Electric Kia EV6 goes further with Beethoven’s 9th

Kia has been testing the impact of music on electric car range, and has discovered the most frugal music to listen to is Beethoven’s 9th.

There’s no doubt that the range electric cars can manage on a single charge has improved massively in recent years, with the ‘nor’ quickly becoming around 300 miles. Although that’s 300 ‘official’ miles.

Arguably, as EV drivers know, it’s probably best to not let your EV drop below 10 per cent of charge, and not charge above 80 per cent on a regular basis, so that makes that 300-mile range more like a usable range of just over 200 miles.

But even that 200 mile-range is open to change, with weather and temperatures playing a big role, and driving style and heating/ Climate an even bigger one. Before you know it, you’ve discovered your ‘300 mile range’ EV probably only has half that in everyday use, especially in winter. So what to do?

Well, according to Kia research, your music playlist could be the key.

The research, overseen by Dr Duncan Williams, a lecturer at the University of Salford’s School of Science, put drivers in an EV6 for a run of 18 miles, which, interestingly, saw an average loss of 22.48 miles of range in the 18-mile test runs.

The tracks Kia used in the test on the EV6’s Meridian Sound included Beethoven’s 9th, Blinding Lights by The Weeknd and Adele’s Hello.

To no one’s great surprise, the relatively soothing Beethoven track (they used Op.125 “Choral”:2 (Molto vivace)’, not the entire symphony) saw efficiency four times better than the worst of the tracks (The Weekend’s).

So, thanks to Kia for the inciteful tests, because no driver had a clue that up-tempo music – including up-tempo classical music – is a great way to use more fuel and lose your license.