Bridgestone Turanza 6 (or the Turanza Eco) was the best choice for maintaining “long range per charge without sacrificing tread life.”
Perhaps more interestingly, the team revealed that the car could still travel 21 miles even after the battery reached 0% charge. That means most manufacturers are using very conservative range estimates to avoid drivers being left stranded on the side of the road.
So the next time you hear someone complaining about poor electric car range, tell them it’s their driving behavior, not the car.
