Sources:
US DOE: Fuel Economy in Cold Weather
Cold weather and winter driving conditions can significantly reduce fuel economy. Fuel economy tests show that, in city driving, a conventional gasoline car's gas mileage is roughly 15% lower at 20°F than it would be at 77°F. It can drop as much as 24% for short (3- to 4-mile) trips.
Cold weather effects can vary by vehicle model. However, expect conventional gasoline vehicles to suffer a 10% to 20% fuel economy loss in city driving and a 15% to 33% loss on short trips.
The effect on hybrids is typically greater – with fuel economy dropping about 30% to 34% under these conditions. For hybrids, fuel economy typically decreases by 20% to 40% in city driving and 25% to 45% on short trips.
Why Do Cars Get Worse Fuel Economy in Cold Weather?
Here’s How Much Range These Popular EVs Lose In The Cold
EVs with a heat pump retain 83% of their real-world range in freezing temperatures on average. EVs without a heat pump lose roughly 25% of their real-world range on average.
Source: mafco
3 Comments
I think the main issue I face as an EV driver is that I need to hunt and find EV chargers, and then I need to spend 20-30 minutes charging at one and PAY the same bloody price as if I was charging at a gas station and taking 5 minutes to refill.
Now add the high cost of insurance, and high difficulty of repair of EVs (as EV repair shops are hard to find and are expensive), high depreciation value, battery degradation….all these add up.
I don’t regret buying an EV but I regret buying it for long drives. I will be looking to get an ICE vehicle asap because EV isn’t really practical for Canadian Winter road trips.
A part of EV range decrease in the cold is because EVs are so efficient to begin with, so there is not much waste heat for the cabin in winter. EVs are close to 90% efficient whereas ICE are more like 30%. ICE engines love the cold so I’m not sure why the drop in ICE gas mileage. Certainly there would be in the snow but that decrease in efficiency is common to all types of cars.
I had a hybrid before switching to EV and it would be running the engine much of the time in the winter just to make heat and keep the engine warm. Hybrids don’t handle the winter well.