14 Family EVs Faced This Freezing Highway Simulation. One Was A Clear Winner

• Germany’s ADAC simulated a 361-mile winter highway run at ~0 °C with identical conditions to evaluate real-world range and charging needs, showing all EVs fell short of their WLTP figures.
• The Audi A6 Avant E-tron Performance topped the group with strong efficiency and charging, regaining ~186 miles of range in a 20-minute fast charge.
• The Tesla Model Y showed the best consumption, but slower charging limited gains; other models varied widely in range and charging capability under winter stress.

More than a dozen new electric cars were recently put to the test in Germany to see how they handle long journeys at constant highway speeds and freezing temperatures. ADAC, the country’s largest car club, gathered 14 family-oriented electric cars, all of which have an advertised WLTP range of at least 310 miles (500 kilometers), and ran them through a pre-recorded 361-mile (582 km) course on a test bench.

It’s appropriately called the Winter Stress Test. But as EV veterans know too well, the quoted range figure can’t be taken at face value, especially when we’re talking about winter conditions and Europe’s WLTP testing procedure. That test is known for its rather optimistic outcomes, compared to the United States’ EPA range testing procedure.

At any rate, the German test’s goal was to reveal how many 20-minute charging stops would be needed to complete the trip, how efficient the cars would be, and whether or not it makes sense to get an EV as a family car.

The Kia EV6 was among the cars in the test. It finished in the middle of the pack.

Photo by: Patrick George

Before people start turning into keyboard warriors, it’s worth noting that the ADAC chose to use a laboratory so that all the cars faced identical conditions. The route was recorded in the real world, from the central train station in Munich to Berlin Central Station, and then loaded into the lab dynamometer.

There are no speed limits on the highway parts of the route, so the driver set the cruise control to 81 miles per hour (130 kph), ending the trip with an average speed of 69 mph (111 kph) and a total time of 5 hours and 15 minutes.

If you don’t mind the German, here’s a video of last year’s test:

Everything from the speed to the altitude profile was fed into the test bench, and the ambient temperature in the test chamber was set to a chilly 32°F (0°C). The cars’ heating systems were set to automatic, with engineers measuring the temperature around the front passenger’s head, where it had to be between 68°F and 73°F (20-23°C). Sandbags were also placed on the passenger seat to make sure that the car would not deactivate part of its heating system to preserve energy.

A 300-kilowatt Alpitronic DC fast charger was available on site for the charging stops, and all the cars were fully charged before going onto the dynamometer–but their cabins were not preconditioned. Then, they were driven until they could no longer sustain the set speed and charged for 20 minutes.

So, how did the cars perform? As always, some did better than others, but it’s important to note that none of the tested EVs got even close to their advertised WLTP range rating. That said, there was one clear winner, thanks to its impressive range, energy efficiency and–most of all–charging speed.

The Audi A6 Avant E-Tron Performance, an 800-volt-based family wagon, took home the trophy with an average energy efficiency of 2.66 miles/kilowatt-hour (23.2 kWh/100 km) and a real-world range of 274 miles (441 km) with a full charge.

Despite it not having the lowest energy consumption of the group—more on that in a second—it blew the competition out of the water with its charging capabilities. After a 20-minute top-up at the 300 kW DC fast charger, the A6 Avant E-Tron regained 186.1 miles (299.5 km) of range without preconditioning the battery.

Photo by: Audi

Just one other EV managed to finish the route with a single charge along the way, and that’s the Smart #5 crossover. Thanks to its 400 kW charging capability, the Chinese-made EV regained 164.2 miles (264.3 km) of range during its 20-minute charging stop. Before stopping for a top-up, the Smart #5 traveled 224 miles with a full battery, which is far from impressive, despite its big battery. Due to its boxy shape and weight, the Smart #5 averaged 2.15 mi/kWh (28.9 kWh/100 km).

That being said, the Smart #5 was not the second-best car in the efficiency test. That title went to the ubiquitous Tesla Model Y Premium AWD, which had the lowest energy consumption of all the cars, averaging 2.79 mi/kWh (22.2 kWh/100 km). It went 252 miles with a full battery.

The refreshed Tesla Model Y crossover was the most energy-efficient EV in the test, despite it having a dual-motor setup.

Photo by: Tesla

The third-best EV in the test was the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer, another electric wagon from the Volkswagen Group, only this time one that’s based on the older MEB platform rated at 400V. Because of this, the people’s electric wagon can’t charge as fast as the Audi A6, but it’s still very efficient for its size. The ADAC went 223 miles on a full charge, averaging 2.66 mi/kWh (23.3 kWh/100 km). A 20-minute pitstop was enough to go another 126.2 miles (203.2 km).

Among the EVs that finished the test with similar energy consumption figures were the BMW i5 Touring, Skoda Elroq, Polestar 4, Opel Grandland Electric, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. At the same time, however, there are a couple of outliers that returned very poor energy efficiency figures, due to their weight, size or simply because they were not built with efficiency in mind.

The worst of the bunch was the Chinese-made BYD Sealion 7, which managed just 1.76 mi/kWh (35.3 kWh/100 km), followed by the Volvo EX90 with 1.96 mi/kWh (31.6 kWh/100 km) and the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV with 2.07 mi/kWh (30 kWh/100 km).

Obviously, price is also a big part of the equation, but it’s worth knowing that you don’t have to spend big to get a long-distance cruiser. The Tesla Model Y offers the best bang for the buck, closely followed by the Volkswagen ID.7, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Skoda Elroq. 

The best and worst family-friendly EVs for winter road trips, according to Germany’s ADAC

Rank	Model	Real-world energy efficiency – mi/kwh (kWh/100 km)	Real-world range – miles (km)	Range added after a 20-minute charge – miles (km)
1	Audi A6 E-Tron Performance	2.67 (23.2)	274 (441)	186.1 (299.5)
2	Tesla Model Y AWD	2.79 (22.2)	252 (406)	120.6 (194.2)
3	Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer Pro	2.66 (23.3)	223 (360)	126.2 (203.2)
4	Smart #5	2.15 (28.9)	224 (361)	164.2 (264.3)
5	Polestar 4 Long Range	2.28 (27.2)	229 (369)	123.9 (199.4)
6	Hyundai Ioniq 5 84 kWh RWD	2.29 (27.1)	202 (325)	143.4 (230.8)
7	BMW i5 Touring eDrive40	2.42 (25.6)	218 (351)	114.3 (184)
8	Kia EV6 84 kWh RWD	2.20 (28.2)	193 (311)	137.9 (222)
9	Porsche Macan	2.15 (28.9)	206 (332)	133 (214.1)
10	Skoda Elroq 85	2.43 (25.5)	195 (315)	103.8 (167.2)
11	Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 350+	2.07 (30.0)	205 (331)	114.7 (184.7)
12	Opel Grandland Electric 97 kWh	2.25 (27.5)	206 (332)	95.2 (153.3)
13	Volvo EX90 Twin Motor	1.96 (31.6)	223 (360)	108.9 (175.3)
14	BYD Sealion 7 AWD	1.76 (35.3)	182 (293)	99.7 (160.6)