Tested to empty: BMW iX3 outlasts 23 rivals and beats its own promise

© A. Krivonosov

The Norwegian Automobile Federation (NAF) has once again checked electric cars not by brochure but by driving them flat. Twenty-four models took part in the El Prix 2026 summer test, and the longest run belonged to the new BMW iX3 50 xDrive — 781 km on a single charge.

Conditions were almost perfect for EVs: dry roads and temperatures between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius. As a result, most cars stayed close to their official WLTP figures. The BMW not only led on range, it also beat its own stated number by 1.5%. Against the American EPA rating, the margin was an even more generous 11.7%.

The most striking result for honesty, though, did not come from BMW but from the Xpeng X9. The Chinese minivan covered 646 km against a claimed 580 km — an 11.4% overperformance. For a large family vehicle that is a strong argument: buyers get not just a glossy number on a website, but a real-world buffer they can actually use.

At the other end of the scale sat the MG IM6. The sedan managed 446 km against a claim of 505 km, falling 11.7% short. NAF was puzzled by the gap, especially because another sedan from the same brand — the MG S6 — went the other way and beat its WLTP figure by 3.4%.

The Lucid Gravity posted 720 km, the Mercedes-Benz CLA hit 675 km and the GLC 400 reached 665 km. The Toyota bZ4X matched its WLTP figure of 506 km exactly, but its battery gauge read 0% a full 18 km before the car actually rolled to a stop.

For drivers, this kind of test is more useful than any marketing claim. It shows not just which EV goes the farthest, but — more importantly — how honestly each car talks about its own range.