That's not news. College students have been building vehicles like this for well over a decade. But in a way this one represents the state of the art in terms of efficiency and definitely practicality. In that way, it's relevant.
http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/st ... dailydrive
University students build efficient EV
Re: University students build efficient EV
What's the range at night? 

Re: University students build efficient EV
Well, it has a 16kWh battery (like the Volt) and at 45mph is said to draw 1.4kW. Therefore, the range at night on a fresh charge would be 411 miles at 45mph, using 80% of the battery capacity. Room for four, may even meet crash standards. This is a magnitude more relevant, upon further consideration, than the previous university-type EV projects. Though even they admit no ground breaking technology (for 2014) is present in the car. That's actually great news for production.