Nail Biter Result: GM vs Tesla vs Subaru vs The World's Toughest EV Range Test! 

Thanks boys for the hard work😂

The thing is, for an actual EV owner, who in many cases charges overnight at home, and who use the vehicle’s system to tell them when to charge if they’re going on a road trip, it’s not a matter of driving until the battery is at zero. And the reality for most people is that their vehicle is used to drive ~50 miles each day within the community that they live, so they’re only needing to trickle charge to top up the battery each night. I’m the first person to say that if you have to drive 300 miles each day or you’re regularly driving 500-1000 miles, today’s EV’s are probably not a good option. But the VAST majority of people don’t require this kind of range and could be very happy owning just about any EV.

Just a reminder that the range shown by Tesla near the battery icon is a fixed proportion to the battery level (i.e. if full is 300miles, at half it show 150, regardless of driving style/conditions); it's better left to just show battery percentage really. If you want an "estimator" based on recent drive like the other cars, just check the energy applet, that is also very transparent in that it let you choose a window of the last 5, 10 or 30 miles (in others car you also have to guess on what they base their "guesstimations" on, so it's an added guess). And last but not least, if you have a destination set, you get a spot-on estimate you can bet your trip on, that consider elevation, temperatures, wind, etc.

Romans credit card getting declined is the most relatable thing on this video. Love the video

I just saw a black Blazer EV for the first time yesterday. Looks really good inside and out, but $60k is crazy talk

This is typical for Chevrolet. I have a 2016 Volt that in the summertime shows up to 60 miles range after 70k miles, EPA rating was 53 for new. I also have a 2019 Bolt that show the EPA rating of 258 miles at a little less than 80% charge a full charge will show > 300. Chevy under promises and over delivers. I do think that Chevy has cracked the code on regen.

Romans card got declined because the machine didn’t believe someone hooked up a car with a 100kw/h lol

Solterra owner here. I would like to point out. If you turn on the single padel mode, that would give you better regen. Even if it can't be on due to full battery in the start or too cold battery temp., you can use the "shift pedals" behind the steering wheel to change regen levels from 1-4 (Premium trim might not have that). Also, with the recent software update, the SoC % is showing now. Also, it looks like your AC was not on "ECO" which helps with Solterra's range a lot in our case. ^_^ But granted, the EV range and charging performance indeed are not good in Solterra, we just love how well it drives and comfortable, taking it for road trips to ski. ^_^

I don't understand why you guys never use the navigation system to predict how much range you'll have at your destination. I don't know about the other two cars you are testing, but I know the Tesla and Polestar EVs allow you to put in multiple destinations and it predicts how much range you'll have at each using hills, weather, temperature, etc. to predict accurately

Part of the reason Toyota is so anti-EV may be because they suck at it.

Why would you not put Tesla in chill for a long distance? It ain't slow in any mode.

If Chevy sold direct, I would buy the Blazer. I just cannot tolerate the dealers. The price would go down $15-20k and I wouldn't be forced to do business with organized criminals with political protections.

Fun video as always but you guys really need to report SOC at the end instead of expected range. The Blazer has a guess-o-meter so that 126 miles of range at the end is hugely inflated by going downhill for the last part. In reality it is probably closer to (or even less) than the Tesla. Proof of this is in your own numbers: you got 3.2 mi/kWh in the Blazer times 85 kWh battery give the Blazer around 272 miles of total range. The Tesla got 3.8 mi/kWh which, multiplied by its 75 kWh battery gives 285 miles for the Model Y (which is a couple years old BTW). Neither is bad for winter hill driving.

Would’ve liked to see them get closer to 0% to see what they actually did. That toyoburu is a no go! 😱

The Ultium platform from GM will allow customers to just replace sections of the battery as well if a cell does goe bad (extending the life and functional use of the vehicle). All other EV competitors cannot say the same at this moment in time.

