Let’s Speak Winter Vary And Efficiency

I am from San Antonio, Texas. I do know a factor or two about sizzling climate. Lengthy stretches of 100-degree temperatures, typically nicely into the autumn, weren’t precisely nice rising up, however they had been enterprise as regular. However life took me to New York Metropolis, after which the Catskill Mountains past it, the place digging my automobile out of a two-foot-high pile of snow turned the brand new enterprise as regular. That is positively not one thing I skilled as a child.

As of late, I am used to the upstate New York winters. The chilly does not actually hassle me anymore. Nevertheless, proudly owning an electrical automobile in certainly one of these winters—it’s -4 levels F (-20 C) round dawn as I write this—is a really new expertise on many ranges. However it’s additionally been a good way to study what my 2024 Kia EV6 can do when the temperatures get extra-low.

As a recap, I leased a dual-motor, EV6 AWD Wind as my private car final summer season; that is my automobile, not a press tester on mortgage from a automobile firm. Up to now, I have been extraordinarily impressed with its fast-charging prowess, vary in additional temperate climate and how nicely it handles a highway journey.

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

My automobile is EPA-estimated to ship 282 miles of vary. In the course of the hotter months of 2024, I used to be frequently seeing 300 to 320 miles of vary at a full cost and as a lot as 4 miles per kWh in general effectivity.

The downsides have been the software program suite, each the infotainment system and the smartphone app, the frustratingly outdated navigation system, and door handles; these solely come out mechanically for those who spring for a GT-Line or GT mannequin. (Fortunately, Kia fastened this on the 2025 replace.) 

2024 Kia EV6 Wind AWD Lengthy-Time period Take a look at Replace: January 2025
Distance pushed: 7,260 miles (11,684 km) 
Common anticipated vary: ~240 miles in winter
Common noticed effectivity: 3.3 miles per kWh (lifetime)
Gasoline saved: 310 gallons

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

General, my spouse and I’ve liked the EV6. We each assume it is the most effective automobile that is ever referred to as our storage residence. It is a very good each day with glorious fashion, efficiency and effectivity. I feel it is nonetheless an underrated gem within the EV world, particularly as its barely extra sensible cousin, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, steals a lot of the limelight. 

However all the pieces’s nice when the climate is nice. How does this EV do when it will get actually chilly out? 

How The Kia EV6 Performs In Winter

And after I say “actually chilly,” I imply it. My nook of the Empire State began getting January- and February-levels of snow round Thanksgiving. Over the previous month, each day excessive temperatures have largely been under 30 levels F (-1 C) and have simply sunk into the single-digits or negatives at evening. 

However the EV6 has dealt with all of it very nicely, for essentially the most half. All the pieces I wrote concerning the Honda Prologue’s efficiency within the snow and on icy roads holds true right here: the EV6’s low heart of gravity and dual-motor AWD, with traction and stability management that may act extra rapidly than any gas-powered automobile, all imply it is remarkably protected and predictable when situations get unhealthy. 

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

I might argue the AWD Prologue Elite was a little bit extra assured in snow than my automobile is; each have all-season tires, however the Prologue’s Bridgestone Alenzas put the traction down higher.

(Usually, I proceed to be largely unimpressed with the EV6’s inventory Kuhmo Crugen tires. Whereas they’re very quiet, I do not assume they do a lot for the automobile’s typically glorious efficiency, dealing with or stability, and I stay up for changing them after I can.) 

General, traction hasn’t been an issue. We have now devoted snow tires on our different automobile, a gas-powered Mazda 3 hatchback, and it in all probability grips higher in unhealthy situations. However the EV6’s inherent strengths—plus the “backup” automobile with precise winter rubber—have not made snow tires a necessity fairly but.

The EV6 additionally has a devoted Snow Mode that different EVs don’t. It is activated by holding down the Drive Mode button on the steering wheel for just a few seconds. This mode retains the entrance motor engaged for fixed AWD and lowers the throttle response for steadier acceleration to keep away from having the wheels slip. It additionally dials down the automobile’s regenerative braking energy; I do not truly like this as I take pleasure in the additional diploma of acceleration management that one-pedal driving offers me, however I am going to assume Kia’s engineers are smarter than I’m.

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

Then there are the opposite benefits that any EV has within the winter. The cabin barely takes any time in any respect to heat up, since doing so is not depending on a gasoline engine. And although the EV6’s smartphone app is not as quick or feature-rich as what Tesla or Rivian presents, however I can nonetheless pre-condition the cabin temperature earlier than I get in—together with whereas the automobile is plugged in, so I am not losing any power. 

Upon getting a automobile that may set the inside local weather out of your cellphone, you will not ever return. 

How The Kia EV6’s Vary Holds Up In Winter

Snow efficiency and luxury are one factor. Vary is one other.

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

As we have coated extensively right here, EVs lose vary in excessive temperatures—warmth is not nice however chilly is particularly unhealthy—due to battery chemistry. Chilly temperatures decelerate the chemical reactions inside a lithium-ion battery, making it tougher for electrons to circulation and ship energy to the motors. Add in the truth that utilizing a cabin heater consumes power too and also you merely will not be capable to drive so far as you’ll in additional average climate. 

