Kona EV range at cold temperatures (100% SOC range 228 km at -22°C)

George Davidson

Active Member
Winter is upon us. As the temperatures plummet I would be posting screenshots of the range. We are located in central Alberta, Canada.

Other Kona drivers are welcome to post their experiences.
 
Right now the temperature is -22°C (windchill -27°C). At 89% SOC the calculated range is 203 km (126 miles) as seen in the attached screenshot, which corresponds to 100% SOC range 228 km (141 miles).
 

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  • Dec 5, 2021 203km at -22.webp
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Right now the temperature is -22°C (windchill -27°C). At 89% SOC the calculated range is 203 km (126 miles) as seen in the attached screenshot, which corresponds to 100% SOC range 228 km (141 miles).
Yup pretty much what I am getting, ambient in AM has be around -20C recently and GOM is showing 240km range at 100% SOC urban cycle which is consistent with reported consumption of 3.9 km/kW, based on past experience when its -30C consumption gets into low 3 km/kW range. Winter sucks
 
Wow. That's lower than I realized things could get! Here on the coast the lowest we get in winter is about 200 miles at 100%. Cold spells are generally low temps between 0-10F, occasionally lower.
 
I'm at 80% and my GOM says 329km. It's -10°C. I drive secondary roads and intracity 90% of the time, cruise set at 90kph. My GOM reflects those averages. However, when I charge to 100% and drive 110kph on the highway at sub zero temps I have had a range of around 300+km. That's with (now) three winters and cold shoulder-seasons behind me. Summer is routinely between 400-480km with the same driving style.
 
I'm at 80% and my GOM says 329km. It's -10°C. I drive secondary roads and intracity 90% of the time, cruise set at 90kph. My GOM reflects those averages. However, when I charge to 100% and drive 110kph on the highway at sub zero temps I have had a range of around 300+km. That's with (now) three winters and cold shoulder-seasons behind me. Summer is routinely between 400-480km with the same driving style.
Part of the problem for me is my car is parked outdoors and the batteries can becomes quite cold soaked if the car is not plugged into a 240V EVSE overnight or does not have winter mode engaged (stupid thing turns itself off every once in a while) while plugged into a 240V EVSE. The 120V EVSE is useless for battery cold mitigation. Under those circumstance with -20C overnight lows the pack can get to -17C or colder and you can pretty much forget about any significant regeneration(if any) activity for the following day as the BMS will severely shut that down until the battery heater turns(again winter mode needs to be on, plus the set point is somewhere way below -10C). Consequently with minimal regen and modest cabin heating taking a third of your power you will see absolutely terrible consumption figures no matter how nicely you drive.
 
Part of the problem for me is my car is parked outdoors and the batteries can becomes quite cold soaked if the car is not plugged into a 240V EVSE overnight or does not have winter mode engaged (stupid thing turns itself off every once in a while) while plugged into a 240V EVSE. The 120V EVSE is useless for battery cold mitigation. Under those circumstance with -20C overnight lows the pack can get to -17C or colder and you can pretty much forget about any significant regeneration(if any) activity for the following day as the BMS will severely shut that down until the battery heater turns(again winter mode needs to be on). Consequently with minimal regen and modest cabin heating taking a third of your power you will see absolutely terrible consumption figures no matter how nicely you drive.
My car is outside 100% of the time but is always plugged in. I suppose you could be correct that it makes a difference in performance as compared to a car that is "on its own" and dealing with the cold. Which brings up a question: does the Kona do anything "on its own" to mitigate the effects of cold weather?
 
In my experience urban range takes bigger hit than that long driving distance range in extreme cold. Worst is driving 10km, taking an hour off, than driving anther 10km back. The cabin gets cold at every stop and has to be reheated... A week of driving like that in -20c and the GoM will give a range estimate of 250km (220km with the max 90% charge we have to stick with until a new HV battery arrives..). But then you can still drive almost 300km with a stable 80-100km/h driving on a highway. (270km from 90%...).
 
Yup pretty much what I am getting, ambient in AM has be around -20C recently and GOM is showing 240km range at 100% SOC urban cycle which is consistent with reported consumption of 3.9 km/kW, based on past experience when its -30C consumption gets into low 3 km/kW range. Winter sucks

Thanks for your reply and confirmation that I am not alone in having such a small range at low temperatures.

Today we have got 90% 300 km -1C. Was driving 200 km at similar temps (most on the highway), the consumption started at 28 kWh/100 km and ended with 24 kWh/100 km.

As our commute is 90 km one way, we need to start changing to 90% in order to make the 180 km and have some buffers (ideally 0-20% and 80-100% but that is possible only in summer). That 90 km takes some 30% (180 km 60%).

Once the temps get really low we need to charge to 100% to make that 180 km and sometimes that is not enough and we need to top up in the city in order to get home.

Not frequently, fortunately, I need to bring some bulky stuff on a small utility trailer. In combination with low temps, Kona EV is able to make only 100% 100 km.
 
In my experience urban range takes bigger hit than that long driving distance range in extreme cold. Worst is driving 10km, taking an hour off, than driving anther 10km back. The cabin gets cold at every stop and has to be reheated... A week of driving like that in -20c and the GoM will give a range estimate of 250km (220km with the max 90% charge we have to stick with until a new HV battery arrives..). But then you can still drive almost 300km with a stable 80-100km/h driving on a highway. (270km from 90%...).

Thanks for posting your experience. It is similar to ours. I find the driving on the highway at very low temps requiring close to 30 kWh/100 km - at 110 km/h.

We have subzero temps for some 4 months and the GOM range estimate is between 200 km and 300 km all the time. I have seen it go under 200 km only when I needed to pull a small utility trailer behind. I got just 100% 100 km -30 (plus some buffers - I never go to 0%, of course).
 
Part of the problem for me is my car is parked outdoors and the batteries can becomes quite cold soaked if the car is not plugged into a 240V EVSE overnight or does not have winter mode engaged (stupid thing turns itself off every once in a while) while plugged into a 240V EVSE. The 120V EVSE is useless for battery cold mitigation. Under those circumstance with -20C overnight lows the pack can get to -17C or colder and you can pretty much forget about any significant regeneration(if any) activity for the following day as the BMS will severely shut that down until the battery heater turns(again winter mode needs to be on, plus the set point is somewhere way below -10C). Consequently with minimal regen and modest cabin heating taking a third of your power you will see absolutely terrible consumption figures no matter how nicely you drive.

I attest to everything you mentioned. Our Kona is also parked outside. At -30 in the morning we start it, all the heating on, GOM is around 200 km. The consumption on the highway is close to 30 kWh/100 km. Our commute is 90 km one way (180 total). At really low temps we will not make 200 km at 100% charge (we leave some buffer, never going to 0%), so we need to top up to get back home. Rarely, I need to use a small utility trailer (Kona is a really small car and bulky stuff may not fit it) that's when I get 100% 100km, with the consumption around 40 kWh/100km.
 
At - 1C getting 300 km at 90% SOC (see the screenshot).

Next week temps drop to -20. I am expecting the range to drop close to 200 km.

I will be posting screenshots & temps.
 

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  • Dec 11, 2021 90% 300 km -1.webp
    Dec 11, 2021 90% 300 km -1.webp
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