Every Electric Vehicle, Ranked By Range

Hyundai has a point that range is not the be-all-and-end-all when you compare electric vehicles. Still, for now, the distance that you can travel on a full charge of your battery electric vehicle remains an important factor – perhaps the factor – in both what the general public thinks about EVs as well as how individual shoppers choose to buy or not buy a plug-in model. So, for anyone who only cares about getting in a zero-emission, plug-in vehicle and driving away without looking at the range display, we put together this list just for them.

Here are the EVs for sale in the U.S. ranked by range. There are a million other factors we recommend someone consider before buying an EV, but this is a good starting point. We've listed range as well as a vehicle's efficiency in both miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe, which roughly compares to fuel efficiency numbers that you're probably familiar with) and the more EV-specific kilowatt-per-100-miles, in the table below. Scroll below for more on what to think about when considering some of these plug-ins.

2017 Tesla Model S, 259-315 miles

We're going to group models with different size battery packs together, otherwise Tesla would dominate the written part of this list just like it does the numbers table. Whichever way you slice it, though, Tesla rules the range roost. All of the various battery packs you can pick let the Model S go further on a charge than you can in any other EV (aside from some versions of the larger Tesla Model X, of course).

2017 Tesla Model X, 238-289 miles

We did not include the 60D version of the Model S or the Model X in our table because they're either off the market (X) already or about to be discontinued (S). The good news for Tesla is that if you eliminate these "shorter" range, outgoing models, it's still hard to compete unless you're in a Tesla. But take another look at the Model X's low-end number there.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 238 miles

This is where the range discussion starts to get interesting. With the Chevy Bolt, you'll be able to get a zero-emission battery electric vehicle for the first time without paying the high price of a Tesla luxury vehicle. In fact, since the Bolt starts at ‎$37,495 and the cheapest Tesla (excluding the discontinued 60-kWh models) is $74,500 (both prices listed without any incentives), the miles-per-dollar you get from the Bolt is truly astonishing.

2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric, 124 miles

But hold on there, Chevy. A range of 124 miles isn't the most amazing number for an EV in 2017, but it's worth pointing out another figure about the Ionic EV: 25 kWh per 100 miles. That's the lowest for any pure EV, and this is the metric that will become increasingly important as the years go by. After all, no one cares about the range of your gas car, right? We have the refueling infrastructure sorted out and our cars go far enough that we pretty much accept when they need a refill. The important number for gasoline efficiency is MPG. This is what will happen with EVs, too, and so the amount of kWh (kilowatt hours) you need to drive 100 miles is a reasonable metric for an electric vehicle's efficiency. This is where Hyundai is currently winning, so it's no wonder the company wants us to change the conversation.

2017 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, 59 miles

I know, we couldn't believe this is still a thing in 2017, either, but here we are.