Hi! I’ve got a 2024 EV6, and it’s my first EV. I’m about to go through my first winter with it and I’m a bit nervous about how the range will hold up. I’ve heard that cold weather can knock off up to 100 miles on a full charge, and that’s what’s worrying me. For those of you who’ve had this car through a winter, what’s the real story? I’d appreciate any advice!
Last winter, with temps around the mid-30’s F, I was getting about 180 miles on an 80% charge. But when temps dropped into the 20’s and lower, my range went down to around 150 miles. Those really cold weeks hit a lot of EVs across the Midwest hard, range-wise. If you can charge at home, that helps a lot since you won’t be stressing as much about the range going down over the winter. Once the weather warms up, the range goes back to normal.
@abidemi
Similar here in NC. I have a Chargepoint L2 charger at home, and last winter I was charging every 2-3 days, compared to every 4-5 days when it’s warmer. I drive about 40 miles daily round trip.
I’d guess around a 30% drop in range, but it depends a lot on how cold it actually gets where you are.
For me, it depends. I usually drive from garage to garage, and I lose about 10% on my range. If you park outside overnight, it’s probably going to be different, though.
Yeah, it really depends on the cold. If it’s left outside overnight below freezing, you can expect about a 30% drop. Also, keep in mind that fast charging gets a lot slower when it’s super cold.
I’m in Houston, and we have pretty mild winters. I haven’t noticed any drop in range the one winter I’ve had the car.
I’m in Chicago, and I saw around a 20% loss in range last winter.
I charge to 100% every day, so keep that in mind. Last winter in NJ, I was getting about 200-215 miles in temps ranging from 10-30°F.
It really depends on which version of the car you have, like whether you have a heat pump, and what the temperatures are where you live. Your driving style also matters a lot. Keeping the cabin warm with less heat and more use of seat and wheel warmers can make a big difference.
Also, watch your tire pressure. Cold weather makes tire pressure drop, which affects efficiency. Don’t wait for a low pressure warning, check them throughout the season.
Use the pre-conditioning feature to warm the car up while it’s plugged in. It’ll warm up a lot faster than any gas car you’ve had, and you don’t have to baby the car with slow acceleration when it’s cold. EVs actually handle cold winters better in many ways!
I only had mine in cold weather for a little bit, right when I bought it in February. I saw a reduction of about 15-25%, depending on how cold it was. The car’s range estimator did a good job of letting me know ahead of time, though, so I could plan my trips.
In the summer, I get about 420km (260 miles), but in the winter, I’m down to around 360-380km (225-236 miles) with winter tires. Winters here are usually around 0°C (32°F), so not too harsh, but I do notice a big difference depending on whether I have the heat on or not.