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BMW Beat 23 Other EVs In Range, Then Beat Its Own Too

  • BMW iX3 went the furthest of any EV in Norway’s summer test.
  • Xpeng X9 minivan beat its official range by a wide margin.
  • Most of the 24 EVs barely strayed from their stated range figures.

Most modern EVs look like long-haul champions on the spec sheet, but the paper numbers and the real world don’t always shake hands. The Norwegian Automobile Federation (NAF) and its independent membership magazine Motor are back with the bi-annual “El Prix” range test, putting 24 electric models through their paces to see which ones live up to their official WLTP ratings, and which ones fall flat.

This round was run under the kindest conditions an EV could ask for. NAF conducted the test during the Norwegian summer, with dry roads and temperatures hovering between 12 and 18°C (53.6 to 64.4°F).

More: EV Range Claims Still Sound Great, Until Freezing Temps Hit

The standout was the new BMW iX3 50 xDrive, which covered 781 km (485 miles) on a single charge. That’s not just close to its claim, it’s 1.5 percent beyond its official WLTP figure and a hefty 11.7 percent more than its advertised EPA range.

 BMW Beat 23 Other EVs In Range, Then Beat Its Own Too
BMW iX3

Predictably, the new iX3 posted a much higher range figure than the model it replaces. Even so, NAF points out that the previous-gen iX3 tested back in 2021 still holds the all-time summer record for positive deviation, beating its rating by 23.5 percent with 556 km (345 miles) of range.

More: EV Speed Comes At A Price, So Where’s The Sweet Spot?

As for the ultimate record for the longest range, it belongs to the Lucid Air that achieved 832 km (517 miles) in the summer of 2025. This year Lucid showed up with the Gravity SUV instead, which ran for 720 km (447 miles) before the battery gave out, falling 3.7 percent short of its expected figure.

 BMW Beat 23 Other EVs In Range, Then Beat Its Own Too
Xpeng X9

The BMW drove the furthest, but the most impressive result of the year came from the XPeng X9. The Chinese minivan posted a real-world range of 646 km (401 miles), beating its WLTP rating of 580 km (360 miles) by 11.4 percent. That kind of overachievement is nothing new for XPeng, as the G9 SUV topped its advertised range by 13 percent back in the 2023 test.

More: This EV’s Real Range Misses By 23% But That’s Not The Worst Part

At the opposite end sat another Chinese model, the MG IM6 sedan, which managed just 446 km (277 miles), falling 11.7 percent short of its WLTP figure. Nils Sødal, senior communications adviser at NAF, said the result caught the team off guard: “We were surprised to see such a large negative deviation for this MG, especially when the other MG model, the S6, achieved a positive deviation of 3.4 per cent.”

The rest of the field stayed within a tight band, deviating from their stated range by anywhere from -5.7 to +5.4 percent, helped along by the dry roads and mild summer temperatures.

 BMW Beat 23 Other EVs In Range, Then Beat Its Own Too
Toyota bZ (bZ4 in Europe)

Interestingly, the facelifted Toyota bZ4X perfectly matched its WLTP figure of 506 km (314 miles) on the real-world test. However, the driver stated that the Japanese model showed 0% remaining battery 18 km (11 miles) before it actually ran dry. Keep in mind that NAF pushes these EVs to their absolute limit, driving each one until it’s completely discharged.

Below you can see the results for the full batch of 24 EVs that took part in the summer 2026 edition of the “El Prix,” ranked from the longest to the shortest range on a single charge.

Test Results
ModelWLTP Stated RangeReal-World Range Deviation
BMW iX3770 km (478 miles)781 km (485 miles)+1.5%
Lucid Gravity748 km (465 miles)720 km (447 miles)-3.7%
Mercedes-Benz CLA708 km (440 miles)675 km (419 miles)-4.7%
Mercedes-Benz GLC 400643 km (400 miles)665 km (413 miles)+3.4%
Xpeng X9580 km (360 miles)646 km (401 miles)+11.4%
Polestar 3625 km (388 miles)601 km (373 miles)-3.8%
Mercedes-Benz GLB 350563 km (350 miles)593 km (368 miles)+5.3%
Toyota C-HR+607 km (377 miles)587 km (365 miles)-3.4%
Kia EV4594 km (369 miles)575 km (357 miles)-3.3%
Hyundai Ioniq 9600 km (373 miles)566 km (352 miles)-5.7%
Smart #5540 km (336 miles)556 km (345 miles)+3%
Kia EV5520 km (323 miles)509 km (316 miles)-2.1%
Toyota bZ4X506 km (314 miles)506 km (314 miles)
MG S6485 km (301 miles)502 km (312 miles)+3.4%
Citroen E-C5 Aircross513 km (319 miles)500 km (311 miles)-2.5%
Mazda 6e479 km (298 miles)485 km (301 miles)+1.2%
BYD Atto EVO470 km (292 miles)460 km (286 miles)-2.1%
MG IM6505 km (314 miles)446 km (277 miles)-11.7%
Changan Deepal S05445 km (277 miles)431 km (268 miles)-3.1%
Kia PV5412 km (256 miles)420 km (261 miles)+1.8%
Hyundai Inster360 km (224 miles)373 km (232 miles)+3.5%
KGM Musso379 km (235 miles)369 km (229 miles)-2.6%
Dongfeng Vigo340 km (211 miles)348 km (216 miles)+2.3%
Kia EV2308 km (191 miles)325 km (202 miles)+5.4%
SWIPE
 BMW Beat 23 Other EVs In Range, Then Beat Its Own Too
Lucid Gravity

