Fisker Ocean Extreme promises up to 440 WLTP miles

Might EV range anxiety in a family SUV be a thing of the past? Fisker thinks it has something...

Even allowing for the same quirks that plague WLTP EV tests as do ICE ones, the bigger the number the better is a safe rule of thumb for electric cars. More range means less time charging, and even if the majority of that is at home, being able to avoid public chargers at any point must be a good thing. And while more range is typically achieved through a bigger battery (and therefore more weight), a few more kilos on another SUV doesn’t seem the end of the world for the convenience.

Fisker is the latest manufacturer to make a big range claim for its electric SUV, the Extreme version of its new Ocean having scored an impressive 440 miles on the WLTP test. We don’t know of another comparable electric car, be it a long range Mach E, Tesla, VW MEB spin off, BMW i car or a Kia/Hyundai E-GMP product, that has yet got through 400 on WLTP - unless we’ve missed one. Even allowing for the fact that real world use never matches the claim, it’s a big number, surely enough for 300 or so in everyday use. The battery size isn't confirmed yet, funnily enough.

Interestingly, Fisker says the Ocean Extreme’s range means the car is ‘capable of potentially driving’ from London to Glasgow on one charge ‘with range to spare’; Google Maps says that’s 404 miles at it shortest, which would explain the caveats. But where most senior EVs will give you a reliable 200 miles before thinking about charge, it seems that the Ocean will up that quite significantly. Peak charging of 250kW will get you back on the road again pretty quick, too.

“From the beginning, we planned the Fisker Ocean to deliver the highest level of design, sustainability, innovation, usability, and range. We created a fantastic five-passenger vehicle, offering our buyers range confidence and convenience in every trip,” Henrik Fisker said. “This achievement is a major milestone for everyone at Fisker, and we are delighted the range exceeds our initial calculations,” he added.

Fisker says European homologation is expected by the end of April, with deliveries to commence after that. The first European Fisker Centres will open after Easter in Vienna and Copenhagen, with more to follow during 2023. And the configurator says an Ocean will be priced from £50k - consider us intrigued for what comes next.