EVs and really bad weather.....

[slim_boy_fat]

Genuine question and just as a matter of interest, as I've no intention [nor could I afford] of buying a pure EV.

How do drivers cope driving an EV in really adverse weather/road conditions - I'm talking ice and/or deep[ish] snow? I'd imagine the instant throttle response and torque might defeat the skills of many drivers, having seen some get stuck in relatively benign conditions. They seem to have no idea, whether in a manual or autobox vehicle, with no 'feel' for what the driven wheels are doing....floor the throttle to get it moving seems to be the default for many. Do all the new EVs have a selectable 'puter setting to take care of things?

My idle curiosity was sparked when I woke up to snow falling this morning. Still is, but it's wet stuff so not lying too much, but frosts of down to -8 are forecast over the rest of the week.

 

[bricol]

I suggest the main thing, as with any vehicle in such conditions, is tyres, followed by driver. Any vehicle, unless on studded tyres, is going to be pretty crap on ice - luckily the rental Skoda in finland was on studs - but still agreed to a nice handbrake influenced turn when I missed junction in the early hours a few years ago

My 4WD Lancia integrale (well, three, as the front diff is free) on "summer" tyres in snow is crap. On winters - outstanding.

5.7 litre V8 RWD Dodge - ie quite a lot of torque on all weather tyres with a driver who can win national level trials - surprisingly good

Larger numbers of EVs running around Scandinavia - and Washington in the Mount Rainer state park last week in snow - when I was sliding around in a heavy Ford Explorer, claiming to be 4x4, but on useless tyres for the conditions.

 

[fizzy]

Range can be drastically reduced in very cold weather. Our postman had to go back to his diesel van. Range on his electric one dropped over 50%. To save electricity it would then turn off all heating. He said he could cope but the windscreen was impossible to see through as it kept misting.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Range can be drastically reduced in very cold weather. Our postman had to go back to his diesel van. Range on his electric one dropped over 50%. To save electricity it would then turn off all heating. He said he could cope but the windscreen was impossible to see through as it kept misting.

I was more interested in folk getting about, as opposed to range. We're constantly being shown national news items where there might be 2" > 3" inches of snow and it results [or appears to] in chaos with vehicles sideways, stuck and others who have to stop because of this being unable to get going again. What's that all about....

 

[skotl]

It's a good question and I've never heard / seen it discussed anywhere.

The more expensive EVs have dual motors which equate to 4WD so if I lived somewhere with a lot of snow then I suspect that a dual motor would be best.

As for the throttle response, a big plus is torque being available very low down so I'd hope (but having but hope to base the opinion on!) that you should be able to get the wheels moving very slowly & very easily.

Do the EV car manufacturers talk about ice / snow modes at all?

 

[Memmeddu]

Ev's are fine for public transportation, trucks, deliveries , garbage trucks and related, very dense traffic areas etc
Even who thinks green can own one
But I'm of the opinion that EVs are not the future.
Battery production just destroy as much if not even more the Planet than gasoline engines .
Think green?
Smaller car, more efficient engine,more trees ,more green areas.
Less consumerism.
When I was a child the dream was to get an honda cr 125 2 strokes
We used to play in the road ,go around with a bicycle etc
Nowadays young people are willing to get an iPhone or an electric scooter
I'm not even sure about motorsports future .
Here in Italy they already destroyed the entry level categories

 

[brewdexta]

Range can be drastically reduced in very cold weather. Our postman had to go back to his diesel van. Range on his electric one dropped over 50%. To save electricity it would then turn off all heating. He said he could cope but the windscreen was impossible to see through as it kept misting.

Funny, range on our Leaf hasn't dropped much, haven't really noticed it. Heating doesn't seem to take much out of it either.

Genuine question and just as a matter of interest, as I've no intention [nor could I afford] of buying a pure EV.

How do drivers cope driving an EV in really adverse weather/road conditions - I'm talking ice and/or deep[ish] snow? I'd imagine the instant throttle response and torque might defeat the skills of many drivers, having seen some get stuck in relatively benign conditions. They seem to have no idea, whether in a manual or autobox vehicle, with no 'feel' for what the driven wheels are doing....floor the throttle to get it moving seems to be the default for many. Do all the new EVs have a selectable 'puter setting to take care of things?

My idle curiosity was sparked when I woke up to snow falling this morning. Still is, but it's wet stuff so not lying too much, but frosts of down to -8 are forecast over the rest of the week.

When I'm driving the Leaf, it feels like any other front wheel drive car. It does have a "nutter" setting that I haven't tried yet, plenty of power as it is. I haven't driven our latest Leaf with more power in ice or snow yet, but when its wet, it can be difficult to get the power down, just like a hot hatch, We do use winter tyres on the leaf, makes a difference. The wife drives it more than me and she has driven it in in ice. The e-pedal. is a mode I use often, it simulates engine braking by being a bit more aggressive on regenerative braking. I rarely have to touch the brakes when I use that mode.

