These cars go longer in the cold

Anyone who has been driving an electric car for a few years has become accustomed to the fact that the range is significantly reduced in winter. For many who have never experienced a cold snap in an electric car, the shortened range comes as a shock. They are not prepared for how challenging a Norwegian winter with snow, ice and cold is for electric cars.

In the big winter car tests that Dagbladet participates in every winter together with our Finnish colleague Tekniikan Mailmaa, testing the range is a central part. Over the past five years, we’ve tested 30 of the most popular electric cars on the market and what they’re good for in winter. It’s useful knowledge for anyone planning to buy a new or used electric car.

These have gone the longest

In this case, we look at the consumption of the 18 electric cars we’ve tested since 2020 and how far they go in the cold. The difference between the cars is big.

Of the 18 cars, it’s the Tesla Model Y, with 342 kilometers, the Kia EV6 with 326 kilometers, and the Ford Mustang Mach-E with 321 kilometers driving distance. The cars were tested on the road from Rovaniemi to Ivalo in Finland. The temperature when we set off was minus 4 degrees and dropped to minus 17 as we approached Ivalo.

Big differences in consumption

But even if these are the cars that have gone the longest, maybe there’s not much to brag about? The Ford Mustang has the largest battery and is said to have a good 550 kilometers from the factory and is therefore one of the cars that has lost the most range. It also had the highest consumption of all 18 cars we tested here, at 30 kWt per 100 kilometres.

For comparison, we noted an energy consumption of just 17 kWh per 100 kilometers for the Hyundai Ioniq we tested in 2020.

When the electric car won’t start

The most effective

The Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6 have 80 and 77 kWt batteries respectively and are therefore more efficient in the cold, although here too the loss of range is large.

Since the cars were tested in different years, the temperature during the tests is also slightly different. It is therefore not possible to make a direct comparison, except between the six cars tested in the same year. During the test the cars are driven in a column with driver changes along the way.

Ståle Frydenlund is a long-time electric car enthusiast and now a senior communications consultant at the Norwegian Electric Car Association. He explains why the range is significantly reduced in the winter:

Therefore, the range increases

– The electric car battery works best at a temperature of around 30 degrees. The most important reason for the shorter range is that the internal resistance of the battery increases as it gets colder and it becomes more difficult to get the current out. In addition, snow and mud increase the rolling resistance of the wheels. The heater and heating cables also consume electricity, says Frydenlund.

This way you get a better range

He says it can take up to half an hour of driving to get a good battery operating temperature and therefore a good flow of energy. To achieve the greatest possible range in the cold, it is therefore advisable to start driving with a warm battery. You can do this, among other things, by finishing the charge just before starting the journey.