As many are well aware by now, all-electric vehicle range fluctuates for a number of reasons – including speed, grade, wind, and temperature. However, cold temperatures have a bigger impact on range than most other factors, as many have found out this winter, which is precisely why Ford recently released a guide on how to maximize efficiency when temperatures plunge. That also applies to the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which lost anywhere between 25-50 percent of its range in recent testing by Consumer Reports, depending on temperature. Now, a company called Recurrent has performed its own cold weather testing on variety of new EVs, giving us more insight into this phenomenon.
Every EV the company tested suffered some sort of decline in range during cold weather testing, but those losses also varied considerably. As for the Ford Mustang Mach-E, it lost around 30 percent of its range when driving in freezing temps between 20-30 degrees when compared to a 70-degree day – a number that Recurrent verified itself by using onboard devices and real-time usage data across tens of thousands of data points. In freezing temps, the Mach-E Premium AWD model tested returned 65 percent of its rated range, and 95 percent in warmer temps.
This tied the Mach-E with the Volkswagen ID.4 among mainstream EVs that suffered the largest range loss in freezing temperatures – a title that the Chevy Bolt claimed with a 32 percent drop – but it is worth noting that many of the other models tested here weren’t verified by the company itself – rather, these range loss figures were calculated using onboard telematics for more than 7,000 connected vehicles.
As Recurrent points out, one of the main driving factors behind this loss can be attributed to the fact that the Mach-E doesn’t come equipped with a heat pump like many other EVs, and instead relies on resistance heating, which is known to have a big impact on winter range as energy must be drawn from the high voltage battery to generate heat inside the cabin.
We’ll have more on the Mach-E soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Mustang Mach-E news and non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
All these auto makers knew this before they rolled out their products to the public. When the Lightning got rolled out and there was a conspicuous absence of cold weather towing capacity, that was a clear indication that the numbers were bad. Across the board, auto manufacturers have been obfuscating the limitations of EVs, especially in cold weather, so they could book a ton of orders before the shocking truth came out. Not only is this disingenuous, but it is also a safety hazard. God forbid new EV owners who were unaware of their cold weather limitations have a “Buffalo” moment. Actually, it doesn’t need to be nearly as extreme of an event. These numbers are for loss down to 20 degrees. It gets colder than that. A beach loving Californian who takes the EV to the Sierra Nevada’s for a ski weekend can be in for a rude surprise.
I drive a Tesla Model Y and there are no restrictions for winter travel. It is easy to plan ahead to account for colder weather. I can charge the car in the garage and never visit a gas station. There are Tesla superchargers everywhere, and there are few restrictions when it comes on traveling. The Mach-E is known to lose a lot of range during cold weather, and it is a less attractive option if you live in a colder climate.
According to a poster further down the only Tesla that outshines Mach E in this aspect is the Y ER AWD.
Ford should have went with a heat pump. Not a surprise that the resistance heater is extremely inefficient. Way to go ford😕
Did anyone else notice that the Mach-E’s “Verified winter range” is still greater than the same *Verified winter range” of all the Tesla’s tested with the exception of the Model Y LR AWD? The Mach-E’s texting in range is still less of a reduction from EPA range than on Teslas…
I read the first line and you will find it in every article about EVs but if you think about it the four things listed (speed, grade, wind, and temperature) affect ICE cars as well. It’s not new that ICE cars in the summer have better gas mileage than in the winter. Going uphill, going head first in the wind, and speeding all give you lower gas mileage. It’s expected for both EVs and ICE cars.