“I drive an EV every day, and my winter is almost as harsh as yours [in Minnesota],” he said. “The anxiety around winter and reduced range, while it’s not inaccurate, is just a bit overhyped.”
EVs aren’t the only cars to suffer performance issues under frigid conditions. Conventional gasoline cars lose between 10 percent and 20 percent of their driving range when the temperature drops from 77 degrees Fahrenheit to 20 degrees, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
If drivers are properly prepared, most EVs should hold up fine in cold situations, Garberson said. Drivers can take certain steps to ensure their commute goes as smoothly as possible, he added, such as preconditioning their batteries before charging them—a setting on most modern EV models that warms the battery to an optimal temperature, allowing for faster charging.
Recurrent also reviews EV models every year to see how much cold weather impacts their range, which could help shoppers choose which model would work best for their needs, Garberson said. This year, the organization looked at 13 popular models, analyzing real-world driving data from over 10,000 vehicles. It found that those models lost 21 percent of their range on average when temperatures drop to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But the loss varied drastically by model and year.
The Tesla Model X had the smallest range loss, with an 11 percent decrease, while the Volkswagen ID.4 had the largest at 37 percent. The biggest factor, Garberson said, was whether the vehicle had a heat pump, which is more efficient than conventional heating systems and therefore reduces overall power use. Studies show that the power needed to heat the car’s cabin is a big reason for range loss.