An EA station vs. a Tesla station? LOL. The worst vs. the best.

yeah, I was watching one of Out Of Spec Reviews' videos, and Kyle was mentioning a lot of people were not liking the Soltera/BZ4X as a rental. They've had to be towed to chargers quite a bit, due to insufficient range for cold weather and Elevation in Utah and Colorado.

I know Teslas usually fall under their range ratings, but it was a little misleading to use a Model Y Performance with custom wheels and non-OEM tires. I've watched several YT videos and wheel/tire choice makes a huge difference on consumption, especially compared to the 19" Gemini wheels with the aero caps on the LR. The Supercharger network is why we chose a MYLR. All of the horror stories about EA and other dysfunctional chargers made it a pretty easy choice.

I drove my 2023 Austin-built Tesla Model Y LR from North Texas to Jackson and Yellowstone WY this summer (~3,300 miles round trip). Range and charging was never an issue. I drove about 500 miles/day with two 20/30-minute stops each day (not counting charging at the end of the day at my hotel). The time it required to stop and charge was a welcome stretch, eat, and bathroom break. Really, the only time an ICE vehicle makes sense on road trips is if you're doing a Cannonball Run and wearing diapers. Otherwise, EVs (that can use the Tesla Supercharging network and can charge at a 250+ kWh rate) are great for most in-town driving and most road trips. Add home-charging and an EV is a no-brainer. Also, the 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range is 330 mi range but the Model Y Performance version used in your test has only 303 mi range. Long Range is best for road trips (and the smaller wheels, bigger tire sidewalls can handle rough roads/pot holes better).

Hilarious how many objective comparisons on RU-vid are done with the Tesla Performance models 😂

Roman-"I've got 8.3 inches" Roman, we ALL wish we had 8.3 inches😁

4:00 Wait, why wouldn't a normal person in a real world scenario use the Eco mode in their EV while road tripping? I feel like range anxiety being such a thing in EVs would result in most people doing that.

They showed 3miles per kw several times on the solterra dash... at my states' $0.30 cents a kwh for power, you only need 22mpg at today's gas price to beat it.

I watch all your videos. Thanks for the content. When you review trucks you talk allot about the weight. I think it would be great if you could focus a bit more on the weight of the EVs you test and how it relates to range.

For what you get in a Tesla for the price and for the charging network they have, theirs just no competition for them currently

Battery capacity is both expensive and heavy dead weight to move around. In theory, the best design would be the one with just a largest enough battery to be lightweight and efficient, providing just enough range, yet small enough for fast charging and affordability.

This test had some of the most challenging conditions I can think of for an EV; cold temperature, long steep climbs and long range. It seems to me they all handled pretty well, even the Toyota was OK if you work within the constraints of its lower range. Considering their low operating costs (charging at home would be about a third the price), and the fact that most owners would rarely subject their EVs to these conditions, I think EVs are a viable alternative to ICEs.

Something is wrong with the Blazer range numbers. It showed 126 miles left BUT averaging 3.2 miles/kilowatt. 85 KW pack X 3.2 =272 miles total range from 100% to 0%. 272 total range -195 driven leaves 77 miles left, NOT 126 the car displayed. Curious what the actual remaining miles would have been back in Boulder? And in reality most Tesla model Y's are the 330 epa Long Range model, not the 303 epa Performance you tested...The Long Range would give 10% better results closer to Blazer numbers. Blazer has good range but how fast does it charge vs Tesla? No matter, it's 2 years away from volume production

The title is world’s toughest range test but the content is really the world’s toughest charging test. And that’s not a bad thing. The Tesla experience, which deletes charging anxiety with route planning, preconditioning, and uptime is the key differentiator. Agree with other commenters: adding the route planning is a good idea and continuing to include the charging experience is a good idea.

Love the video guys, also love the look of the Chevy blazer, unfortunately the price of that vehicle needs to come down. Lyriq is around the same price but looks and feels more premium. As for the charging part at the end, this is why Tesla will remain dominant, at least till NACS is available to more Evs. It's just simple to plug in and charge without credit cards, apps, passwords. I get your point about being able to fill all 3 vehicles if they were gas with the amount of time you spent trying to charge 1 car, this is how i assume Tesla owner's feel like when seeing people fumble about with this non standardized CCS systems.

