Top 10 electric cars with the best range for 2015

What electric vehicles have the best range? Here is Carrrs.com rating for 2015.

An electric vehicle (EV), also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion. These cars were among the earliest automobiles, and before the preeminence of light, powerful internal combustion engines, electric automobiles held many vehicle land speed and distance records in the early 1900s. They were produced by Baker Electric, Columbia Electric, Detroit Electric, and others, and at one point in history out-sold gasoline-powered vehicles. In fact, in 1900, 28 percent of the cars on the road in the USA were electric. EVs were so popular that even President Woodrow Wilson and his secret service agents toured Washington DC in their Milburn Electrics, which covered 60–70 miles per charge.

10. Smart Electric Drive 

• 68 miles on a full charge
• 107 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The Smart Fortwo electric drive, or smart ed, is a battery electric vehicle variant of the Smart Fortwo city car, formerly marketed as the Smart Fortwo EV. Field testing began in London with 100 units in 2007. The second generation was introduced in 2009 and was available in 18 markets around the world for leasing or through the Car2Go carsharing service in selected cities, with over 2,300 units delivered. A near production version was unveiled at the September 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Deliveries of the third generation Smart began in the U.S. and Europe from May 2013, and Smart plans to mass-produce the electric car with availability in 30 markets worldwide. More than 8,800 units of the second and third generation Smart ED have been sold in North America and Europe between 2009 and June 2014, of which, over 6,500 units are third generation variants.

9. 2016 Ford Focus Electric

• 76 miles on a full charge
  
• 105 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The Ford Focus Electric is a 5-door hatchback electric car. The Focus Electric is Ford’s first full production, all-electric passenger vehicle, and production began in December 2011. Deliveries for fleet customers in the United States began in December 2011, and it was released to retail customers in May 2012 only in California, New York and New Jersey, in limited numbers, followed by the other 16 initial markets in the third quarter of 2012.

The Focus Electric shares the glider of a third generation Ford Focus. Its electric powertrain uses a 23 kWh, liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack, which delivers a range of 76 mi (122 km) according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The agency rated the Focus Electric combined fuel economy at 105 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (2.2 L/100 km), and ranks the Focus Electric as the most fuel-efficient car sold in the United States in the compact class. The Focus Electric was awarded the 2011 Green Car Vision Award at the 2011 Washington Auto Show.

8. BMW i3

• 81 miles on a full charge
• 124 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The i3 is part of BMW’s “Project i” and was launched as a new brand, BMW i. The i3 is BMW’s first zero emissions mass-produced vehicle due to its electric powertrain, and BMW is the first company to launch a volume production vehicle on the market featuring carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer to improve the vehicle’s energy consumption.

The i3 concept car was unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany. and the production version was unveiled in July 2013. Mass production of the i3 began in September 2013 and retail deliveries started in Europe in November 2013. Deliveries in the U.S. began in May 2014.

The i3 ranked third among all-electric cars sold worldwide in 2014, and sixth among 2014’s top 10 global best selling plug-in electric cars. As of November 2015, global cumulative i3 sales totaled almost 38,600 units.

7. Chevrolet Spark EV

• 82 miles on a full charge
• 119 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The production version Spark EV was unveiled at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. Within the framework of GM’s vehicle electrification strategy, the Spark EV is the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors in the U.S. since the EV1 was discontinued in 1999. The Spark EV was released in the U.S. in selected markets in California and Oregon in June 2013. Retail sales began in South Korea in October 2013. As of December 2014, U.S. sales totaled 1,684 units.

6. Volkswagen e-Golf

• 83 miles on a full charge
• 116 combined miles per gallon equivalent

In February 2012, the first e-Golf, as the production version was renamed, was delivered in Belmont, California. A total of 20 e-Golfs will be allocated to the U.S. field testing program.

The Golf blue-emotion concept has a 26.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and is powered by an 85 kW electric motor which drives the front wheels through a single speed transmission. It will accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 11.8 seconds and have a top speed of 138 km/h (86 mph). Paddle shifters are used to adjust the amount of regenerative braking. The vehicle’s PRNDL stick has an additional ‘B’ mode as found on some other electric vehicles to set the regenerative braking effort to the maximum for sustained downhill travelling.

