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I'm not an EV driver but from what I've heard from others, and at least with current battery technology, range is significantly reduced. I've seen a number of

I'm not an EV driver but from what I've heard from others, and at least with current battery technology, range is significantly reduced. I've seen a number of reports that Tesla ranges specifically are quite low at this temperature. I don't know if battery life rebounds when the weather improves. Gas engines also struggle to start in this weather and gas lines freeze, though they obviously throw off enough heat to eventually grudgingly function.

kccqzy 3y ago
Yup range is reduced for all EVs. And of course range rebounds after the weather warms up; it's not like this temperature is enough to permanently damaging the battery. But on the other hand, heating the cabin is and remains much quicker than ICE engines. If you drive short distances the driver's experience is much better.
jillesvangurp 3y ago
Depends on the model. All EVs are affected to some extent. But some models deal with this better than others. A 30-40% range reduction is reasonable to expect with most cars at very low temperatures. This is not a permanent loss. The other thing that happens is that cold batteries don't charge very well. Many modern EVs have battery management systems that manage the temperature of the battery for this reason. This improves both charging and range. Warming up the car of course costs some energy but it's a reasonable tradeoff. Some cars actually have heat pumps that make warming them up a bit more efficient. And of course a nice feature is that you can use an app to turn on the car so the car is nice and comfy by the time you get in. So, it's not that black and white and EVs are pretty popular all over Scandinavia (Norway especially) and in the arctic circle where they have some pretty extreme temperatures every winter. Teslas are pretty popular there and have been for many years. ICE cars also are affected by cold weather of course. You get range issues; maybe not as extreme as with EVs but 15-20% less efficiency is pretty normal. And they have all sorts of fluids besides fuel (brakes, coolant, oil, etc.) that can become problematic if it gets cold enough. Reliability is a much bigger concern than range with cold temperatures. And ICE cars have a lot more things that can fail when it gets cold.

kccqzy 3y ago

Yup range is reduced for all EVs. And of course range rebounds after the weather warms up; it's not like this temperature is enough to permanently damaging the battery. But on the other hand, heating the cabin is and remains much quicker than ICE engines. If you drive short distances the driver's experience is much better.

jillesvangurp 3y ago

Depends on the model. All EVs are affected to some extent. But some models deal with this better than others. A 30-40% range reduction is reasonable to expect with most cars at very low temperatures. This is not a permanent loss. The other thing that happens is that cold batteries don't charge very well. Many modern EVs have battery management systems that manage the temperature of the battery for this reason. This improves both charging and range. Warming up the car of course costs some energy but it's a reasonable tradeoff. Some cars actually have heat pumps that make warming them up a bit more efficient. And of course a nice feature is that you can use an app to turn on the car so the car is nice and comfy by the time you get in. So, it's not that black and white and EVs are pretty popular all over Scandinavia (Norway especially) and in the arctic circle where they have some pretty extreme temperatures every winter. Teslas are pretty popular there and have been for many years. ICE cars also are affected by cold weather of course. You get range issues; maybe not as extreme as with EVs but 15-20% less efficiency is pretty normal. And they have all sorts of fluids besides fuel (brakes, coolant, oil, etc.) that can become problematic if it gets cold enough. Reliability is a much bigger concern than range with cold temperatures. And ICE cars have a lot more things that can fail when it gets cold.