You should also mention the tires being used. It appears that the Model Y was running cross climate 2 tires, which have significantly more rolling resistance than standard Tesla tires, and likely contributed to decreased efficiency and range.

Andre having fun at Roman's expense has me dying.

For God's sake. Tesla doesnt promise 303 miles going up 4 steep grades in the middle of winter. That's not how the EPA tests. Stop it. Good job Chevy, though.

How did the Tesla came 2nd with 3.82 miles per kWh vs the Blazer with only 3.20 miles per kWh which is amazing considering the cold weather, maybe in range since it has a larger battery but in efficiency the Blazer was 2nd. Let's not forget that Blazer and the Subaru were on stock wheels and tires, Tesla was not.

I’d buy that Blazer, for around 30k. Not at current prices.

This is a good series, but I’d also like to see the same route where, one time you drive solo and unladen, and then repeat the route with four people and all their stuff for the weekend.

GM halted the sales of the Chevy Blazer. Not a good look.

Id get the Tesla without even watching this. Even if it got 1/10 the range. What good is an ev if no superchargers that work. Also it seems like GM gives up on every ev model after a year. Also i dont want to pay 10-30k after 5+ years when the battery goes out.

GM seems to builld a safety buffer into all of their EVs. Which is great. Too bad the Blazer is so expensive.

Like you said, the Tesla does what the Tesla does. It’s a bit of an exaggeration on the EPA numbers since Tesla uses the “easier” test. However, I will say I get pretty close with the LFP battery Model 3, which is stupid efficient!

As I’m considering buying a Tesla, I’ve been renting model Y’s on Turo since 2022 for all of my road trips. In fact, I’m on a model Y Turo rental right now. On Wednesday I drove from Mira Loma, CA to San Francisco and back. Over 900 miles in a day. The charging stops were actually the best part of the trip. I just get in the car, enter my destination into the navigation, and the car takes care of the rest. Easy! As I see it, at 67 years old, I’ve seen my fair share of people on the side of the road because of running out of gas. I guess because EV’s are the new thing, people want to blow everything out of proportion concerning that new thing. I love history, inclusive of automobile history. Can you imagine had the internet been around at the dawn of the automobile? All the videos of horse drawn carriages pulling cars, out of ditches or rutted unpaved roads, or cars that had run out of gas? Yes, all of that happened and was commonplace back then. Yes, there were MANY who swore that this new toy would NEVER replace the horse or horse and buggy. It’s all just the same thing of technology changes constantly and there will always be those afraid of change so they create perceived issues, or make more out of real issues. Ok, I’m off to go drive this EV rental.

This was my experience with a Bolt vs Tesla. My Tesla was supposedly more efficient but the Bolt would continously have more range. My conclusion is that Tesla fudges numbers to get to their claims while GM does not. Can't say that'd a good look for Tesla. I don't think I'd buy another one.

I am assuming you guys know that range varies widely from the standardized EPA test results. It can be higher or lower depending upon the specific driving conditions. It’s no surprise it is much less driving up mountains at Interstate highway speeds. Same is true in a gas vehicle.

These Guess-O-Meters (GOM) need to take a back seat.. I know they're irrelevant with route planning software, but the foundation of all "range anxiety" comes from that random number in bold print. The Mini SE is another example of having a pointless "range" number, frequently jumps around and will usually underestimate usable range by 10 or 20 miles. Give me a percentage and I'll be happy.

Blazer is the best looking.

i have seen it so many times and i know it is a given, but i still find it funny how if you have a tesla you can just drive to a SC, plug in, trust that the charger is gonna work 99% of the times, plenty of them will be available on site, not just 2, the car is gonna tell you how many of them are free, you dont need to initiate charging/processing/payment/etc, and it will still be cheaper than all the rest of charging networks, oh and there still are more and more often than not are better located tesla at this point (and for the last 3+ years) has reached that stage where its charging network is one of the biggest reasons to buy a tesla compared to any other ev

I'd be interested in seeing a comparable ICE car in this test, like a RAV4. No energy recouped going downhill, could be close perhaps?

