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Consumer Reports tests show EV range can fall far short of claims due to outside temperature

Over the past year, Consumer Reports (CR) sought to answer the question of the effect of temperature on electric vehicle range by conducting seasonal testing on popular new all-wheel-drive EVs: the Ford Mustang Mach-E extended range, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y Long Range, and Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S. The CR team found temperatures can have impact—but said that Tesla stands out for coming up short of claimed range no matter the weather.

Each car was tested in the exact same manner by the same drivers, driven in a caravan on three different days: a frigid one, a mild one, and a warm one. The team found that cold weather saps about 25% of range when cruising at 70 mph compared with the same conditions in mild weather. In the past, CR testers found that short trips in the cold with frequent stops and the need to reheat the cabin saps 50% of the range.

Unlike a gas car, where the heat is free, coming from the engine, an EV has to produce cabin heat and manage an optimal battery temperature with energy that comes from the battery, in turn reducing range.

CR expected that mild weather in the low 60s would provide the greatest range, but found instead that 80° F temp provided the longest range of the three tested conditions.

This test shows that EV range isn’t an absolute metric. Weather, hills, speed, traffic, cargo, passengers, and climate settings have an impact. That said, this ongoing experiment provides key insights into the role weather plays with range, CR said.

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Preparing for winter EV range test - Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford Mustang Mach-E Clearing off the Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford Mustang Mach-E for testing. Photo: Gabe Shenhar/Consumer Reports


CR said that its test series underscores the importance of taking range claims as general guides and being mindful of the “moving target” nature of EV range. Another difference between ICE cars and EVs is that during constant cruising, an ICE car attains its best fuel economy. An EV, on the other hand, isn’t at its optimal efficiency when cruising on the highway, with limited opportunity to benefit from regenerative braking—energy that’s recouped from braking and coasting that gets directed back into the battery. Because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) range is based on a mix of city and highway driving, the expectation for a test like this is that the vehicles will underperform their rated range at a constant highway speed.

CR found a clear trend among these models showing that under different seasonal temperatures, winter cold results in the shortest range, followed by mild temperatures. It was on a typical summer day of sunny, humid, mid-80-degree weather that CR saw the longest range, despite using air conditioning.

Other findings showed that the Mustang Mach-E stood out for having the most accurate range prediction—the indicated range used vs. the actual miles driven. Its real-world range also came within 1 or 2 miles of the Model Y on every run, even though the Model Y has a higher official EPA range. Note that the Mach-E has the largest battery of the bunch, at 88 kWh of usable capacity.

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The Ioniq 5’s cold-weather range ended up being only 3 miles short of the Model Y’s—but the Ioniq 5 is almost 200 pounds heavier than the Tesla. The Model Y is the lightest vehicle of the quartet, differing by more than 500 pounds from the ID.4, which is the heaviest. Of the mild and warm runs CR did with the Ioniq 5, it came the closest to its EPA rating. The Mach-E and ID.4 exceeded their EPA rating on the warm day.

Testing began in frigid February 2022, repeating the procedure in balmy April and in August heat. Originally, CR tested only the trio from Ford, Tesla, and VW in the winter of 2022. CR since closed the loop and ran the Hyundai Ioniq 5 on a day that was 17° F (-8 Celsius) on the same route under the same conditions. Like the other three EVs, it followed the familiar trend, showing a remarkably similar 25% loss of range compared with the mild weather run.

The EVs were fully charged overnight before each of the runs and were allowed to precondition the cabin to 72° F while still plugged in outdoors. At the same time, CR checked and verified the tire pressure. Heated and cooled seats weren’t used.

On the cold day, the temperature averaged 16° F (-8° C), meaning that considerable energy was needed to keep the cabin comfy and the battery pack in its ideal operating condition. The mild spring day was 65° F (18° C) during most of the drive, and the warm summer day was 85° F (29° C) during the drive. Each test day was clear and sunny.

The cars were taken on the road concurrently and driven on the same 142-mile round-trip route of Connecticut Route 2 and I-91. CR used adaptive cruise control set to 70 mph and the widest gap to prevent any aerodynamic trailing effect or sudden decelerations and accelerations due to surrounding traffic. The regenerative braking mode was set to its lowest setting for each car to level the playing field. CR paused for 10 minutes with the cars off at the midpoint.

Once back at the Auto Test Center, CR engineers didn’t just record the remaining range indicated in the cars. They applied the ratio of miles of range used vs. miles driven throughout the trip to extrapolate what would be the total range for that specific trip. CR also checked that ratio against the miles driven per each percent of state of charge (SOC) as extra validation of the methodology.

Comments

Nirmalkumar

Request that we use kms and degrees celcius as most of the world only uses these measures. Pounds are not known at all as kgs is used.

electric-car-insider.com

OP> Unlike a gas car, where the heat is free…

Not free. The percentage of gasoline an ICE turns into waste heat, part of which is routed to heat the cabin when needed, is definitely not free.

That inefficiency is quite expensive, actually.

Bernard

Did they test any ICE cars at the same time? Living in Canada, it's normal for ICE cars to have 25% worse consumption in the winter. That can bump up to 50% if you mostly do short trips, because you need to warm the engine.
Also, as was noted above, waste heat isn't "free." It comes from fuel that you've paid for. You actually pay for a lot more wasted fuel than that. Only as small percentage is recovered for cabin heating. Most of it is blown out the tailpipe, radiator, or brakes.

mahonj

@bernard, good comment on ICEs. I suppose the difference is that you can refuel an ICE very quickly compared to a BEV.

I'm not sure about waste heat in ICEs. I would suggest it is free because it is always available, without extra cost, whether you want it or not.

Q: do people like HEVs in Canada, like the Prius, and (either way) do they have block heaters like we hear some cars and trucks have.

Bernard

Block heaters are not as common as they used to be in most of Canada. IThey are still used in colder locations, but modern lubricants and electronics have solved cold-starting issues in most cases (down to -40 morning temp, or thereabout). Of course, as I mention, you need to idle the engine for several minutes after starting.

Hybrids are common in Canada. I don't see as many Prius here as in the US, but that's true of the Toyota brand in general. Ford may be the most popular brand for hybrids. The Escape has been one of the most popular new cars for many years.

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