Just one year ago, if you wanted an all-electric vehicle that could travel more than 200 miles on a single charge, you were limited to a Tesla or the Chevy Bolt. Today, there are as many as nine different options, with five of them starting at under $40,000.
And if you wanted an all-electric SUV one year ago, you were limited to a Tesla Model X, which starts at $83,000. Today, there are four options, with the Hyundai Kona Electric starting at $36,950.
As battery technology improves and costs decrease, it’s becoming increasingly feasible for automakers to make the long-range all-electric vehicles that consumers want.
Here is a look at the all-electrics that can travel 200+ miles on a single charge, sorted by price. To compare vehicles and find the best EV for you, visit PlugStar.com or download our latest EV Guide (PDF).
 | Nissan LEAF Plus |
 | Chevrolet Bolt EV |
 | Hyundai Kona Electric |
 | Kia Niro EV |
 | Tesla Model 3 |
 | Jaguar I-PACE |
 | Audi e-tron |
 | Tesla Model S |
 | Tesla Model X |
How do you test drive a Tesla? There are no dealerships, the so called galleries are few, and getting an appointment to talk to someone about a test drive leaves a bad taste. From what I’ve read, the Tesla Model 3 has a rough ride. Rear drive in the midwest snow and ice won’t cut it. Pricing with the options that I’d want would be $50K. The Hyundai and Kia options are available in only a few select states. I never keep a car more than 4 or 5 years. I’m going with Leaf Plus to replace my second Leaf.
I had a 2015 Smart EV, which I loved (the gas models are junk). Great aound-town errand runner, that could be parked anywhere, but the 60 mile range was very limiting. The replacement, my 2017 Bolt is 18 months old, with 13,000 miles. Other than the stupid gear selector, I’m extremely happy with it. Just looking forward to when fast DC chargers are readily available so I can confortably go on longer trips.
We leased a Nissan LEAF with the idea that the battery issues will improve in a few years. I am so glad that we did; we have a 36 month lease and while the car is comfortable, runs well, and has a lot of power, I am concerned about the battery. I look forward to the time when the lease is up and I can see what has improved in the battery department!
I must say that I love my LEAF; the only concern I have is the range.
Alan says: “Not sure why anyone would get anything other than a Tesla. There are 3 to choose from”
Quite simple: because I won’t spend the upwards of $45k that it *realistically* costs to by even the base model Tesla Model 3. Sorry, I simply will not spend that kind of money on a car. There is NO reason auto makers can’t produce a pure EV with a range of 250 miles or more for $25k. There simply isn’t. They just don’t want to. I had an EV charger put into my garage yesterday (along with my whole house solar system) in anticipation of the day SOMEBODY produces an EV for normal people.
No matter what the EV, the way a person drives can add or subtract many miles of range. I have had a Bolt for 2.5 years. In the city I regularly obtain a range of 320 miles. On the freeways, about 280 miles, provided that I stay between 60 and 65 mph. The trick in the cities is to stay in L “gear”, accelerate slowly, and try to come to a stop as infrequently as possible. This includes, for example, paying careful attention to red lights and stopped cars ahead and coasting early so that the car is still moving when the light changes to green.
The reason I am not getting a Tesla is that they are too big. I am currently (fingers crossed) still driving my 2002 Rav4EV that now has 135,000 miles on the original battery pack. I love it and it breaks my heart that the battery pack is on its last legs. I was very excited about the Tesla 3 until I found out that it is 3 feet longer and 9 inches wider than my Rav. I do not want to drive, and more importantly, park, such a large car. I took my name off the list and got my $1,000 back. I still live in hope that Tesla will make a small car, but at this point it certainly will not be in time to be my next car.
Several of the cars on the list are only available in a few states right now and are rolling out slowly.
I have a Tesla Model S with a 240 mile range and I just drove it across the country and from Seattle to Green Bay and back covering up to 900 miles per day stopping at Superchargers which only Tesla has set up for road trips. Pretty soon Electrify America and others will have a network of chargers for other brands.
Yesterday I had Tesla mobile service where they replaced an airbag that was recalled and did some other things in my driveway. That beats every other car company where you would have had to go to a dealer and wait or leave the car.
Then I have to mention software updates which make new features available, or update others. The best new feature I got before my trip was for the car to change lanes on it’s own when in Autopilot. A previous update moved the AC button from the passenger side to the driver side. Then there is Sentry Mode and Dog Mode and many other fun things.