Charging An EV Cost $11 More This Year, Filling A Sequoia Cost $1,623 More

  • Gas prices jumped 46 percent in four months, hitting traditional vehicles the hardest.
  • EV annual energy costs barely moved while gas vehicles saw a $706 average increase.
  • Large SUVs, trucks, and minivans got hammered, with some owners facing $1,600+ jumps.

Gas prices have a way of fading into the background when they’re stable. Then they spike, and suddenly every fill-up feels like a minor financial crisis. Drivers of thirsty trucks and body-on-frame SUVs know the feeling all too well. A new study suggests 2026 has turned into one of those years where fuel costs go from annoyance to budget item almost overnight.

According to a new study from iSeeCars, gasoline prices climbed nearly 46 percent between January and April, moving from $2.81 to $4.10 per gallon. The picture has only worsened since. At the time of publishing on May 24, the national average sits at $4.52 for regular, $5.01 for mid-grade, $5.39 for premium, and $5.62 for diesel.

Even working from the smaller January-to-April window the study covers, the math is ugly: an average annual fuel-cost increase of $706 for traditional gas-powered vehicles. EV drivers, meanwhile, barely felt it, with annual charging costs up just $11.

Fuel Cost Increase By Drivetrain: Jan vs. Apr 2026
DrivetrainAvg. Miles
Per Year
Annual Fuel
Cost Jan-26
Annual Fuel
Cost Apr-26
Diff.
ICE13,323$1,533$2,240$706
Hybrid14,696$1,055$1,540$486
PHEV11,660$1,385$1,676$291
EV11,880$714$725$11
SWIPE

iSeeCars

The data comes from an analysis of more than 2.1 million three-year-old used vehicles sold in 2025. Researchers looked at average annual mileage and paired it with fuel costs in January and April to estimate how much ownership costs changed in just four months.

Read: As Gas Prices Soar, Here’s How To Cut Your Fuel Bill Now

The hit landed unevenly across powertrains. Internal-combustion vehicles were hit the hardest, jumping from $1,533 to $2,240 in annual fuel costs. Hybrids took a smaller hit, rising $486. Plug-in hybrids landed in the middle with a $291 increase. EVs barely moved at all, increasing from $714 to $725 annually, and that’s even more impressive when you consider that the study didn’t just sample drivers who can charge at home.

Fuel Cost Increase for Major Gas Vehicle Segments: Jan vs. Apr 2026
SegmentAvg. Miles
Per Year
Annual Fuel
Cost Jan-26
Annual Fuel
Cost Apr-26
Diff.
Minivans19,292$2,472$3,610$1,139
Trucks14,369$2,154$3,146$992
SUVs12,731$1,479$2,161$681
Passenger Cars13,714$1,316$1,922$606
SWIPE

iSeeCars

Here’s the kicker. Efficiency alone wasn’t the whole story. Mileage played a huge role, too. Minivans, surprisingly, took the biggest hit of any segment. Annual fuel costs rose by $1,139, climbing to $3,610. Of course, a big piece of that is how much most minivans (save for the VW ID.Buzz) are built for lots of miles. Trucks with their comical fuel economy and brick-like drag coefficient weren’t far behind with a $992 jump.

SUV owners were almost karmically hit the hardest, with the Toyota Sequoia topping the charts at an average $1,623 increase. The Chevrolet Suburban came in second with $1,542, and the top three rounded out with the Nissan Armada at $1,513. Zoom out, and this may explain why hybrids continue gaining traction. They avoid the range anxiety and charging headaches some buyers still worry about, while taking a lot of the sting out of gas-price roulette.

Top 10 Vehicles With the Biggest Fuel Cost Increases
RankModelAvg. Miles
Per Year
Annual Fuel
Cost Jan-26
Annual Fuel
Cost Apr-26
Diff.
1Toyota Sequoia17,856$3,523$5,145$1,623
2Chevrolet Suburban19,626$3,347$4,889$1,542
3Nissan Armada18,098$3,284$4,797$1,513
4GMC Yukon XL18,734$3,193$4,664$1,471
5Chevrolet Tahoe16,727$2,860$4,177$1,317
6Cadillac Escalade ESV16,387$2,847$4,159$1,312
7GMC Yukon16,592$2,831$4,135$1,304
8Jeep Wagoneer16,975$2,782$4,064$1,282
9GMC Sierra 1500 Limited17,069$2,772$4,050$1,277
10Chrysler Pacifica20,872$2,682$3,918$1,236
ICE Average13,323$1,533$2,240$706
SWIPE

iSeeCars

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