24 EVs Were Driven In Freezing Weather Until They Died. One Car Stood Out

The winner was quite the surprise–no, it wasn’t the refreshed Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive Long Range, despite it having the longest claimed range. In fact, journalists described the American EV as a disappointment, finishing near the bottom of the list, with a huge discrepancy between the WLTP figure and the real-world result. (Europe uses the WLTP testing procedure, while the United States has the EPA procedure.)

The winner, in terms of how little range it lost compared to the official figure, was the Polestar 3. The car in question had a WLTP range of 348 miles and it managed to cover an impressive 330 miles until it could no longer move under its own power. That’s a reduction of just 5% from the spec sheet, and the second-best ever recorded in Motor’s winter range test. (The best result was achieved by the BMW iX3 in 2021, with a 4% negative deviation.)

Photo by: InsideEVs

The Polestar 3 had the second-best result of all the El Prix winter editions, with a real-world range reduction of just 5%.

Photo by: Tesla

Meanwhile, the facelifted Tesla Model 3 finished near the bottom of the list, with a 24% range loss from the WLTP figure. It also displayed a longer trip distance, which could have skewed the results.

Next was the BYD Tang, a Chinese-made seven-seater SUV that has a claimed WLTP range of 329 miles. It drove nearly 300 miles before dying–a 9% difference. The all-new Mini Countryman EV finished in third place, with a real-world range loss of 11%.

Tesla had a single entry, the facelifted Model 3. It finished in 21st place out of 24 cars with a 24% difference between the WLTP range rating and the real-world mileage. The only cars that were worse were the Peugeot E-5008, the Voyah Dream and the Peugeot E-3008.

Besides the disappointing result in the range test, the Tesla Model 3 had quite an unusual issue–its onboard trip meter was way off and essentially lied about the distance covered. Motor.no noted that the Tesla Model 3 and the Polestar 3 conked out roughly at the same time, with just 800 feet or so between them. As a reminder, all cars started from the same spot.

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That said, the Polestar’s trip meter indicated it had traveled 330 miles–a figure confirmed on Google Maps–while the Tesla reported an extra 10 miles. In other words, the Model 3’s driver would think they covered more miles on a full charge than they actually did.

It’s not exactly news that Tesla’s official range figures are among the most optimistic in the industry, and this range test is just another example of that. This doesn’t mean that the Model 3 is a bad car–it’s quite the opposite, in fact–but owners need to be aware that the so-called guess-o-meter that shows the remaining range on the infotainment screen can’t be trusted.

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The weather conditions during the range test were not very kind. Throughout the drive, temperatures were below freezing, and at the beginning of the journey there was freezing rain and the convoy was stuck in line for about an hour. The rest of the day was cloudy, according to NAF.

All EVs lose range in cold weather, just like gas cars use more fuel during the winter. It’s just that some lose more than others, and tests like this show what can be expected from modern EVs.