Despite obvious progress from battery manufacturers in recent years, range anxiety remains the main concern for prospective EV buyers.

To help these people find the right electric vehicle with the right driving range, Carwow has launched an electric car battery range calculator. It takes into account important factors like weekly distance, type of roads most frequently used, typical outdoor temperature, and charging patterns to reveal the most suitable EVs for their needs.

Once you fill in all these details, the calculator reveals a list of vehicles that meet all your criteria. If the list is too long, you can trim it by checking additional filters like brand, body type, equipment, boot space, seats, acceleration, and the all important budget.

Now, the important thing to note is that Carwow does not rely exclusively on the range estimates offered by automakers. The calculator uses three main factors to work out the range your electric vehicle will need, including operating temperature, speed and driving style, and climate control.

Gallery: Carwow Electric Car Battery Range Calculator

Operating temperature is probably the most important factor, as extremes severely affect driving range. Since the WLTP ranges provided for each vehicle are based on an ambient temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, anything above or below that affects the mileage.

Speed and driving style are also important, with lower speeds using up less electricity and aggressive accelerations eating up more. For example, Carwow says that dropping your speed by 10 mph (16 km/h) can result in using 14% less energy. The calculator assumes a city speed of around 17 mph (27 km/h) on average, 57 mph (91 km/h) on the highway, and 29 mph (46 km/h) combined.

Using climate control to either heat up or cool down the cabin also eats up electricity, which explains why EV range in extreme climates can take a double hit, both from extreme ambient temperatures and the use of climate control.

That said, the results displayed by the calculator are just an estimate, as they do not factor in other variables like wheel size, number of passengers, flat or hilly terrain, aggressive driving, or driving into headwinds. Still, Carwow’s EV range calculator proves useful and straightforward to use—just take into account it's specifically tailored for the UK car market (German and Spanish versions are also available).

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