GM is temporarily stopping the sale of the Chevrolet Blazer EV due to "software quality issues".😞

I have a new Ariya awd here in Denver I would have loved to throw into the mix! Also would be interesting to test the awd system from the GTR on your slip test.

The EPA is responsible for the stated range, not Tesla.

You should be comparing Ev's that have similar battery packs. Also, the Tesla Model y has already 33000 miles on it. It might have some battery degradation. They should have compared all brand new cars.

That toybaru with the crooked licence plate is hilarious 🤣

A quick FYI to anyone reading and the show, if what you said about the blazer being 60k is true, then it is a 102kwh battery 😂 which would explain the range lol, please be sure to fact check people are buying cars from this show, great series otherwise

How do you know if the Blazer is predicting an accurate remaining range? I understand that it can probably go farther than the Tesla, the battery is 25% larger and the vehicle costs a lot more. The efficiency kinda says it all, the Tesla is still 17% more efficient while also charging loads faster. It's easy to get more range when companies just design in a huge battery, but the vehicle is heavier, performs worse, costs more and takes longer to charge.

Tesla does what tesla does. It kicks A**! That's all. Smaller battery, more efficiency and best charging network. Oh tesla...😂

The Tesla chargers work, the VW owned (Electrify America) chargers do not. It's almost like VW wants their customers to have a bad experience.

Who mounted that freaking license plate on the subie 🤣😵

Range is very temp and speed dependent My Bolt has gotten an indicated 340 miles per charge after driving 50mph or less, with a light foot, regen and no heater or AC and an 180 miles after driving 70mph and blasting the heater.

Should be comparing the Model Y Long Range which starts at $47,000. The epa range doesn't apply going up & down mountains in cold weather. All vehicles would have done better in warmer weather on a flat highway. Same case for ICE cars.......

Can't wait till you guys get a Cybertruck in the snow.

"Traction Battery" is the tecnical term for the high-voltage battery. The "EV-battery"

So you guys don’t actually think you will get max range in the cold on mountains passes right? Also max range is based on if you have the car charge itself to 100% which is very rare. 80-90% will be considered full to keep the battery degradation to a minimum

It would really be nice to see a more meaningful comparison of these cars on a complete road trip, something like Bjørn Nyland's 1,000 km Challenge or the Out of Spec 10% Challenge. Set a route, take all the cars on the whole route. Charge as needed for best use of time. Then compare times at the end of the trip. If you did it this way, we would gain some insight into how the Tesla and the Blazer compare to each other. This video doesn't really tell us much of anything except how bad the Subaru is for road trips -- not because of it's short range but because of it's slow charging. It would also be nice to see how the Model Y Long Range compares to the Blazer RS. This would be the appropriate comparison. Hint: The range difference would be smaller, the price difference would be greater, and the total trip time would probably be much faster in the Tesla -- but since you didn't do a total trip test, we have no idea. And since you tested the wrong version, the Tesla comes out looking bad.

My question long did it take you to charge the chevy and at what cost ? What is your time worth will you actually be ahead at the end of the day. My vote is that I'd get further, quicker for less money with the Tesla. Am I wrong, Roman ?

Tesla Model Y Performance (303 miles) : 3.82 miles/kWh. Miles done: 195. Range remaining: 50 miles. Total: 245 miles, so 22% less than what Tesla say. Battery size: 75.0 kWh. 195 / 3.82 = 51 kWh. 75 / 51 = 47% more miles to go... so ~92 miles. But the car show ~50 miles. Strange. Chevy Blazer EV RS eAWD (279 miles): 3.2 miles/kWh. Miles done: 195. Range remaining: 126 miles. Total: 321 miles, so 15% more than what GM say.

