What's your EV's real winter range?
EPA range is run at ~75°F. Real winter weather drops it 15–40% depending on temperature and whether your trim has a heat pump. Pick your model + temperature for an honest number.
Pick your EV
Outside temperature
Why EVs lose range in cold weather
Cold weather hurts EV range in three compounding ways. First, cabin heating: unlike a gas car (which has free waste heat from the engine), an EV has to make heat from battery energy. A resistive heater pulls 3–5 kW continuously — that alone is the energy of driving 10–15 mph. Second, cold lithium chemistry is less efficient: internal resistance rises, available capacity drops, and the battery has to spend energy warming itself before fast-charging. Third, denser cold air increases rolling and aerodynamic drag, and tire pressure drops about 1 PSI per 10°F.
The heat-pump advantage
A heat pump uses a refrigerant cycle to move heat from outside (or from the motor + battery) into the cabin instead of generating it. At typical winter temperatures it uses roughly 1/3 the energy of a resistive heater. That's why Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, and most premium EVs have made heat pumps standard. A few budget trims still ship with resistive heat — you'll see a 5–10% range delta in winter that's permanent and unfixable.
How accurate is this calculator?
The model is calibrated to AAA's published 2026 winter-range study and Recurrent's heat-pump dataset. It's a linear approximation — real range varies ±5% based on how aggressively you heat the cabin, your highway/city mix, whether you precondition while plugged in, and your driving style. We deliberately don't model snow tires, cargo load, or roof racks — those compound on top of the temperature loss but vary too much between drivers to estimate.