I bought a car and became a fan.
If you buy a new Tesla with a referral code, you get 1000 free Supercharger miles. My referral code is Ken24288.
I own a Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model 3. I would recommend the Model 3 to anyone as the best overall value on this list, when you balance range, performance, interior space, update-ability, and access to a reliable fast-charging network. The Bolt is a solid car but just doesn’t compare to even the lowest end Tesla.
I definitely do NOT recommend the new Leaf since it STILL lacks thermal management of the battery, and I’ve learned this is the #1 factor to a long-lasting, happy battery. Any EV that lacks thermal battery management for the battery is a weak economic choice, as the battery will need replacing by 80k miles.
Is the Rivian not listed because it is only announced to release in 2020? With upwards of 400 mile range, it looks very appealing. I am a current 2018 Chevy Bolt owner, which I love.
Hi David, You’re correct… the vehicles listed are only those that are currently available. We’re looking forward to seeing the Rivian and other upcoming vehicles, but there are some great ones out now too!
My wife and I share a single 2016 Volt. Whenever the car is in our driveway it’s plugged in, drawing electricity produced by small hydro, supplemented with some community solar. We drive regularly in several parts of the Syracuse, New York metropolitan area-ALL ELECTRIC. Our indicated range varies from the mid-70’s to the low-40’s (in the coldest weather). The only time we use the internal combustion engine is when we have to travel beyond the Syracuse region, i.e. taking a trip. On those trips our success finding charging stations is checkered at best and we end up using petroleum with gasoline MPGs in the low 40’s to low 50’s. I was “into” cars as a teenager and beyond, but thennrealized the societal cost of auto-centric transportation and lost interest except for considering the car as basic transportation. If, a decade ago, anyone would have suggested that I’d be enthusiastic about a car ever again, I would have doubted the person’s sanity but we love our Volt .
Comments about Nissan “less than enthusiastic attitude toward the LEAF plus”. are disturbing. Owning a 2011 with 48,000 miles and 35 miles range, I have experienced the lack of battery support by Nissan and it’s dealers. Nissan started the market, promptly fell on their sword, with a software update to protect their warrantee and abandoned many loyal first users. Being cagey about the new version does not give me a warm (battery in California) feeling.
I got my Chevy Bolt in November of 2018. It was advertised to get 225 miles to the full charge. I am getting an AVERAGE of 268 miles to the full charge. GO CHEVY BOLT!!
Not sure why anyone would get anything other than a Tesla. There are 3 to choose from here and another on the way. Go ahead and test drive them all. It will be the only car you want, I promise. PS here’s my referral code. ALAN9224
The link shows all car dealers in my rural area, none of which sells the cars listed here. It even lists dealers of brands that do not have all electric vehicles. I wonder if some of these are only sold in CA and other states that require low emission vehicles.
Hi Charlotte, You are correct that not all vehicles are available in all states. If you visit https://plugstar.com/cars and enter your ZIP code, it will show you which vehicles are available in your state. The dealers listed are for automakers that sell either all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. In certain cities, including San Diego and Sacramento, it also indicates which dealers have been trained by us and are PlugStar-certified. In the future, we hope to be able to display the inventory available at the different dealers, so that you can see exactly which vehicles are available at dealers in your area, but we don’t have that capability yet.
The top mileage value for Tesla’s Model 3 is not 310mi (that’s for the AWD LR), but 325mi, for the RWD LR. (The RWD LR is not configurable online, but can be ordered on the phone from Tesla.)
I’ve had mine for over a year and it gets easily 360mi on a full charge, with AC on nonstop (in Hawaii, with constant uphill.downhill driving).
My Bolt is presently getting 275 mile range. One caution about Nissan Leaf – it does not feature thermal battery management. It is therefore NOT capable of repeated long charges, and cannot be taken on long trips. One charging session seems to be the limit, so a total RT range of 400 miles is all that is possible, unless a driver can wait overnight for the battery to recover and accept charging again.
For this reason, I do not beleive the Leaf belongs in this category – it is an INTERMEDIATE range EV.
Nissan advertised their new Nissan Leaf Plus on a sports TV broadcast, but they did not mention its range of over 200 miles. I conclude they still do not want the public to become comfortable with electric cars. These new long range electric cars are the game changer I’ve been waiting for. Mr. SDD
My Tesla S 2015 gets over235 miles!,,