EPA RANGE : The Great Equalizer and the Latest MT Metric

Whether a vehicle runs on fossil or electric energy, it’ll only run so far.

- Frank Markus

Motor Trend is adding a new line for EPA Range to all our specification panels. Why now? Beginning with this issue, we're stepping up our coverage of vehicular progress' inevitable march toward electrification and autonomy, and range still meaningfully differentiates most electric vehicles from their fossil propelled competition. Regardless of what fuels a vehicle, the EPA's long-standing test procedures apply equally to all.

For most of MT's seven-decade existence, vehicles generally went about as far as most bladders would last, refueling them took about as long as a potty stop, and fuel was available just about everywhere. So nobody cared much. The first modern electric vehicles, meanwhile, had pitiful range and took forever to charge, if you could even find a charging station.

Electric vehicle progress is closing the gap, but for folks fretting about whether an EV can meet their daily driving or frequent vacation-trip needs, please enjoy our new EPA Range spec. Let's examine where the number comes from; keep in mind that EPA Range starts with fuel economy testing.