Since I typically cost my automobile solely to 80% to protect its battery well being until I do know I’ve an extended journey forward of me, here is some temperature and most vary knowledge I recorded over the previous few months to provide you an instance of what I have been coping with:

These are the vary readings I received when the EV6 was at “full” (that means both 80% or 100%, typically) and sitting in my storage. Clearly, that is fairly a bit off from the 300-320 miles of vary I used to be getting when it was hotter out. 

However as with all issues EVs, there are some caveats.

Many carmakers calculate their estimated ranges in numerous methods. Some will learn the “full” EPA-estimated quantity, or near it, when it is chilly outdoors, whilst they lose extra precise vary as a result of their effectivity drops. The Kia’s projected vary estimates actually are likely to fluctuate with the climate.

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

In different phrases—and maybe to state the plain—some EVs might say you will get 300 miles of vary when it is freezing out, however with their miles-per-kWh effectivity taking successful, they positively will not get an precise 300 miles of vary on the highway. 

My effectivity ranking has actually dropped with the temperatures. I am down from the excessive 3.0 miles to 4.0 miles per kWh vary to 2.2-2.5 miles per kWh—about 30% to 40% within the winter. However math solely will get you up to now. I wished to see what this truly meant for my automobile.

An Precise Winter Vary Take a look at

On Monday, with a piece vacation and temperatures within the space being within the teenagers, I made a decision to place it to the check by going to go to a pal in Warwick, New York, about 65 miles away. Spherical-trip, I might cowl about 130 miles. 

I charged the EV6 to 100%, which gave me an estimated 216 miles of vary. After a fast errand on the town, I hit the freeway with 193 miles and a 91% battery (already not nice, frankly) and headed south to Warwick at a gradual 70 to 75 mph. It was solely 14 levels F (-10 C) out, so the chilly was positively working towards me.

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

Within the automobile’s Regular drive setting, with the heated seats and heated steering wheel on and the cabin set to an agreeable 67 levels F, I received my effectivity common as much as about 2.7 miles per kWh by arrival. At my pal’s home, the EV6 claimed a 69% cost and 150 miles of remaining vary. (By the way in which, turning the cabin heater off provides about 15 to twenty miles of vary to this automobile; it is doable, simply not all the time essentially the most snug factor.)

On the way in which residence, I attempted Eco Mode, which limits using the entrance motor and cuts energy to focus extra on effectivity. I used this to nice impact on my final highway journey, however right here, it wasn’t as useful as I had hoped; I nonetheless ended my journey at 2.7 miles per kWh. I returned residence with a 32% battery cost and 62 miles of vary left. Whereas it wasn’t a strong 70 mph vary check, I would say 70% of that drive was on the freeway at these speeds. 

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

Ultimately, a “beginning” full battery with an estimated 216 miles of vary is a few 25% decline from the automobile’s EPA-rated 282 miles. And I used a complete of 48.65 kWh on the spherical journey, out of my automobile’s 74 kWh usable battery pack when totally charged—about 65% of its whole power. 

So, sure. My expertise is that in this sort of climate, my EV6 loses between 25% and 30% of its whole vary, which roughly tracks with current knowledge from battery well being firm Recurrent. 

The Verdict

Chilly-weather vary losses are among the many most controversial matters we cope with at InsideEVs.

They’re amongst our most-read tales, on the high of the listing of considerations of potential house owners, a frequent punching bag for the anti-EV crowd, and likewise one thing that many pro-EV folks would slightly we simply by no means discuss. On high of that, because the outdated saying goes, your mileage might fluctuate; EV vary losses rely on a ton of things, together with highway situations, driving fashion, climate, power use contained in the automobile, and naturally, the automobile itself.

Our objective at InsideEVs is to report actually, pretty and precisely concerning the power transition. It is to not sugar-coat issues. So that is my sincere and honest evaluation, as correct as I can get it myself: the EV6 does take a wide array hit within the winter. It is positively disappointing, however for the driving I do, surmountable. In case you are searching for an EV, take your personal driving wants and charging entry into consideration. If my driving concerned a variety of common, long-distance journey in very chilly climate, and I had no fast-charging or home-charging choices, I would take into account a hybrid for that job too. However for many of my functions, the EV6’s vary hit is surmountable. 

Is it a good tradeoff for the most effective automobile I’ve ever owned, and one which does a variety of issues in unhealthy climate than an inside combustion car can? Maybe so. I do not just like the EV6 any much less. It is simply the price of doing enterprise—for now, anyway. 

The auto trade has spent greater than 100 years on inside combustion growth; it has barely scratched the floor of what trendy battery tech is able to. Perhaps the reply is solid-state batteries, or perhaps it’s going to be one thing else. However that is an impediment that may, and should, be overcome sometime for wider EV adoption to occur.

Photograph by: Patrick George

2024 Kia EV6 Lengthy-Time period Take a look at January Replace

And sure, I’ll wash it later immediately. Method forward of you on that. 

Contact the writer: [email protected]