Volkswagen debuts worlds most efficient EV heres when drivers can get behind the wheel

Volkswagen has its foot on the gas and is fully charged ahead in the efficiency race.Volkswagen has unveiled Mission Efficiency, a new electric vehicle (EV) prototype that has already set three world records.The concept model breaks records for all road-approved vehicles in aerodynamics, energy consumption, and overall efficiency in its class.Mission Efficiency is based on an already-existing Volkswagen EV: ID.Polo, but longer and lower like the VX XL1 from 2013.

With the battery size of the ID.Polo and the fairings of the XL1, Mission Efficiency was designed to be more aerodynamic and to reduce fuel consumption.The vehicle achieves a drag coefficient (Cd) value of 0.158, a number that measures how easily a car moves through the air.The lower the number, the less resistance the car has against wind and the faster it can accelerate.

Less wind resistance also saves fuel and extends electric car range since the motor or engine does not work as hard.For comparison, most modern passenger cars range between 0.25 and 0.30 Cd.Lower values allow the vehicle to cut through air more easily, extending battery range significantly in electric vehicles.

During standardized testing, Mission Efficiency achieved a record-breaking energy consumption rate — the automotive equivalent of “miles per gallon” for electric vehicles — of 6.48 kWh/100 km.The lower the number, the better, as this number reveals how much energy the car uses per 100km.

Average EVs have an average of 16-18 kWh/100km, and efficient sedans, like the Tesla Model 3, use 13-15 kWh/100km.Under controlled test conditions at a constant speed of 68 km/h without climate control, Volkswagen estimates the car could cover up to 500 miles on a single charge.According to Coultra, increasingly affordable electric cars and SUVs offer 300 miles or more, while 400 miles is considered a longer range.

But consumers won’t be able to buy this exact vehicle.Volkswagen plans to apply the technology and design innovations d...