CAA EV Test: Cold saps 40% of EV battery life

OVERKILL

OVERKILL

$100 Site Donor 2021
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
61,198
Location
Ontario, Canada
https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/cold-saps-up-to-40-of-ev-battery-life-caa-test-finds/

Cold weather has a negative effect on the battery life and range of electric vehicles (EVs), a recent test has found, but some EVs perform better than others.

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) conducted a real-world test of more than a dozen EVs from Ottawa to Mont Tremblant, Que., many of them the most popular models in Canada, to see how well they handle subzero temperatures.

The CAA test found that vehicles drove between 14 and 39 per cent less than their official ranges.

*snip*

The test featured 14 EVs, which includes seven out of 10 of the top sellers in Canada. Models came from sport, luxury, SUV, sedan and truck categories. Temperatures during the drive varied between -7 C and -15 C. Each vehicle was driven until the battery ran completely out of power to determine range in winter conditions. The results were compared to the estimated driving range published by Natural Resources Canada.


Range results:
  1. Chevrolet Silverado EV: 456 km of 724 range (-14%)
  2. Tesla Model 3: 410 km of 584 km range (-30%)
  3. Polestar 2: 384 km of 444 km range (-14%)
  4. Kia EV9: 349 km of 435 km range (-20%)
  5. Volkswagen ID.4: 338 km of 468 km range (-28%)
  6. Chevrolet Equinox EV: 337 km of 513 km range (-34%)
  7. Ford Mustang Mach-E: 334 km of 483 km range (-31%)
  8. Honda Prologue: 334 km of 439 km range (-24%)
  9. Ford F-150 Lightning: 296 km of 515 km range (-35%)
  10. Kira Niro EV: 285 km of 407 km range (-30%)
  11. Hyundai IONIQ 5: 262 km of 410 km range (-36%)
  12. Toyota bZ4X: 255 km of 406 km range (-37%)
  13. Volvo XC40 Recharge: 248 km of 409 km range (-39%)

Charge speed results (range added over 15 minutes):
  1. Tesla Model 3: 205 displayed km added
  2. Chevrolet Silverado EV: 199 displayed km added
  3. Chevrolet Equinox EV: 131 displayed km added
  4. Polestar 2: 120 displayed km added
  5. Volkswagen ID.4: 112 displayed km added
  6. Ford F-150 Lightning: 109 displayed km added
  7. Kia EV9: 105 displayed km added
  8. Volvo XC40 Recharge: 90 displayed km added
  9. Ford Mustang Mach-E: 71 displayed km added
  10. Hyundai IONIQ 5: 64 displayed km added
  11. Kia EV6: 58 displayed km added
  12. Kia Niro EV: 35 displayed km added
  13. Toyota bZ4X: 19 displayed km added
The Honda Prologue was not included in the charge test as it encountered an error and data was unavailable. All vehicles were charged using 350 kW chargers, while the Tesla was charged at 150 kW due to compatibility requirements with the non-Tesla adapter.



Followed by some tips on conserving battery life and the like.

Found it interesting, the huge range in both estimated range accuracy (cold impact) and the charge speed.
 
So the percentages in brackets, are the additional range loss they experienced, compared to the estimated range loss that natural resources canada provided? They are not the total loss in range as the Silverado lost 37% in that case.

My Focus seems to lose about 15% of its range in -10C or lower, mileage hasn't been good this winter since January with all the cold temps.
 
There's really not enough information here. There are different battery chemistries within the same model, different capcities, different features by model year, etc. For example the Lightning added a heat pump for 2024. The Mach-E, the extended battery is NCM and the standard battery is LFP, and they added a heat pump for MY2025. The Model Y, some years and trims are NCM, some LFP. Some MY assembly plants NCM, others LFP.

Without the background metadata that they left out, it's hard to make heads and tails of this.

I mean this guy seems to be getting along fine with his "-35%" Lightning in the cold of rural Canada:
 
Displayed range is a useless number. They need to drop them to 0% charge for 15 minus then see how far they can drive.
 
And compared to a gasoline powered equivalent, this is how much different?

As a comparison point, my F150 gets just under 10% worse gas mileage in January than it does on average over the year. That's over 130,000 miles in a lot of Minnesota's climate... Nearly all of my gas powered vehicles follow a similar pattern, to differing degrees.
 
