Electric vehicles and snow
Has anyone on here any experience of driving in the snow and very cold weather with an electric car? Are they better, worse or no different to a conventional engine? My thoughts, and it is purely a guess, is that they will not perform that well. I believe that if any battery gets very cold it's performance drops off and what about heating for the inside of the car? Imagine being stuck in the snow for hours on end as many vehicles are at the moment with a battery that rapidly becomes flat. I know that weather like this is not common but if the scientists are correct then we can expect more of these sorts of extremes. It is interesting to note that 4 x 4 vehicle owners have been asked by the authorities to come to their rescue to get staff and medical supplies around the country. I don't think an electric vehicle would be much use for this.
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We are away at the moment, we know our village back home is at a standstill for all vehicles. Our EV is rear wheel drive so would hope in improved conditions it will cope as well as others. Four wheel drive is obviously slightly better but years ago I managed to get through snow without that luxury!
Why wound the EV battery go flat?
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"Why wound the EV battery go flat?"
I think the OP means from using the heater more than usual if stuck in Snow for instance as some people are / have been.
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There is a little hint in the name "Range Extender" that in pure EV form the vehicle has less than an acceptable range for some buyers?
And of course that Range extender is reliant on what is argued the "big evil", an IC engine in some form.
Space heating is no doubt a challenge with pure EV s where for 10 , 20 or more hours occupants are stranded in snow, as presently encountered by some unfortunates.
I am not sure many pure EVs out there today has the on-board energy reserves of our 70 liters of diesel? Further, I am not convinced the designers have really thought out how their products will cope with these rare, but life threatening situations.
Or accept these are not the devices for travel where there could be any risk of the present conditions occurring.
Re traction, here EVs could be ideal as the torque can be applied in a controllable way and without rotation, it just needs the designers to drive all wheels, not chase the economics associated with two wheel drive. That is most probably also linked to the present range limitations and could ease when better energy storage is viable?
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For common sense and practical purposes we are running an EV with a rex, 12 parts per million emission so not polluting and minimal fuel input. The next development is hydrogen so we'll see how that goes. However so far so good for us. If we can get home soon we will be using it as per usual.
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and what about heating for the inside of the car?
I drive an Electric Van in work........it is pure EV. I do a trip in it once a week around a range of the companies sites, a journey of around 60 miles.
It has a timer to preheat the cabin whilst still attached to the mains. However once unplugged we do not use the heater as it would drain the battery too quickly to get back to base. (I've never tried turning the heater on whilst en-route as I don't fancy the walk back to camp!). I wear warm clothes, hat & if need be gloves and take a hot flask of coffee with me. You have to keep the fan sucking cold air in to prevent the windows steaming up. It gets very cold. This is the one downside of EV's at the moment. Whilst I am being paid In work I am happy to suffer, but my OH would not tolerate this in a family vehicle.
In all other respects (or indeed the summer...!) a pure EV is a pleasure to drive, and once you get used to them far easier than a normal vehicle. I laugh now getting into a conventional car having to faff round starting engines juggling three pedals and stirring a gear lever.
EV is the future and it is here now............but not on a cold day...!
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As soon as I typed that MM i thought you would be along soon......
I was going to change that, but I re-read my post and saw that I said "conventional" so left it as it was, my logic being that I think most UK cars have a manual tranny....different in the USA I know.....
My 3 series beemer is auto so I do know they exist......
But most of our mileage is done in her Audi which is a manual....
I'm enjoying the experience of playing with a clutch and gear lever because we've just bought it and it will be the last car like that I ever own. My next purchase will be an EV............(and a new anorak...)
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I don' think I could live with an electric only vehicle. Range anxiety would make me get a hybrid such as Vauxhalls Ampera ie it only ever drives via a motor but the engine powers a genny of some kind. I could just imagine standing at a strangers front door with one end of a charging cable asking to be plugged in 🤔
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The rex is a little generator that tops up the battery to a consistent level. It's been very handy on our motorway drives using minimal fuel. If needed we would just top up with fuel to keep the battery going. But we don't need it most of the time.
I would hope all the EVs coming on to the market have been tested in varying weather conditions. We have a friend who tested Land Rovers in extreme conditions but others cars are usually tested for a variety of normal uses.
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I wear warm clothes, hat & if need be gloves and take a hot flask of coffee with me. You have to keep the fan sucking cold air in to prevent the windows steaming up. It gets very cold.
Ah, the memories! Takes me back to my Series One Land Rover in the 1950s. A small piece of perspex sheet to keep scraping the ice off the inside of the windows (no credit cards in those days !!)
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Ah yes, being asked as a passenger to lean out of the windows to see where the kerb was or even keep the wipers going. Not to mention the odd chilly hand signal when the flick up indicator jammed...that was with my intrepid mother driving...
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. . . . with electric parking brakes that need a good rev of the engine to get them to release automatically.
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Thanks, an interesting read. Make you wonder how many owners of full EVs are getting on at the moment.
It also highlights how much more development still needs to done.
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Not in my last two cars. VW Tiguan and Freelander 2 the lightest of touches of the throttle pedal releases the EPB.
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Like it or not in 20 and a bit years the only choice will be electric. I suppose for many of us, me included, it will no longer be an issue.
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As it is only the sale of new vehicles that can be banned, I see a growing industry in refurbishing existing petrol and diesel vehicles.
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Like the big industry in refurbishing VHS video recorders and record players perhaps................??
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Lots of places now selling NEW record player decks. QED.
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It has a timer to preheat the cabin whilst still attached to the mains. However once unplugged we do not use the heater as it would drain the battery too quickly to get back to base. (I've never tried turning the heater on whilst en-route as I don't fancy the walk back to camp!). I wear warm clothes, hat & if need be gloves and take a hot flask of coffee with me. You have to keep the fan sucking cold air in to prevent the windows steaming up. It gets very cold. This is the one downside of EV's at the moment. Whilst I am being paid In work I am happy to suffer, but my OH would not tolerate this in a family vehicle.
His name was Ernie, and he drove the fastest milk cart in the land, oops will get my tin hat on😜
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