Kia EV6 Range Disappointment

I drove Erie PA to Columbus OH charging station with radio, AC, cooling seats, two phones charging and 70+ mph and the initial estimate of 220 miles was within 5 miles when we got there. So I would call that scary good.

 

The purpose of the butt coolers/warmers is increase the efficacy of the A/C and heat. You feel cooler/armer faster, and let the system cool the cabin more optimally. Warmers are practically standard equipment now I think. Before I took my first trip I was worried about driving at night because of the drain of the headlights. I've found that things like charging phones and running headlights are really irrelevant as far as drain. A/C is generally not as bad as the heater, although it was 116F today, and range suffered on the way home from work. i don't have a heat pump, I can't speak to it. The biggest things affecting range for me every time are speed > 50MPH, extreme cold/heat, and a steady rain. On the cold side, I found that I can optimize quite a bit if I crank the butt warmers, and just set the cabin to the lowest possible temp 60F I think. I drove thru NM && AZ down in the sub-teens at night, and got pretty close to 200 (235 rated)on my Niro (I target ~ 180). On the heat side, I've always been close to home in the extremes so I just crank it down and plug it in, but the gauge gives me 2.9-3.1m/kwh even at 50MPH max 4.8 driving to work at 90F, 3.0 going home at 118F. In the rain EV's are , at least mine is, abysmal. Now I'm talking windshield wiper on medium and high, wet interstate with cars throwing water off their wheels everywhere rain. I'm talking slow down to 55MPH, and plan on getting about 60% of your expected range. A light rain, ie one that doesn't cause much stationary water on the road is not much of an issue, so damp intermittent sprinkles won't kill you.

Just things to keep in mind if you are going to do the EV Road Warrior thing. I can't speak to snow and ice, but I'm guessing snow could get fairly brutal as well. My commute is 23 miles, so I'm guessing the M/kw would go up a bit once the cabln temp was more stable. I generally leave it on 76F so dropping the interior from 120 to 76 is a 45 degree drop, and every passenger adds that much more heat just sitting there. It's asking a lot of your A/C.