A concern that some drivers have about electric vehicles is how long the battery will last. One electric car manufacturer has just broken the 400-mile barrier, proving that electric cars can be just as reliable as regular vehicles. But which car manufacturer was it?

The First

There was always going to be a first electric vehicle (EV) to break the 400-mile mark, and it probably won’t surprise many people to learn that it was Tesla. The EV company has continued to innovate and improve upon its design, with the latest Model S giving customers more miles than ever before. The Model S Long Range Plus was given an official EPA-rated range of 402 miles. That represents an almost 20% increase in driving range from the 2019 Model S 100D, which has the same battery pack design.

It Gets Better

Elon Musk had already made claims that Tesla had vehicles capable of reaching 400 miles earlier in the year. In April 2020, Musk had claimed the Environment Protection Agency had actually made a mistake when testing the Model S. The Tesla CEO explained that the EPA had left the keys inside and the car door open overnight before testing the Model S.

Musk estimated that mistake would have reduced the Model S battery life by 2%, meaning the car could travel even further. While the company continues to make improvements in its battery performance, Musk has also made promises to improve other aspects of their vehicle range. The Tesla CEO has also been looking at ways to improve both the handling and acceleration of the company’s electric vehicles.

Tesla has been at the forefront of the electric vehicle movement pretty much from the beginning. The electric car company’s Model S can now go further on a single charge than ever before, meaning cross-country adventures might be back on the menu.

The technology inside our cars is always advancing, to the point where the latest car features in the 1990s are mostly obsolete. In fact, we reckon these are the car features only ’90s kids will remember.

Cassette Players

Unless you really loved the radio in the ’80s or ’90s, there’s a good chance you loaded up your glovebox with cassettes. Now, we create driving playlists using streaming services, but back in the 1990s, people couldn’t live without their cassettes. Road trips were remembered by the cassettes you listened to, especially as you ended up listening to them over and over again.

Broken Or No AC

Air conditioning basically comes as standard in cars these days, but during the 1990s it was a real novelty. Even if you owned a car that had AC, there was no guarantee it would work. Instead of nice chilled atmospheres, many of us spent our time in our cars feeling hot and bothered any time the summer rolled around.

Roll-down Windows

Electric windows were the exception in the decade, most people had to roll their windows up and own manually. Cranking those winders wasn’t exactly hard work, but pressing a button in modern cars is so much easier.

Steering Wheel Locks

Steering wheel locks were everywhere during the ’90s. These theft-preventing devices slipped inside the steering wheel to stop any would-be thief from driving away with your boxy ’90s car.

Lighters And Ashtrays

Before we all truly understood the dangers of smoking, many people used to do it in their cars. That meant our vehicles had to come equipped with lighters and ashtrays, although we no longer see them in modern cars. Instead the lighter is replaced by a battery slot, and the ashtray is just another storage compartment.

Times have certainly changed since the ’90s, and it’s fair to say our cars are now way better than they ever were during this iconic decade.