The production version of the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. According to VW the e-Golf has a practical all-electric range of 130 to 190 km (81 to 118 mi), with an official NEDC cycle of 190 km (120 mi), and the winter range is expected to be 80 to 120 km (50 to 75 mi). The 2015 e-Golf has an official EPA rated all-electric range of 134 km (83 mi), and a combined fuel economy of 116 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPGe) for an energy consumption of 29 kW-hrs/100 mi. The EPA rating for city driving is 126 MPGe and 105 MPGe in highway. Production of vehicles destined for retail customers began in March 2014.

5. 2016 Nissan LEAF

• 84 miles on a full charge
• 114 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The Nissan Leaf (also formatted “LEAF” as a backronym for leading environmentally-friendly affordable family car) is a compact five-door hatchback electric car manufactured by Nissan and introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, followed by various European countries and Canada in 2011. The US Environmental Protection Agency official range for the 2016 model year Leaf with the 30 kWh battery is 172 km (107 miles) on a full battery charge, while the trim with the smaller 24 kWh battery is 135 km (84 miles), the same as the 2014/15 model year.

As of December 2015, the Nissan Leaf is the world’s all-time best selling highway-capable all-electric car. Leaf global sales passed the 200,000 unit milestone by early December 2015, five years after its introduction. As of November 2015, the top markets for Leaf sales are the United States with over 88,000 units sold, followed by Japan with about 57,000 units, and Europe with about 48,000 Leafs. As of September 2015, the European market was led by Norway with almost 15,000 new units, and the UK with about 11,500 units delivered.

4. Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive

• 87 miles on a full charge
  
• 84 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The B-Class Electric Drive was previewed by a concept model in 2012, which was unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The design of the production B-Class Electric Drive was based on the Concept B-Class Electric Drive. The vehicle was unveiled at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, followed by IAA International Motor Show 2013. Daimler estimated the all-electric range of the production version at 85 mi (137 km) on the EPA cycle.

The production model was originally scheduled to go on sale initially in the U.S. at the beginning of 2014 as a 2014 model year vehicle, and subsequently in European markets.

3. Fiat 500e

• 87 miles on a full charge
  
• 116 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The design of production Fiat 500e is based on Fiat 500 Elettra. The vehicle was unveiled in November 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, followed by Frankfurt Motor Show 2013.

Deliveries began in California by July 2013, and around 645 units were sold in the U.S. in 2013. The American rollout is scheduled to continue to other states with mandates of sales of zero emission vehicles, but Fiat-Chrysler does not have plans to make the 500e available in Europe.

2. Kia Soul EV

• 93 miles on a full charge
  
• 120 combined miles per gallon equivalent

Soul EV is an all-electric subcompact crossover SUV manufactured by Kia Motors. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official range for the 2015 Kia Soul EV 93 miles.

Deliveries began in South Korea in May 2014. European sales began in July 2014. Sales started in the U.S. in October 2014; initially it was sold only in California, Oregon, and several Eastern states, with the largest EV markets and infrastructure including New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Global sales totaled 5,399 units through August 2015, of which, 1,177 sere sold in South Korea.

Global sales totaled 5,399 units through August 2015. The leading markets are Norway with 1,363 units sold through September 2015, South Korea with 1,177 units sold through August 2015, Germany with 1,113 through August 2015, and the United States with 1,086 through September 2015.

1. Tesla Model S 85D

• 279 miles on a full charge
• 100 combined miles per gallon equivalent

The Tesla Model S is a full-sized plug-in electric five-door, luxury liftback, produced by Tesla Motors. Since its introduction in June 2012 its sales grew rapidly, particularly in Norway and California. It scored a perfect 5.0 NHTSA automobile safety rating. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official range for the 2012 Model S Performance model equipped with an 85 kWh battery pack is 265 miles (426 km), higher than any other electric car at the time.

The Model S became the first electric car to top the monthly new car sales ranking in any country, twice leading in Norway, in September and again in December 2013. The Model S ranked as the world’s second best selling plug-in electric vehicle after the Nissan Leaf in 2014. Cumulative global sales passed 90,000 units by October 2015. During the first nine months of 2015, the Model S ranked as the top selling plug-in electric car in the U.S. with about 17,700 units sold.

The Tesla Model S won awards including the 2013 World Green Car of the Year, 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year, Automobile Magazine’s 2013 Car of the Year, Time Magazine Best 25 Inventions of the Year 2012 award and Consumer Reports’ top-scoring car ever. In 2015, Car and Driver named the Model S the Car of the Century.