Electric cars in cold weather: how much range do EVs lose in winter?

Winter testing reveals gap of up to 80 miles between official range and real-world performance

Some electric cars lose almost a third of their official range in cold temperatures, a new study has found.

The investigation found that some of the UK’s newest and best-selling EVs fell between 30 and 80 miles short of their claimed maximums when driven in winter, leaving drivers facing a huge disparity in performance.

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The worst performing model was the recently launched GMW Ora Funky Cat, which fell 32.8% short of its official range, achieving just 130 miles compared with its WLTP figure of 193 miles. It was closely followed by the Renault Megane E-Tech Equilibre, which returned 187 miles against a claimed maximum of 275 - a 32.1% shortfall.

The car which came closest to achieving its official range was the Nissan Ariya. It managed 269 miles compared with its claimed 322 miles - a 16% shortfall. Just behind it the Tesla Model Y Long Range fell 17.8% short of its official figures - achieving 272 miles instead of 331.

The figures were revealed by consumer title What Car? ,which tested 12 popular EVs from brands including Tesla, BMW, Jaguar and Volkswagen to see how cold weather affected their performance. While the official WLTP testing is carried out at 23 degrees, the What Car? Test ran the cars in the depths of winter, leaving them outside in temperatures of 0-2 degrees before beginning the test, to better reflect the experience of UK drivers.

“More and more people own or are considering electric cars, and it’s important that they understand the pros and cons of this technology, especially in terms of how far they are likely to go between charges” explained Will Nightingale, who heads What Car?’s test team.

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“While it’s common knowledge that cold weather negatively affects battery performance and efficiency, especially if the car’s heating system is in use, What Car?’s Real Range testing is designed to give car buyers the clearest possible understanding of how many miles they will typically be able to cover in wintery British conditions.”

How did the test work?

To get their results, the testing team drove all 12 cars in convoy at a test venue until they ran out of charge. The 15-mile route simulated real-world driving conditions, taking in 2.6 miles of stop-start urban driving, four miles at a steady 50mph and eight miles at a constant 70mph.

Before the test started, the cars were fully charged and left outside overnight for 14 hours in temperatures that ranged from 0 to 2 degrees centigrade. The cars were then plugged in again to ensure the batteries were full before being driven in “eco” (or equivalent) mode with the heating set to 19.5 degrees.

As well as comparing the cold weather performance with official range estimates, the study compared the results with identical tests carried out on three of the vehicles at the height of summer. It found that compared with their real-world performance in July, the three cars lost an average of 18% range. The Tesla Model Y performed best, losing 11.4% (32 miles), ahead of the Cupra Born, which lost 20.6% (37 miles) and the BMW i4, which lost 21.6% (56 miles).

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“The car makers are obliged to quote the official range figures, because they are set to a criteria laid out by European legislators,” said Nightingale. “However, we believe that our testing is far more indicative of what a typical British driver is likely to achieve, and therefore gives car buyers a better understanding before they make the switch to electric.

“Despite falling short of their official figures, it’s still clear that many of these electric cars have the advantage of being cheaper to run than petrol or diesel equivalents assuming you can charge at home – even with the price of electricity so high at the moment. The most efficient, the Mini Electric, cost just 8.7p per mile to fuel. The most efficient petrol car we’ve ever tested, a Toyota Yaris, costs 11.2p a mile at today’s prices.”

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