DS N8 scores impressively in internal range testing

The biggest question surrounding electric cars has always been the same: "Does it have enough range for a road trip?" It's a fair point. The official range numbers for many EVs often seem to melt away at highway speeds, turning long drives into a stressful hunt for the next charging station.

French automaker DS Automobiles claims its new flagship, the DS N°8, is the answer. And to prove it walks the walk, the company sent its new electric car on a tour across Europe to show it can handle long-distance highway travel on a single charge.

This new Long Range version packs a substantial 97.2 kWh battery, which is part of the trick here. Officially, this setup is rated for up to 466 miles on the WLTP cycle, a standard that blends city and highway driving.

But DS Automobiles makes a bolder, more practical claim: that the DS N°8 can cover more than 311 miles strictly on the highway. To back this up, the company documented several real-world road trips, driving the car at legal highway speeds, which in Europe can be up to 81 mph.

Two of the most demanding tests demonstrated the car's endurance. On a 314 miles trip from Munich to Koblenz in Germany, the DS N°8 arrived with 10% of its battery still in reserve, good for another 35 miles. A similar journey from Paris to Lyon in France covered 280 miles and also finished with a 10% state of charge.

The results from other European routes showed even more impressive efficiency under different conditions. A 292 miles drive from Madrid to Denia in Spain concluded with a healthy 20% battery remaining, offering an extra 80 miles of range. The best performance came in Italy, on a 450-km route from Melfi to Nera Montoro, where the DS N°8 finished with 28% of its battery left.

The technology making these trips possible is largely French-grown. The powertrain features an electric motor developed by Emotor and a battery designed and produced by ACC in its French gigafactory. Sure, this car has a big battery, but it's designed to be smart about how it uses its power.

For trips that do exceed its single-charge range, the DS N°8 can add up to 124 miles of range in just 10 minutes at a fast-charging station of 160 kW or more. The vehicle's navigation system even includes an "EV Routing" feature that plans charging stops and prepares the battery ahead of time to ensure it charges as quickly as possible.

DS Automobiles says its goal is to perfect the "Art of Travel." The idea is to make long journeys in electric cars feel normal. Drivers should be able to stop because they want a coffee or to see an interesting landmark, not because they are forced to by a dwindling battery meter. DS is making a strong case here that, at least for the DS N°8, the era of highway range anxiety might just be in the rearview mirror.

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