Patman said:
I’m curious if EVs that are parked in a warm garage overnight will suffer from the same loss of range in the winter months?
Click to expand...

Not exactly the same, but my plug in hybrid Ford Fusion goes significantly less distance on electricity in the dead of winter despite being parked in a garage at home. The resistance heating is a big culprit here...
 
MNgopher said:
Not exactly the same, but my plug in hybrid Ford Fusion goes significantly less distance on electricity in the dead of winter despite being parked in a garage at home. The resistance heating is a big culprit here...
Click to expand...
Yep. My buddy with a Lexus hybrid experiences the same thing in Calgary in freezing conditions. No biggy, he just adapts.
 
Last edited:
Vercingetorix said:
Displayed range is a useless number. They need to drop them to 0% charge for 15 minus then see how far they can drive.
Click to expand...
The drove them all from full to 0%, that's where their actual # (vs the estimated number) came from.

The charging to me is the more interesting part, as the Toyota was absolutely horrific, while the Model 3 and Silverado did incredibly well.
 
MNgopher said:
And compared to a gasoline powered equivalent, this is how much different?

As a comparison point, my F150 gets just under 10% worse gas mileage in January than it does on average over the year. That's over 130,000 miles in a lot of Minnesota's climate... Nearly all of my gas powered vehicles follow a similar pattern, to differing degrees.
Click to expand...
I think on the biggest losers, it's significant compared to a gasser, but not so much on the high end. The charging is more the shocker, I can't imaging waiting 15 minutes to get what amounts to 1/20th of a tank (the Toyota) when I can fill my gasser in like 2 minutes.
 
OVERKILL said:
The drove them all from full to 0%, that's where their actual # (vs the estimated number) came from.

The charging to me is the more interesting part, as the Toyota was absolutely horrific, while the Model 3 and Silverado did incredibly well.
Click to expand...
Then what is this displayed km added, I don’t see where they run them back to 0 after 15 minutes of charging to determine displayed vs actual.
 
Vercingetorix said:
Then what is this displayed km added, I don’t see where they run them back to 0 after 15 minutes of charging to determine displayed vs actual.
Click to expand...
That's a good question (and may be a good suggestion for them in a future test), you'd like to validate whether the "19km" on the Toyota for example, actually translates to 19km or if that's an over-estimate (or under-estimate).
 
Patman said:
I’m curious if EVs that are parked in a warm garage overnight will suffer from the same loss of range in the winter months?
Click to expand...
No, the biggest fight is getting the battery to temperature so that should be a big leg up. I think that's why I haven't seen too much of a hit. I start my car warming 10 minutes before I leave for work with it still plugged in so it's using my home power to warm the car and battery before leaving. I don't have an insulated garage, but I think it would be fair to assume I'm offsetting it a bit in the morning. The vehicle is cold when leaving from work though.

For example I used 55% of the battery to go 130 miles today which if the rated range is accurate is a loss of 15% and I drove in a range of 10F-15F degrees today. Half of that is at 75mph and the other half is mostly 60mph with a bit of stop and go. I saw a lot bigger loss on my business trip in St Paul but I was short tripping the car a lot when I got there so it would take a big hit warming up driving back and forth about 10 miles each way. I'd say my losses at -20F were in the 40% range at the time.
 
MNgopher said:
I agree on the biggest losers that it is certainly more of an issue.

The charging rate is a big thing - the ones who figure this out will certainly be better off...
Click to expand...
To be honest I'm a bit surprised by the Model 3's added range, but I don't think that's from charging efficiency, the car itself is just that efficient driving compared to some of the portly weighted vehicles on this list. Teslas haven't been setting records for charging numbers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Cujet
  • Locked
The EV battery discussion thread (bogus breakthroughs)
12 13 14
Replies
273
Views
17K
M56959
R
  • Locked
Test driving PHEV w no battery charge
2
Replies
32
Views
3K
nikorasu
CarbonSteel
  • Locked
2018 Mercedes GLC43 AMG Coupe - 1st 5,000 Miles
2
Replies
23
Views
7K
silverrat
H
  • Locked
Christian von Koenigsegg's opinion about Tesla
Replies
8
Views
5K
Shannow
A
  • Locked
Here's the specs on the Bolt.
Replies
16
Views
5K
Jetronic
Back
Top Bottom