No snow/ICE mode on the Leaf however it is last years tech now. I did test drive the more expensive and newer Nissan Ariya, they have a 4WD version with various modes..

 

[skotl]

... Do the EV car manufacturers talk about ice / snow modes at all?

Answering my own question, Ford suggests "whisper mode" for driving the Mach E in snow: https://www.ford.co.uk/experience-ford/news/winter-driving-in-the-mustang-mach-e

 

[lazybones51]

Genuine question and just as a matter of interest, as I've no intention [nor could I afford] of buying a pure EV.

How do drivers cope driving an EV in really adverse weather/road conditions - I'm talking ice and/or deep[ish] snow? I'd imagine the instant throttle response and torque might defeat the skills of many drivers, having seen some get stuck in relatively benign conditions. They seem to have no idea, whether in a manual or autobox vehicle, with no 'feel' for what the driven wheels are doing....floor the throttle to get it moving seems to be the default for many. Do all the new EVs have a selectable 'puter setting to take care of things?

My idle curiosity was sparked when I woke up to snow falling this morning. Still is, but it's wet stuff so not lying too much, but frosts of down to -8 are forecast over the rest of the week.

I imagine they cope about as well as an ICE car, on summer tyres with an unsympathetic egit behind the wheel
However, with the correct tyres, and in a suitable winter/snow mode they should be perfectly capable. My biggest concern would be slowing one down, as they're heavy compared to their ICE equivalent.

 

[brewdexta]

Nissan Ariya on ICE

 

[Erie Fred]

I'm pretty sure they have wheel slip tech like most IC engine cars, they are running VFD drives for the motors.

 

[fizzy]

Tyres make the biggest difference of all of course. Even on sheet ice. I proved that with my van. Could hardly get up my drive. Tread was very low. New ones fitted not even a hint of wheel spin.

 

[Kayos]

I've ordered my EV with a heat pump, not sure that will help with the traction but will help with the battery when it's cold

 

[dobbslc]

Ground or air source?

 

[daleyd]

We had snow a few weeks ago (Not sure exactly when but a while back), not much but the roads were pretty bad where I live - down a hill with no through road so it almost never gets gritted. The roads ended up pretty slippery as the snow got impacted down quite badly

We have a VW ID4, it's RWD only but it coped perfectly fine. No problems, if anything better than an ICE car car as although it's got a lot of torque it's very very smooth (No gears or clutch) especially when moving off. It's electric heating as well of course so no waiting for engine to warm up. In terms of range we do see a reduction in cold weather, probably around 20% drop from a summertime usage, but for what we use it for it's no problem, we just charge it 3 x a week instead of twice.

 

[Bobtail4x4]

I have a Mii electric, you can spin the wheels in dry weather,
you learn to drive carefully when its wet or icy like any other car, even with traction control.

 

[Morrisman]

My mate turned up at our biker cafe yesterday, in his 4 day old VW ID5.
£53,000 of electric car, weighing 2900kg, 19" wheels, and like a fairly robust SUV.
He took us out for a drive, and while it's fairly brisk it won't spin the wheels even in the wet. There's probably traction control that can be turned off or on at will, he hasn't dug into the infinite number of tricks it will do on the big central touch screen It's rear wheel drive, oddly enough.

With that sort of weight, and traction control, I'd imagine it would be fairly good in snow. And it supposedly has 260 mile range, or 320 if the battery is charged to 100%, which they say is not advisable for battery longevity. 80% is the recommendation, and never let it go below 20% if possible

 

[James1979]

My mate turned up at our biker cafe yesterday, in his 4 day old VW ID5.
£53,000 of electric car, weighing 2900kg, 19" wheels, and like a fairly robust SUV.
He took us out for a drive, and while it's fairly brisk it won't spin the wheels even in the wet. There's probably traction control that can be turned off or on at will, he hasn't dug into the infinite number of tricks it will do on the big central touch screen It's rear wheel drive, oddly enough.

With that sort of weight, and traction control, I'd imagine it would be fairly good in snow. And it supposedly has 260 mile range, or 320 if the battery is charged to 100%, which they say is not advisable for battery longevity. 80% is the recommendation, and never let it go below 20% if possible

Whats the maximum weight? Say 5 adults and a boot full you must be nudging the 3.5t that the car license allows?

 

[brewdexta]

From VW site

Weight Unladen (EU) 2242 kg
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVWR) 2750 kg
Max. Payload 583 kg

 

[James1979]

From VW site

Weight Unladen (EU) 2242 kg
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVWR) 2750 kg
Max. Payload 583 kg

No where near then