Journalists from the field of the national motor vehicle were summoned in Barcelona in order to carry out the first edition of the EcoBest Challenge Electrified by VinFas t, a real autonomy test for electric vehicles. The objective of this conference was to discover the veracity of the autonomies approved by the firms in the WLTP cycle and was organized by Coches.net, the leading portal for motor and content classifieds in Spain, with the collaboration of the international jury Autobest and Circutor . The latter is a company focused on the development and manufacture of recharging points for electric cars, so that it was possible to access the real data of energy needed to get 100% of the battery . Both are key numbers when deciding to buy a vehicle, both the autonomy and the charging time and energy, so that the results are vital to solve the most important question: Do they tell us the truth about electric vehicles? For this, 15 electric cars were tested with a minimum of 200 kilometers of approved autonomy and a price of up to 35,000 euros before taxes .
Two years ago the NEDC cycle, which served to standardize the consumption and autonomy of vehicles marketed in Europe, gave way to the WLTP cycle. These tests had little to do with the reality of the circulation, since logical speeds were not reached, with different climates and the optional ones that can affect the final data are not valued, among other surprising failures. The WLTP was created in order to improve transparency towards the buyer, who could feel cheated by results that finally did not occur in their day to day. The demand for testing increased, making it difficult for many manufacturers who did not prepare in time and did not get approval for sale until later. However, and following the results of the EcoBest Challenge Electrified by VinFast , none of the tested models achieved what was promised in the WLTP homologation.
The models tested were the following (from highest to lowest veracity): Dacia Spring, Kia e-Niro, Hyundai Kona, Mazda MX-30, Opel Corsa-e, Renault Zoe , Fiat 500 e, Nissan Leaf , Volkswagen ID3 , Opel Mokka-e, Cupra Born, Peugeot e-208, Peugeot e-2008, Honda e and Citroën ë-C4. The test route combined motorway, conventional road and city areas around Barcelona and Terrassa. During the day there were several driver changes , to avoid the driving style factor, and the use of the multimedia system was common as well as the air conditioning necessary for a comfortable trip.
