Every EV Has a City and Highway Range, and Most Buyers Only See One

The R2, Model Y Performance, new BMW iX3, and Volvo EX60 each carry an EPA city range and an EPA highway range on top of the combined number you see on a configurator, and that combined figure is just a 55/45 blend of the two.

A reader pointed out that I’ve never broken this out on its own. The EPA’s highway cycle averages about 48 mph and the city cycle around 20, and since an EV recovers energy through regen every time it slows down, nearly every one of them posts more range in the city than on the highway, the opposite of a gas car.

That highway cycle also tops out at 60, which is 10 mph below the posted limit on most interstates, since the IIHS lists most states at 70 mph or higher on rural interstates and here in Florida it’s 70 on urban interstates too. Drag climbs with the square of speed, so the jump from a 48 mph average to a steady 70 costs a lot more range than those 22 mph would suggest, especially on a tall SUV with a flat front like the R2.

The R2 on 21s drops 29 miles going from combined to highway, while the Model Y Performance only loses about 15 because its city and highway MPGe (111 and 100) sit closer together than the R2’s (114 and 96). My 70 mph test points the same direction by a lot more, since my R2 on the same 21-inch all-seasons went 253 miles, about 84% of its highway rating, while the Model Y Performance next to it went 310 and beat even its 306-mile combined number.

The iX3 and EX60 both hold onto more of their combined number. BMW’s 383-mile iX3 drops to about 364 on the highway, and the EX60 P10 goes from 330 to about 306, a smaller slide than the R2 makes from the same 330 starting point. Car and Driver also ran an iX3 on 22-inch wheels through its 75 mph test, and it went 330 miles against a 392-mile combined rating, which is about 84% of its number compared with the 77% my R2 managed at 70.

The highway rating still won't tell you what happens at 75 in August with the AC blasting.

Jose Castillo Founder and Editor

Jose Castillo is the founder of RivianTrackr and has owned and driven Rivians since early in the brand's consumer history. He currently drives an R1S and an R2 in Florida and uses Universal Hands-Free every day. As a credentialed Rivian journalist, he has covered the R2 First Drive in Park City and SXSW firsthand and has spoken directly with Rivian's software and autonomy leadership.

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