Yesterday, I took my 2024 Niro EV on a 200-mile round trip in 32F weather. Normally, I can make this trip on a single charge from 100%, but after starting with an 80% charge, I barely made it halfway. I had to charge twice before getting home, and when I checked the range this morning, it said 180 miles.
Is a 30% drop in range normal for this kind of cold weather? What happens when it gets colder? It will be around 0F during my next winter trip.
Thanks for any tips or experiences you can share.
I’ve had a similar experience with my 24 Niro. In really cold weather, driving above 60mph drains the battery much quicker. On long cold trips, I tend to stay in the right lane and accept that I’ll need more time to charge.
@Sage
I guess I’ll have to accept that I’ll need more time for charging too.
Zaire said:
@Sage
I guess I’ll have to accept that I’ll need more time for charging too.
There are some interesting calculations that compare travel speed, charging rates, and distance to figure out the fastest journey strategy.
I haven’t tried it myself, but someone clever has probably worked it out.
You can tweak settings like speed, temperature, and wind to see the best route. It’s usually a bit conservative but safer than the alternative.
You can tweak settings like speed, temperature, and wind to see the best route. It’s usually a bit conservative but safer than the alternative.
I’ve tried that app. It’s been hit or miss for me, but I appreciate its real-time tracking and route suggestions.
Does your car have the heat pump?
If not, that could explain the drop in efficiency.
Zayden said:
Does your car have the heat pump?
If not, that could explain the drop in efficiency.
I have a 2020 model with a heat pump. If I only turn on the A/C but not the heat, it uses the heat pump, right? When the ‘Heat’ button is on, it uses the resistance heater instead. Using just A/C provides warm air at around .6-1.4kW, while ‘Heat’ uses more power but blows hot air quickly. I’m trying to avoid using too much energy during winter trips and find A/C works fine when the steering wheel and seat heaters are on.
@Rayne
I’ve never tried using only the A/C for heat. I’m surprised it can provide warmth at all.
You should use the ‘Heat’ button for better warmth, then use the A/C if you need defrosting. The heat pump works until the temperature drops significantly, and the resistance heater kicks in when necessary. Make sure your defrost system isn’t set to auto, as it tends to use more energy than needed. You could try adjusting the temperature gradually and see the energy consumption. On my Niro, I can see the changes in color next to the temperature on the screen, which shows whether the resistance heater is in use.
@Zayden
The ‘Heat’ button activates the resistance heater right away. There’s no heat pump that can instantly produce heat while drawing 3kW of power. I can also smell the resistance heater working. I’ll try testing this when the weather gets colder than the 20°F I had today.
@Rayne
In my experience, the resistance heater warms up the cabin initially, and once it reaches a certain temperature, the heat pump kicks in. But 20°F is a colder threshold than my area experiences. If the A/C works for heating, I’ll need to try it in colder weather to understand how much warmth it provides.
@Zayden
I’m still not completely clear on when the heat pump or resistance heater is active, but I plan to experiment with the energy screen next time. I drive this route regularly, so I’ll have plenty of opportunities to figure it out. It seems like I’ve been heating the cabin in the least efficient way so far.
I trusted the climate AUTO setting, but it doesn’t always work as expected. If I lower the temperature, it doesn’t reduce heat; instead, it blows cold air. So I’ll be turning that off from now on.
Zayden said:
Does your car have the heat pump?
If not, that could explain the drop in efficiency.
I have the Wave trim, which I thought had all the options. Are you talking about the battery preconditioning heater? I saw an option for an HVAC heat pump on the Kia website.
@Zaire
I have a 2020 model, so I’m not sure about the newer versions.
On mine, the HVAC heat pump and battery preconditioning were part of a ‘winter package.’
If you don’t have the HVAC heat pump, the resistance heater will use more power. Using the seat and steering wheel heaters is more efficient than heating the air. You mentioned snow, so using defrost makes sense, but it does affect your range.
Range loss can vary due to several factors—not just temperature but also wind and rain. A 30% drop at high speeds seems pretty normal for these conditions.
Drew said:
Range loss can vary due to several factors—not just temperature but also wind and rain. A 30% drop at high speeds seems pretty normal for these conditions.
I didn’t think about the wind. It was pretty windy that day, and the return trip was in snow. Now everything is starting to make sense.
@Zaire
Tip: try using the heated seats and set the climate to auto, but keep the temperature in the 60s. This will use less energy than heating the air.