Huge Australian electric car myth busted: What we learnt driving from Melbourne to Sydney in a 2026 Porsche Macan electric SUV | Opinion

Electric cars aren’t built for Australia and a country of its size. It is too big and electric vehicles (EVs) simply don’t have enough range to get you across this wide, brown land.

Or, at least that’s what we’ve been told by the naysayers for the past decade or so. They decry the limited capacity of batteries and the lack of infrastructure as reasons why EVs will never be successful in Australia.

But is that actually true? To put those criticisms to the test I decided to do the only logical thing: drive one of Australia’s most popular long-distance journeys in an EV to see if I could make it. So I drove the new Porsche Macan RWD from Melbourne to Sydney in a single day to test the reality of long-range EV driving. And these are the lessons I learnt.

Range anxiety is over-rated

It’s perhaps the most common phrase associated with EVs and their detractors, range anxiety - the idea that you’ll run out of charge and be stranded. The truth is modern EV batteries have reached a state where they can offer enough range to make the drive between Melbourne and Sydney on surprisingly few stops.

The official claimed range of the Macan RWD is 653km, but that’s a lab test so not representative of what you’ll get in the real world. Instead, on our drive the Macan was capable of hitting approximately 500km on a single charge.

Now the haters will say that’s 153km less than claimed, but that overlooks the fact that very few internal combustion engine vehicles hit their official claimed fuel consumption figures either.

It also overlooks the fact that 500km is a significant range, with the distance between Melbourne and Sydney less than 900km via the most direct route. And on the route there is a steady string of EV chargers up and down the highway. 

The notion that EV charging infrastructure is lacking was one of the biggest misconceptions my trip cleared up. There are chargers in freeway-side service centres and in small towns (more on that later) so you’re never really more than 200km from any charger. Sure, there’s more fuel pumps, but given the percentage of EVs making such large trips the current infrastructure seems more-than-adequate.

Aerodynamics is king

While we’re on the top of EV range, for my particular drive between our two biggest cities I drove a Macan with a factory-developed roof box, while the camera car that joined me was stock (no roof box). There was an expectation that the roof box would impact the driving range, but it was surprising just how much impact it had.

If you’ve wondered why car makers are trying to make pop-out door handles and digital side mirrors common on EVs it’s because it all makes a difference. Despite the factory-designed aerodynamic shape of the roof box it still knocked off around 20-25% driving range compared to the camera car. 

Obviously that’s a significant drop, but as long as you are aware of what impact adding extras to your EV is you can compensate accordingly.

EVs could rejuvenate small town Australia

When I say you can ‘compensate accordingly’ I mean that, as mentioned earlier, there’s no shortage of chargers and many of them are located in some of Australia’s most beautiful, but largely forgotten, small towns.

For example, we took a detour off the freeway into Beechworth, the small Victorian hamlet that’s home to famous honey and one of Australia’s most renowned bakeries. It’s the perfect place to stop and recharge the car - as well as recharge the driver and passengers.

While there are plenty of service centre chargers, I was surprised by the amount of small towns, long since bypassed by the freeway, that have installed chargers. Holbrook and its submarine, the geographical halfway point in Tarcutta and even the Dog on the Tuckerbox at Gundagai all have places to stop and charge.

Charging is actually enjoyable

Another regular criticism of electric cars is the time it takes to recharge the batteries. Obviously it takes longer than refuelling a petrol or diesel tank, which is a major turn-off for many. But unless you’re in a really big hurry to get to your destination, it shouldn’t be.

Obviously it’s a good idea to ‘stop, revive, survive’ on any long trip and modern EVs are capable of reaching 80 per cent battery capacity in a relatively short period of time. The final 20 per cent takes longer, but even then it’s not exactly a drag.

On my road trip the longest stop, which was to get as close to 100 per cent as possible, lasted about 30 minutes. Generally the 80 per cent top-ups took around 20 minutes, which turned out to be a handy amount of time to stretch the legs, use a bathroom and grab something to eat.

If you are like me and prefer to enjoy a relaxed road trip, charging actually fits in rather nicely and makes the experience of long-distance EV driving surprisingly easy.

Don’t knock it ‘til you try it

Was driving an electric car between Melbourne and Sydney easy? In a word, yes. So much so that I’d have no worries doing such a trip again, the idea of range anxiety and sub-par infrastructure are no longer a concern based on my real-world experience.

I still understand that for some, those in a hurry or just aggressively anti-EV, it will still sound unappealing and stressful, but I would encourage any EV owner who has avoided long journeys to take the leap and head out of town for an electric road trip.