- A tough test exposes electric vehicles to driving in extremely cold weather
- Kai EV4 performed particularly well across multiple metrics
- Lucid Air Grand Touring traveled the furthest distance
Every year, the Norwegian Automotive Federation (NAF) and Norwegian motor magazine Motor.No carry out one of the most brutal electric vehicle range tests at the Prix Winter Test Drive, which begins in Norway’s capital, Oslo, and then ventures as far north as battery range will allow.
Once the city was behind us, this year’s route included city traffic, mountain roads and highways, and the temperature plummeted as more miles were covered.
This year was reportedly the coldest edition of the El Prix Winter Test Drive so far, with temperatures dropping to –31°C / 23.8°F.
The results showed that longer-range vehicles naturally fared better, with the Lucid Air taking top honors. The car, which boasts a WLTP range of almost 600 miles, managed to cover 323 miles before needing to be recharged.
It should be noted here that the cars with greater range had to deal with the colder conditions, as the further north they traveled, the colder the ambient temperature became.
|
electric vehicle |
Distance traveled (Km) |
WLTP range (Km) |
|
1. Lucid air |
960 |
520 |
|
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA |
709 |
421 |
|
3.Audi A6 |
653 |
402 |
|
4. Kia EV4 |
594 |
390 |
|
5.BMW iX |
641 |
388 |
|
6.Volvo ES90 |
624 |
373 |
|
7. Hyundai Ioniq 9 |
600 |
370 |
|
8. Xpeng X9 |
560 |
361 |
|
9. Tesla Model Y |
600 |
359 |
|
10.MG IM6 |
505 |
352 |
In second place, the recently launched hyper-efficient Mercedes-Benz CLA covered just over 261 miles of its official 440-mile range, while the Audi A6 came in third, covering almost 250 miles of its claimed 406-mile range.
The test was carried out with a single driver and minimal equipment, to keep the weight of the load fair. The cabin was then heated until it reached a comfortable temperature and the speed was maintained within the legal limit on each type of road.
In terms of value proposition, the Kia EV4 performed particularly well in fourth place, as it costs much less than vehicles in the top three positions. It managed to cover just over 242 miles in harsh winter conditions, compared to its WLTP range value of 369 miles.
As a result, it achieved one of the best winter price per kilometer ratings of the group, beaten only by the cut-price Hyundai Inster, which only recorded a -29% change in its WLTP range during testing.
However, due to the limited range of the smaller onboard battery packs (its WLTP range is just 223 miles), the Inster covered fewer miles in total and therefore avoided some of the colder conditions.
Kia is also keen to point out that despite the frigid conditions, the EV4 managed to recharge from 10% to 80% in 33 minutes, just two minutes longer than its official rating.
Which offers the best winter value?
Despite Tesla’s reputation for excellent efficiency, the Model Y barely managed to crack the top 10 in the overall mileage chart. The Premium Long Range model covered 223 miles of its claimed WLTP range of 391 miles.
However, the Norwegian Automotive Federation (NAF) also made calculations to arrive at a winter range purchasing power figure, which takes into account the mileage the electric vehicle can cover in icy conditions relative to its recommended retail price.
The Tesla Model Y came fourth overall in this table, behind the overall winner Hyundai Inster, the Kia EV4 (second place), the Skoda Elroq and the Mazda 6e.
Some of the worst performing models in terms of value per kilometer covered in winter included the notoriously inefficient Volkswagen ID Buzz, the massive Volvo EX90, which dropped out much faster than testers expected, and the BMW iX.
The Lucid Air came in last place, considering the Grand Touring model used during testing costs $110,900 (around £110,000 / AU$170,000).
From all the numbers, facts and figures, the Kia EV4 has consistently performed well, recording a strong winter value ranking, covering some of the highest distances and placing at the bottom of the absolute winter range loss results table.
But according to Norwegian motoring website Motor.No, the most important figure is the deviation from the official WLTP figure. In that sense, the MGS6 prevailed, with a deviation of only -28.87%.
In fact, Chinese brands in general, including Changan, MG, Zeekr and KGM, recorded excellent results in terms of average WLTP deviation during extremely cold weather testing.
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