We often look to What Car? for its straight-talking, no-frills reviews. But over the years, one thing has stood out: when it comes to shiny new launches, the coverage often sounds less like journalism and more like a polished press release on wheels. In the world of journalism, that’s called “neutrality.” Thankfully, when What Car? does get down to proper road testing, the results are solid, with real-world figures that buyers can actually use.

Their latest outing took them to sun-drenched Portugal, where the mercury hit over 40°C. The mission? To see how three electric cars would handle the heat and, more importantly, how far they’d go before giving up. A worthwhile experiment on paper—until you see the lineup.

Tesla Model 3, Kia EV3 … and the Citroën ë-C3. Really? The ë-C3 is the bargain-bin contender, but it’s also saddled with the smallest battery. Predictably, it ran out of puff first. That’s not investigative journalism—that’s stacking the deck.

And here’s the kicker: the outcome barely matters. Any buyer with a hint of range anxiety is going to make a beeline for the Tesla, whatever the stats say. The real issue? The video itself. The scripted to-camera pieces had all the charm of an AI-generated prompt—robotic charm included.

I know it might look like we’re picking on What Car?, but honestly, we’re not—we just have nothing better to do. That said, the production and cinematography are top-notch—kudos to the camera crew and editors for making the lifeless look alive.