Subaru is the beset by far

Thank You for supporting Electric Vehicles and for All that you are doing for our Planet Earth.... Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ ☮ ❤

The tesla has the worst possible tires on it for this test. Probably a 10-15% hit right there. Put those tires on those other cars and you’ll get the same 10-15% reduction.

Ok, I am confused why you didn't push through and see where the Tesla and the Blazer actually ran out and not just what the GOM said. It sounds like GM is actually going to come close to it's range estimate unlike Tesla who games the display and gives the drive the false impression of range it does not have. Definitely not what I expected, but feel like you guys aborted this run. Would like to see where these cars actually ran out and what was left. Please keep a running tally showing a ranking of mi/kwh, range remaining, power consumed so we have a ongoing leader board and have something to keep track of how all the tests have gone and what the most efficient and most range vehicles there are. Also good to know is the mile/percent regen they get. More data please.

This continues to jive with my experience that Tesla's range numbers need to undergo about a 15% correction in order to compare directly with the range numbers published by other automakers. Hopefully, the EPA eliminates the option to use the more optimistic calculation, as the more conservative calculation used by most automakers translates to ICE owners and new EV buyers better.

I dont know man i can take my 2019 Silverado from St.Louis to Fort Myers on two fill ups once in Chattanooga and once in south Georgia. Thats thru the mountains of Tennessee and Atlanta traffic im not at this point ready to give up the comfort and safety of my truck for a range anxiety inducing EV. Plus your time waiting to charge is worth something.

You say “brand new” but that Tesla is a few years old 🙄

The entire time it takes just to start charging you could have filled up your ICE and driven away. Time is the only thing money can't buy. I'll gladly pay the premium of gas and save my precious time.

From other tests performed by RU-vidrs (especially CarWow) Tesla "hides" the full battery charge in the system, there is a considerable buffer after "0%". The EPA number is including this buffer, so the numbers are actually prety close to what they promise. However, the EPA number is an ideal case anyway, it's not an average case. And when it comes to the numbers, also consider the fact that the Model Y has a much smaller battery than the Blazer EV. The usable battery in the Y is 79 kWh (where the real size is more like 86) while the Chevy has 150 kWh, so basically double than the Tesla.

Roman, I don’t disagree with you one the overarching point of range especially going uphill. However there is a hole in your argument. The Tesla & Blazer were doing just fine on range. To me this is the difference between an automaker in Toyota who has a disdain EVs therefore they purposely set out to make an EV that would fail in every way. However Tesla & GM actually put effort into trying to make an EV that people would like & can use.

I myself am tired of these non controlled non scientific test results. Any vehicle ICE or electric will have varying mileage results based on your driving habits and where you are going.

WOW even with a brand new car Toyota has managed to make the dash look like it’s 10 year old technology

Where is the recap? Who many miles did they do each of them?

Surprised with how efficient the Blazer was. It does have a bigger battery than the other two, so it should have the most range left.

You stated that the temperature was 65 deg. when starting. It got cooler as you climbed the mountains. Were any of you using your heaters during the drive? I've read that the heaters will use up quite a large amount of charge. Also it seems like the Subaru needed to do some Nascar style drafting to save energy.

Why on earth would anyone take a road trip on Sport mode in their Tesla? Already setting the test up for a poor comparison… also using driving assist features would also be a more realistic comparison because most drivers do in fact use them. As long as speed and climate control are the same who cares? Do they ever mention what type of tires they have on, because if one has All-Seasons while another has Winters on, there again is another inconsistency. I feel like there was not a lot of control variables in this test. Would love to see more scientific tests in the future.

Such fun! I'm all in on EVs though and to own one you have to adjust for charging but the rest of it is just pure fun for me.

Once again, using the range the manufacturer states on the Tesla, and not interjection that they never got anywhere near their stated range.

Didn’t you have 5? Isn’t the Blazer and Honda Prologue the same?

I love the drama of thinking the EV Subaru would make it.But real world driving ... I wouldn't chance anything with a hope & a prayer.

