Electric cars boast excellent efficiency, performance, and versatility, especially when compared to their gas-powered counterparts. But EVs are notorious for losing range in cold weather. Nobody wants to deal with a surprise hit to their range on a holiday road trip—or even your regular everyday errands.
But there are ways to nullify some cold-weather losses and maintain a respectable energy consumption figure. YESSS Electrical compiled a list of the best ways to increase winter range, and we’ve added our own expert takes to help you deal with cold-weather range anxiety.
Without further ado, here are the best ways to improve your EV’s overall usability in the winter.
Charging Tip: Precondition Your EV Battery
Hyundai Ioniq 9 Battery Screen
Photo by: Patrick George
This is a step that gas-car owners don’t really have to deal with, but it will save any EV owner from a lot of cold-weather charging headaches.
In the dead of winter, preconditioning your battery—manually heating it up using the car’s settings—prior to plugging in can mean much faster DC fast charging times. Since Li-ion batteries like to be relatively warm to rapidly charge or discharge, preconditioning the battery pack before charging gets your EV’s battery ready for a speedy charging session.
Battery preconditioning was once only found on some EVs. Today, on newer models, it’s basically a standard feature. Sometimes you can activate it manually, using the settings in your software system. On other cars, preconditioning takes place automatically when you set a DC fast-charging station as a destination in the navigation system.
Either way, it’ll mean that your car can reach its maximum charge rate much faster.
Charging Tip: Park Inside, If Possible
Leaving your EV sitting out in the cold, especially unplugged, must be avoided at all costs if you want to maximize range. Doing this is commonly referred to as “cold-soaking,” and the disadvantages are omnipresent.
Besides taking a considerable efficiency loss when driving, DC charge rates will be reduced, and power could be limited, too. If you can’t park your car inside, try to leave it plugged in so you can at least warm the car with shore power before driving.
Charging Tip: Heat Up The Cabin While You’re Still Plugged In
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Scat Pack Track Package
Photo by: Patrick George
The best way to maximize your charge is to use shore power to heat up your ride directly. Instead of waiting until driving to begin heating the cabin, doing so while charging is the best way to conserve your battery’s energy. The best time to do this is around 15 minutes before you leave. In other words: heat things up while you’re still plugged in.
Some EVs allow you to set scheduled departure times, allowing the car to activate the cabin heater automatically. Plus, once the cabin is sufficiently warmed, you can tick down the fan speed while driving to avoid using excess energy.
Range Tip: Check Your Tires
2024 Kia EV6 Tire Test
Photo by: Patrick George
With electric cars (or really any car, for that matter), keeping your tires within manufacturer specs is ideal for getting the best range. Since electric powertrains are so efficient, unnecessary friction resulting from improperly inflated tires will eat into your car’s range.
Tesla says that a 10-degree F (6-degree C) drop results in a loss of 1 PSI. This means that once the weather gets cold, checking your pressure is vital to maintain the intended specifications.
Range Tip: Drive Smarter
2026 Subaru Solterra
Photo by: Patrick George
In the winter, it’s essential to drive especially nicely to account for range losses. This means that instead of driving at 75 mph on the freeway, it might help to tick down your speed to 70 mph.
Cold weather also might adversely affect your vehicle’s regenerative braking abilities, so anticipating stops is equally important. Overall, if you plan on going on a winter road trip, it’s important to consider ways like these to boost your efficiency.
Range Tip: Heated Seats > Cabin Heater
Whether or not your EV has a heat pump, it’ll still make a difference to utilize the seat heater over the heating system in cold conditions. Especially if you preheat the cabin while charging, running the cabin heater may be unnecessary. In this case, utilizing the seat heater could be a supplemental addition for comfort without the expense of using the entire cabin climate system.
What are your favorite cold-weather driving tips? Drop them in the comments below.
More Cold Weather Tips
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– The InsideEVs team