If you are relying on Volvo advertised figures then you will undoubtedly find that these were qualified in the small print. They are standard figures from a standard test, not real life. It’s the same procedure with all makes.

If the car you bought was advertised by the dealer making mileage claims without qualification you might have a claim. Or if they put something in writing. Even then they are not going to roll over and any claim via the ombudsman will take weeks or months with almost no chance of success.

It’s going to be very hard to argue that you did research but didn’t become across the way the official figures work.

mickyh7 Thank you for your prompt reply. Yes I fully appreciate the 331 is the optimum range, which is not obtainable. Having a Volvo different model for 3 years and achieving similar range, you would think the newer engine would perform better. Obviously they knew all along I would not get a better range as I clearly specified was the reason for buying a second vehicle.

mickyh7 strange as they advise 230 on a run is "normal" and higher around so opposite to our experience.!

No car, Electric, Diesel or Petrol, will do anything close to manufacturers figures. It's been like this for decades.

That's a very downbeat statement. First define 'anything close' - if we agree 'within 10%' then my 1991 Pug 205 (petrol) has averaged ~55 mpg while the handbook suggests 61 at steady 56mph. So the next consideration (much more significant) is how and where you drive. My figure above comes from 40-mile trips on 40% dual carriageway, 40% A-road and the rest rural lane or urban.

But I would have thought that an EV should return more predictable figures than an ICE car, partly because its control system must be intrinsically simpler ? Is tearaway driving more wasteful as it is with ICE ?

<< ... the RAC reckon the most economical speed to drive an ICE car at is 45-50mph. My experience with ICE cars matches this. I would expect electric cars to be the same. >>

The explanation is quite simple. The optimum economical cruising speed is when in top gear with the engine near its peak power output, around 3000rpm for petrol and 2000 for a diesel. Once past that point more effort is needed to overcome air and rolling resistance, so mpg will decrease.

Air drag increases with square of vehicle speed So at 70mph , drag = 70x70 / 60x60 times or 136% the drag at 60mph.

You can achieve quoted mpg IF:

Temperatures as c 25C

there are no headwinds/no hills/no traffic lights

you hypermile

there is no traffic

So in real world terms, impossible.

Not worth debating.

OP, by convention, electric powerplants are motors. IC powerplants are engines, unless you are N. American, in which case they are (both?) motors.

Whereas on this side of the pond, a 'motor' may mean the whole vehicle ....:-)

<< Then we got the Yaris. Quoted figure is 68.8 mpg (for design trim) and that is beaten (just) by the HJ real mpg figure of 69.1 mpg. To be honest we did not expect to match either of those figures. >>

As this thread is titled 'electric' I assume your Yaris is a hybrid, which I also assume means some of the fuel you put into it comes from the Grid ? In which case, I'm not sure what an 'official' figure actually means. Must be more approximate than the ICE numbers we are used to ?

<< Then we got the Yaris. Quoted figure is 68.8 mpg (for design trim) and that is beaten (just) by the HJ real mpg figure of 69.1 mpg. To be honest we did not expect to match either of those figures. >>

As this thread is titled 'electric' I assume your Yaris is a hybrid, which I also assume means some of the fuel you put into it comes from the Grid ? In which case, I'm not sure what an 'official' figure actually means. Must be more approximate than the ICE numbers we are used to ?

The Yaris is a Self Charging Hybrid thus the electric power is generated by either using the ICE or regen form braking or coasting.

Unlike a PHEV that means the calculated mpg based on fuel bought and miles covered is correct with no "fuel" from the grid to include.

The OP changed from one EV to another, with the new car having a larger battery. It is not unreasonable to expect that such a change would result in an increase in the usable range.