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How we estimate real-world range
Every vehicle page on this site shows two range numbers: the manufacturer's claim, and a realistic range. The second one is our estimate, calculated at 72 to 80 per cent of the first. This page explains why, what it does not account for, and when you should ignore it.
Why the claimed number is not the number you get
Range claims in India are certified on a laboratory test cycle. The car runs a fixed speed profile on a rolling road, at a controlled temperature, with no climate control load, no passengers, no luggage and no wind. It is a repeatable number designed to let two cars be compared on equal terms. It is not a prediction of your Tuesday.
Four things take range away in actual Indian use, roughly in order of how much they cost you:
- Speed. Air resistance rises with the square of speed. An EV cruising at 100 kmph uses far more energy per kilometre than the same car at 60.
- Air conditioning. In an Indian summer the cabin cooling load is continuous, and unlike a petrol car there is no waste engine heat to borrow from. On a hot day this alone can cost 10 to 15 per cent.
- Load. A full car with luggage is several hundred kilograms heavier than the test condition, which matters most in stop-start traffic.
- Terrain and traffic. Climbs cost energy you only partly recover coming down. Heavy traffic is kinder to an EV than to a petrol car, but idling with the AC on still drains the pack.
Where 72 to 80 per cent comes from
The band is the shortfall we see consistently when owner-reported figures and published road tests for Indian-market EVs are compared against their certified claims. The upper end, around 80 per cent, is what a careful driver sees in mixed city and suburban running. The lower end, around 72 per cent, is closer to a loaded car on an expressway with the AC working.
We apply the same band to every vehicle rather than tuning it per model, for one reason: we have not tested these cars ourselves, and a model-specific number would imply a precision we have not earned. A consistent band is honest about its own accuracy.
A worked example
Take a car with a 55 kWh battery and a 585 km claimed range.
| Figure | Value | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Claimed range | 585 km | Manufacturer, certified test cycle |
| Realistic range (our estimate) | 421–468 km | 72–80% of claimed |
| Energy cost per full charge | ~₹440 | 55 kWh at ₹8 per unit, home tariff |
| Cost per kilometre | ~₹0.99 | ₹440 divided by the mid-point of our range estimate |
Every running-cost figure on this site is built exactly this way. If your electricity tariff is different — and in most Indian states it is tiered, so your marginal unit may cost more than your average one — substitute your own number in our cost calculator and the per-kilometre figure changes accordingly.
What this estimate does not account for
- Battery ageing. The figures assume a healthy pack. Capacity falls over years and charge cycles, and the estimate does not model that.
- Winter in the north. Cold reduces usable capacity. A Delhi January will land below our lower bound.
- Charging losses. The energy drawn from your meter is a few per cent more than what reaches the battery. Our cost per kilometre is therefore slightly optimistic.
- Driving style. The spread between a gentle driver and an aggressive one is larger than the spread between most cars on this site.
When to ignore our number
If you have found a credible instrumented road test of the exact variant you are considering, published by someone who actually drove it, use that figure instead of ours. We cite such tests on vehicle pages where they exist, and we name the publication. Our estimate exists to fill the gap for the many Indian-market EVs nobody has tested independently yet — not to compete with a real test.
How to use it when buying
Take the lower end of our band, not the mid-point, and check it against your longest regular journey. If the lower bound covers that journey with 20 per cent to spare, the car fits your life. If it only just covers it, you will be planning charging stops on a route you drive every month, and you should look at a larger pack or a faster-charging car.
This methodology is applied across every vehicle, comparison and buying guide on EVBharat. If you think the band is wrong, tell us through the contact page — with a source — and we will look at it. Our full editorial policy covers how the rest of our data is sourced.