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Road Test Reveals 2017 Opel Ampera-e Has a Range of 755 Kilometers (469 Miles)

Hypermiling is in no way the most exciting thing one can do in his or her car. But for a handful of individuals, going over the estimated fuel economy is something of a passion. Two journalists from auto mobil took up the challenge of hypermiling the Opel Ampera-e way beyond the NEDC and WLTP ranges, and to their luck, they managed to squeeze out 754.9 kilometers from the EV.
Opel Ampera-e hypermiling run 11 photos
Photo: Opel
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That’s 469 miles converted to U.S. currency, which should make Chevrolet Bolt owners green with envy. More impressively, it is worth remembering the European counterpart of the Bolt is rated 520 kilometers (323 miles) on the New European Driving Cycle and 380 kilometers (236 miles) according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure.

For reference, the Bolt manages 238 miles (383 kilometers) from the 60-kWh lithium-ion battery, which uses cells developed by LG Chem. The question is, how did head of testing Albert Konigshausen and presenter Alexander Bloch manage to drive so much in one go without stopping to recharge?

First of all, the two chose a friendly route for electric vehicles, from the German town of Gorlitz on country roads to Aachen. Driving at speeds between 40 and 50 km/h (24.8 and 31 mph), Albert and Alexander spent a total of 25 hours and 30 minutes behind the wheel, not shying from using the one-pedal regenerative braking feature. And that’s how the pair pushed the little Opel EV beyond its limits. And to be frank, it surely wasn’t enjoyable.

Considering the hypermiling test took place in August of 2017, we’re also sure Albert and Alexander didn’t turn on the air conditioning. Rolling the windows down would also hurt their run, so imagine for a moment how hateful it is to squeeze as many miles possible from the limited electricity stored into an EV.

Regardless of all, it’s in our very nature to take ourselves beyond the limit. Similarly to human nature, emission and fuel consumption regulation will take electric vehicles to new heights in the next decade. And with a bit of luck, range anxiety will soon become a thing of the past for EV owners.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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