Worried about winter EV range loss? Brutal test reveals the 10 hardiest models you can buy – and Tesla only just made the list

• Punishing test exposes EVs to extreme cold weather driving
• Kai EV4 performed particularly well across multiple metrics
• Lucid Air Grand Touring traveled the furthest distance

Each year, the Norwegian Automotive Federation (NAF) and Norwegian motoring magazine Motor.No carries out one of the most brutal electric vehicle range tests in the El Prix Winter Test Drive, which begins in Norway’s capital, Oslo, and then ventures as far north as battery range will allow.

Once the city was left behind, this year's route then took in city traffic, mountain roads and highways, with the temperature plummeting the more kilometers were covered.

This year was supposedly the coldest edition of the El Prix Winter Test Drive yet, with temperatures dropping down to –31°C / 23.8°F.

The results showed that those longer range vehicles naturally fared better, with the Lucid Air taking top honors. The car, which boasts a near 600-mile WLTP range, managed to cover 323 miles before it required recharging.

It’s worth noting here that those cars with the longer range had to deal with the coldest conditions, as the further north they travelled, the colder the ambient temperature became.

In second place, the recently-launched and hyper-efficient Mercedes-Benz CLA covered just over 261 miles of its official 440-mile range, while the Audi A6 placed third, covering almost 250 miles of its 406-mile claimed range.

The test was carried out with a single driver and minimal equipment, in order to keep the load weight fair. The cabin was then heated to a comfortable temperature and speed was kept to the legal limit on each type of road.

In terms of a value proposition, the Kia EV4 performed particularly well in fourth place, seeing as it costs a great deal less than those vehicles in the top three positions. It managed to cover just over 242 miles in tough winter conditions, compared to its 369-mile WLTP range value.

As a result, it achieved on of the best price-per-winter kilometer ratings of the group, only beaten by the cut-price Hyundai Inster, which only posted a -29% variation of its WLTP range during testing.

However, due to the limited range of the smaller onboard battery packs (its WLTP range is just 223 miles), the Inster covered fewer overall miles and therefore avoided some of the coldest conditions.

Kia is also keen to point out that despite the frigid conditions, the EV4 still managed to recharge from 10% to 80% in 33 minutes, just two minutes more than its official rating.

Which offers the best winter value?

Despite Tesla’s reputation for excellent efficiency, the Model Y only just managed to scrape into the top 10 of the overall mileage table. The Premium Long Range model covered 223 miles of its 391-mile claimed WLTP range.

However, the Norwegian Automotive Federation (NAF) also crunched its numbers to come up with a Winter Range Buying Power figure, which takes into account the mileage the EV is able to cover in frigid conditions in relation to its recommended retail price.

The Tesla Model Y placed fourth overall in this table, falling behind the Hyundai Inster, the overall winner, the Kia EV4 (second place), the Skoda Elroq and the Mazda 6e.

Some of the poorest performing models in terms of value per winter kilometer covered included the notoriously inefficient Volkswagen ID Buzz, the massive Volvo EX90, which dropped out much faster than the testers expected, and the BMW iX.

The Lucid Air placed dead last, considering the Grand Touring model used during the tests costs $110,900 (around £110,000 / AU$170,000).

Out of all the numbers, facts and figures, the Kia EV4 continuously performed well, posting a solid Winter Value Ranking, covering among some of the highest distances and placing in the lower portion of the Absolute Range Loss in Winter results table.

But according to Norwegian motoring website Motor.No, the most important figure is the deviation from the official WLTP figure. In that sense, the MGS6 came out on top, with deviation of just -28.87%.

In fact, Chinese brands in general, which includes Changan, MG, Zeekr and KGM, all posted great results for average WLTP deviation during extreme cold weather testing.

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