How Tesla power reserve changes at low temperatures
An electric vehicle certainly has many significant advantages compared with traditional transport - using internal combustion engines. However, it is also not without some disadvantages due to the high price and gradual degradation of batteries.
Until recently it was believed that operating an electric vehicle in low temperatures resulted in a significant loss of power reserve of up to 50%. However, consider by a test conducted by Norwegians at the end of 2022, it's not as bad as could be assumed.
How Tesla power reserve changes at low temperatures
An electric vehicle certainly has many significant advantages compared with traditional transport - using internal combustion engines. However, it is also not without some disadvantages due to the high price and gradual degradation of batteries.
Until recently it was believed that operating an electric vehicle in low temperatures resulted in a significant loss of power reserve of up to 50%. However, consider by a test conducted by Norwegians at the end of 2022, it's not as bad as could be assumed.
Tesla is superior to its competitors.
The electric vehicle test conducted in Norway is the best response to the accusations against electric vehicles that their real range will drop dramatically in difficult weather conditions at low temperatures. Research shows that energy loss due to sub-optimal conditions for many cars is not as great as it is often wrongly assumed.
Experts proved that the difference between the declared vehicle manufacturer’s power reserve in optimal weather conditions and frost does not exceed 25%, even for the car that took last place in the test run. It is worth noting that the ambient temperature during the tests ranged from -10 to -15 degrees Celsius.
There was only one winner, and Tesla expects to surpass all competitors. The first two places in the Norwegian test belong to the cars of Ilon Musk. The winner, with the result of 530 km of real mileage in the cold, was Model S (Long Range version).
In second place was the Model X Plaid, with an impressive result of 444 km. Further the places take accordingly:
● BMW i4 eDrive40 (435 km);● NIO ET7 (434 km);● BMW i7 xDrive60 (424 km);● Mercedes EQE 300 (409 km);● Nissan Ariya 2WD (400 km);● Volkswagen ID.5 Pro (378 km).
The loss against the claimed autonomous range for all test participants was not as large as expected.
Conclusion
The difference between the real distances covered in the frost of the manufacturer’s declared possibilities of an electric vehicle for the last place was about 25%. Tesla seriously stands out against the competition, even in this parameter.
Tesla Model S, which took first place in autonomy and power reserve, «lost» about 16%, and Model X Plaid, this rate is at 18% compared to the manufacturer’s declaration.
All vehicles were tested during the same conditions, without activating additional energy receivers. Experts believe that the study perfectly illustrates the dependence of power reserve on low temperatures in modern electric vehicles.
Of course, the lower the temperature, the more it affects the capacity of the batteries. In fact, this effect is not so critical that an electric vehicle loses up to 50% of its power reserve as previously thought.