Tesla Model 3 SUB-ZERO Range Test: We All Know That EV Range Is Bad In The Cold...But THIS Bad!

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[nukedogger]

Being a Minnesotan my entire life, this resonates. A 300 mile range EV = 150 half the year. I can still easily get 300 miles out of my gas car in the dead of winter, and it only takes five minutes to fill vs however long at a charger, if it even works.

[jkholley]

Its refreshing to finally starting to see honest reviews of EVs out in the wild.

[rexseven]

Xmas day last year, I flew into Minneapolis after a week in Costa Rica. It was 9pm, 0⁰ and had been cold and snowing all week. I rode the shuttle to the park and stay hotel that my car was parked at. It was a 2010 VW CC with 275, 000 miles and it had the full tank of gas I left it with. I swept off some snow and started it right up. I drove it to the lobby and loaded all my stuff while it warmed a bit. I then drove 300 miles home, no stops, and arrived with about 200 miles "range" left. You can't spend enough money to buy an EV that can do that.

[coyoteb]

The range anxiety in the cold like that would be terrible. Can't imagine running out of change in -2 degrees.

[bettymaverick]

Hertz is selling 20, 000 Model 3's for about $26, 000. You will have some competition. I am sure your 3 is in much better shape.

[fink]

150 miles ain’t all that bad. These tests are nice, I love them. They’re actually telling me that I’m my normal day life of getting to work and back I will be fine in even the worst conditions. Let’s face it, ALOT of us go to work and back all week and it’s usually under 20 miles per day. These tests of emptying the battery road tripping are just that… Road trip situations. You’d stop to eat after 150 miles!

[tokencivilian]

Great vid. This just reinforces why I prefer my traditional hybrid vs an EV. I don't have to use 5% of my fuel to get the thing ready to refuel (preconditioning). I don't lose 3% of my fuel being parked overnight in cold weather (was that the battery warmers keeping them from freezing?). It also takes well under 5 minutes to load 12 gallons get approximately 450 to 500 miles of range. Let's miles / (5 min / 60 min per hr) = 6000 miles / hour minimum 'recharge' rate. In extreme driving conditions like you had for this test, I can also have a 'range extender' aka gas can to eliminate any range anxiety. EV's are, IMO, fine as a 2nd car "around town", but for a person who can only afford 1 vehicle, they just aren't up to snuff yet.

[franknew]

This is another reason to keep driving my reliable 2002 Lincoln Town Car that has been my daily driver since 2007. It is 22 years old with 124k miles on it, and it hasn't lost any "range." When it was new it had a rating of 23 mpg on the highway. In December, I drove it 815 miles from Maryland to Florida, and got 23.7 mpg.

When I left Maryland, it was 22 degrees F, and I had to let the car warm up for about five minutes as the windows were covered in ice and frost. When I got back into the car to leave, it was so warm inside the car that I immediately took off my hat and heavy coat. Granted, it wasn't as nearly as cold in Maryland as it was in Denver, but I noticed that after driving more than two hours in the Tesla, Tommy never took off his hat or coat. It must have still been chilly inside that car. My car doesn't lose any "range" when I turn the heat on.

[silent]

It never ceases to amaze me how so many people can like a sub-par anything and will try to convince others how great it is when it is obvious it's not. Reminds me of something else that came along about 3.5 years ago.

[inkwellunderground]

Well, I was born in the 80s so we all learned this when we would get our favorite remote control cars on Christmas and then try to go outside and play with them in the snow for all of seven minutes

[ShadowzKiller]

I live in Finland. We recently had a nice cold week of -30C or -22F everyday. My car is parked outside all day. Still get 600km+ out of my diesel car at a full tank in a blizzard while using studded tires, which have more drag than all season tires. Some cars like mine have a separate engine heater (Webasto) which helps to keep the battery from dying and it uses the diesel as fuel. Diesel is king in the cold north.

[stevemiro]

I have been driving an ev for 4 years. I live at 7200 feet in the mountains in northern Utah. It seems like I loose 40-50% of my range in the winter. Maybe on a good day I can only have a 30% reduction. Great test :)

[MrMalchore]

I live in Minnesota and wondered about winter driving conditions, so I for one GREATLY appreciate this kind of real-world information.

[JaimeBrandonM]

I drove from Dallas TX to Lubbock TX while the weather was 10 Degrees Fahrenheit. The range was TERRIBLE, I almost got stranded in the middle of rural Texas and when I made it to the supercharger there were THREE teslas getting towed to the supercharger because their range estimates weren't even close to actual. As for me the car estimated I'd make it to my destination with 30% battery(Model Y LR), I got there with 2 miles left....

[extramile]

Excellent post. Potential consumers need this type of info if they live in cold climate states. Well-done.

[garyalleccia]

Seems like an awful lot of hassle just to love an EV.
I'll hang on to my gas powered Tahoe. Best of luck with range anxiety.

[mnolanco]

I live near you guys and had two Polestar2 demo’s and would never get the range. Had the stock tires and did a trip to DIA which was 40 miles each way at 10 degrees and used 160 miles of range. I preconditioned the battery before that drive. Unfortunately the Polestar would never take more than 50KWh charge at the EV America chargers when they worked at the Walmart on 66 in Longmont so charging times were long. Car was good in the snow as it was AWD and heavy due to the battery. Anytime I would take the Polestar on the highway at 75-80MPH the range would drop dramatically no matter the temperatures. Good test you guys did here!

[tomhiggins]

Since I live in the Chicago suburbs in an apartment without on-site charging and we are a 1 car household, a Tesla is of no use to me. Your video proves that to me. Thanks!

[diymadness]

I performed the same test in NYC with the recent deep freeze in a BRAND NEW Model X (300miles). Same climate settings @70F but also Preconditioned INTERIOR temps. From 100% to 8% and got a whopping 138 Miles. Most snow accumulation was rated at 1 inches.

[OldCanadianguy]

I’m sure the purveyors of these monstrosities fully tested and KNEW of every one of these shortcomings yet proceeded to push them on the marketplace.