So TFL recommends the Blazer. Everyone go out and buy one. I'll be watching those sales numbers to shoot up now 😂

Just got back from a work trip, where I rented a Subaru, and I had some mixed results. The first thing I noticed was that my first charge(hotel had a free charge point), didn't seem to actually do much. I left the car on the charger for 2+ hours and I went from 70% to 87%....and after driving to/from work, I was down to 50%. The next time I charged was overnight(9+ hours), and the same trip to/from work had the battery down to 87%. By the end of the trip(7 days), the rear motors/brakes/bearings had this high pitched whine...but the battery life estimate kept rising and I was consistently above 90% for the 40mile round trip. So, software? It's a rental, so people suck? Not sure. I will say I hated the steering wheel, the cruise control options, the whole cruise control interface, cruise display...the infotainment and the wireless charging. I didn't mind the handling(but it was mostly AZ city driving(45mph)...and I liked the speedo for simplicity...except where it had anything to do with the cruise options.

You know you're going slow when you are getting passed by a Jeep Compass. And I agree, CCS charging networks are a joke. I've rented several Teslas from Hertz over the past year, have always been able to plug in and charge without any issues.

It’s funny how the EV haters talk crap about them, without ever actually owning one. I was one of those people. I now own a Tesla Model 3 and I love it! It’s STILL cheaper to own than a ICE! PERIOD! The hundreds of dollars a year and hours of waiting at the dealership on oil changes alone is a plus! Trips? No problem! Everyday driving? STILL no problem! It takes no longer to get a charge, use the bathroom, get a snack, eat lunch or dinner, and stretch your legs that it did with my gas powered car! If you live out in the middle of nowhere in Montana then I guess an EV is not for you! But for a majority of people, the current range that (at least a Tesla) has is more than adequate! Range anxiety when you first get one? Yep! It’s there! But after you adjust, you see that it’s not a problem! Even free chargers are everywhere! But nothing is as good as the supercharger system Tesla has. There is a free 32amp charger in a public park right next to my house! I get free charging at work! I rarely pay for charging! And when I do at home or on the road, it’s still way cheaper than gas! NOBODY is forcing people to buy an EV! If they aren’t for you, don’t buy one! But quit talking shit about them! It shows your ignorance!

Nice video, kind of laid back, good chemistry between all of you and nice background music! Thank you.

I'll have to try this test in my 2015 Volt.

Really like TFL but please stop with tax rebate stuff. It means nothing in the end. I know 2 people that supposedly qualified for the rebate, but the guidelines to receive anything back as far as actual money in your account is very stringent.

Its beyond stupid the Toyota/Subaru twins still can't display actual SOC as a number, terrible range, and disastrously bad DC charging ability. Lastly, the twins are software limited to a specific number of kwh's of charging per 24 hours.

GM EVs consistently under promise and over deliver. The opposite of every Tesla. Solterra/bZ4X? Useless.

EA/Volkswagen should be fined until their charging network works correctly. They're basically using their "punishment" to purposely make the EV experience terrible...and if they aren't doing it on purpose their incompetence is should be grounds for even more fines and/or layoffs. Utterly ridiculous...

Why is the license plate on the subby not straight?

Try all that messing around with a charging station, when it's -50C. Electric car drivers must be some tough people. Why don't they put canopies over those charging stations to protect from the weather. The gas stations are quite cozy in my town, and it's great to interact with people in the neighbourhood. This electric car culture is quite anti-social. And then, there's all those cars burning up and recalled recently, like the Jeep Wrangler 4xe lol. Strength! GODspeed!

The Tesla delivered 95% of the promised range. Based off the 3.82mi/kw efficiency multiply the 75kwh battery capacity and you get 286.5 miles of range. That is 94.5% of the rated 303mi. Lets stop pretending that is WAY off what is promised.

I'm sure there's details that I just don't understand, but how hard is it to just make a charging station that works like a gas station? You roll up, swipe a card/insert cash, hook up the cable, and start the charge. It should not be this difficult to just refuel.

Looking forward to the test with the Mustang Mach e.