Driving Tips To Increase The Range Of Electric Vehicles

Though EV technology has improved many folds compared to where it was a decade ago, charging time and range is still an issue for many EV users all over the world. While improving the charging time of an electric vehicle requires hardware and sometimes software modifications, increasing the range of an electric vehicle on the other hand is a lot simpler as it only requires a few changes in the driving style to make a significant difference.

Since almost all users are new to electric vehicles, they tend to drive electric cars more like automatic cars and this can have a significant impact on the driving range. So, in order to improve the range of electric cars, following the below-mentioned driving tips will be a great start.

Route Planning

The key to improving the range of an electric vehicle starts with route planning. With an electric vehicle it is not always wise to opt for a route with the shortest possible distance to improve range, but instead opting for a route where you can keep a steady pace is more important. In addition to that, routes that avoid steep grades can also help improve the range.

Some EVs also sport a navigation system that can suggest more energy-efficient routes. If so, make full use of this feature to get an even better range out of your electric vehicle.

Keep Your Car Light

Avoid adding unnecessary accessories to your electric vehicle as these accessories will increase the overall weight of the electric vehicle. This will lead to the electric motor using more of the battery to haul the additional weight. In addition to that, keeping unnecessary luggage can also have the same effect and we suggest avoiding that as well.

Tyre Pressure Plays A Very Crucial Role

While tyre pressure plays an important role in the fuel efficiency of a car, it plays a bigger part in affecting the overall range of an electric vehicle. Under-inflated or unevenly inflated tyres in an electric vehicle can hurt the overall range of an electric car.

Use Regen Braking

Almost all electric cars come with a regenerative braking system. This system lets the electric motor of your EV act as a generator while braking, thus harnessing the otherwise lost energy while reducing the speed of the electric car.

Increasing the regenerative braking to the maximum can help charge the batteries and further improve the overall range of the car. Some electric vehicles also come with one-pedal drive mode to increase the effectiveness of the regen braking.

Tyres

Generally, electric vehicles come with low rolling resistance tyres to improve the overall range of the vehicle. While installing sportier tyres can help improve the grip levels, they can negatively affect the overall range of the electric vehicle.

As such, opting for good quality low-resistance tyres can help improve the overall range of your electric vehicle by a noticeable margin.

Drive Smoothly

Using the accelerator pedal gently can have a significant impact on the overall range of your electric car as gradual acceleration can improve the range of an electric vehicle by more than a decent margin. It is also worth mentioning that higher speeds can put a significant dent in the overall range of the electric vehicle.

Eco Mode

Using Eco Mode can also a have decent impact on the fuel economy as this mode is designed to do almost all the above-mentioned things and a few more to improve the overall range.

In this mode, the throttle response is dulled for gradual acceleration, and the regen braking is generally kept on the more aggressive side. In addition to that, the AC or heating elements get activated only when necessary for reduced battery consumption.

In some electric vehicles, enabling Eco Mode will alter the destination route on the onboard navigation system to a route that is most efficient for the vehicle.

Thoughts About Improving The Range Of Electric Vehicles

Following the above-mentioned steps can have a positive impact on the overall range of electric vehicles by a significant margin, taking users closer to the manufacturer-claimed range.