Tesla cars fare well in new EV cold weather range drop test that highlights heat pumps

Armed with more electric vehicle data, a new cold weather battery range drop test by Recurrent has both confirmed the results of a previous study, and yielded some interesting new winners. First off, Tesla vehicles again fare well in the golden 24%-28% middle when it comes to range drop in freezing temperatures, or what Recurrent calls Verified Winter Range.

The metric combines dashboard readings and real-time usage data from more than 10,000 participants with electric vehicles as varied as the lowly Chevy Bolt and the expensive Audi e-tron. The EVs that were tested span the gamut of EV battery range drop results in cold weather, from the whopping 46% for the VW ID.4 and 42% for the cheapo Chevy Bolt, to the Audi e-tron crown jewel that loses just 16% of range compared to  the ideal climate conditions for the battery.

The Audi was one of the first EVs built with a heat pump thermal management in mind and, overall, electric cars with those fared very well as they help offset the biggest winter weather battery consumer of cabin and seat heating.

Model Y vs Model 3 vs Model S cold weather range drop

Tesla's bestselling Model Y and Model 3 notched a very decent 24% range drop when driving in freezing temperatures, followed by the Model S with 28%.

Thankfully, the real-world EV cold weather range test showed that the cheaper LFP batteries of the type Tesla installs in the Model Y and Model 3 don't lose more capacity than the nickel ones in performance cars like the Model S. They do need to spend some longer time on the charger, but CATL's new LFP battery chemistry remedies even that disadvantage.

Another interesting finding in this new EV cold weather range test edition, besides the importance of heat pumps for road trips at or below 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius), is that Hyundai again managed to beat its EPA range estimates with the Kona, even in freezing weather.

Kia and Hyundai do install state-of-the-art heat pump systems in their EVs that Kia says "allow the EV6 to retain 80% of its optimal range, even down to -7 degrees Celsius," while it also "works with the fast-charging system to reduce the harmful impact of that on the battery's lifespan."

When those fast charging advantages are added to the Audi's stellar performance, it becomes clear that Tesla is not the only game in town when it comes to EV efficiency and thermal management.

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