What happens when you test the real-world efficiency of hybrids and EVs?

Enlarge / The assorted cars ready for EcoRun 2023. (credit: Blake Jennings)

How do you put EPA mileage numbers to the test? You could buy a wind tunnel and a lab and start doing a massive science experiment. Or you could find 20 auto writers, put them in 20 different cars, and tell them they’re in a contest of efficiency where the winner gets bragging rights.

Every year, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada does the latter. About 20 of the country’s top journalists come to take part in EcoRun, an event where automakers are invited to bring their most efficient models to one place for three days of fighting to use less.

In the past, it was all gas and diesel, but as the market has changed, so has the EcoRun lineup. This year, every vehicle had some form of electrification, and about half were fully electric.