Then what?

ronharmless wrote:
“Especially in winter. When it gets down around minus 25 which is common for us here. We just came thru another minus 27 cold snap.”

So how does -27 degrees (-17 degrees F) effect that Tesla? Driving distance/range? Charging time to 100%? Power?

Range at that temp is probably 30 percent down from normal. Day to day it makes no difference as we charge every night at home in the driveway or garage. On a road trip it does. Our most common road trip is to Vancouver which is 474 kilometers. On that trip we end up stopping in Merritt (halfway) for an extra 15 minute charge stop. As long as you navigate to the supercharger the car knows to pre-condition the battery (warm) and charging speed doesn’t change much. The last time we did it it was minus 15 celcius and the supercharger pinned at 250 kw. Heads up. This pre-conditions feature is unique to teslas and very recent Hyundais. Rivian is also introducing it. If you are thinking of sn EV and live in the north don’t even think about buying an EV without this feature. There is a reason that Teslas are the number one sold vehicle in some Nordic countries like Norway. Not number one electric vehicle, but number one vehicle.

If the battery is cold (parked over night or whatever) charging starts out VERY SLOW. We have never been in that situation but have seen some test videos on it. It can double or triple charge time. Generally at the end of the travel day we charge before parking so we don’t have to charge first thing on a cold morning at a supercharger . By the time we have to charge the car and the battery is always warm so charging is normal. Its one of those read the manual and best practices things.

Our grand Cherokee didn’t lose as much range in the winter (although it easily lost 10 percent) but it was definitely not near as capable of a winter vehicle either. Especially winter starting. We have a ton of EV’s in our area (highest adaption rate in North America). The first real cold snap sees a lot of EV’s jumping gassers, getting people to work or appointments etc. There is actually a place on Facebook where people can ask for boosts or emergency rides etc. The EVers are always happy to pitch in.

I don’t think EV’s are the right winter vehicle for everyone. In our situation they are superior. But we live in a province with some of the best charging infrastructure on the continent, and it’s getting better literally every day. For provinces with poor infrastructure or for those that live in isolated places a gas or diesel vehicle would be a better choice. Before buying an EV assess where you are, where you travel to and your lifestyle and make informed decisions accordingly.

Jmho.