It's not just Clarity that feels the cold.

Interesting article. Thanks for posting. I did not realize that the optimum operating temperature for the battery was that high, although it does make sense. One wonders where battery technology is going and how long it will take to get there.

 

And another article on the effect of cold weather on range of EVs (did not test Clarity). Spoiler Alert - 40% range drop if you use cabin heat normally, 12% if you do not use cabin heat at all.
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/02/07/aaa-cold-weather-ev-range/

 

Actual scientifically-collected data. Very nice.

Frankly, given my sketchy knowledge of battery chemistry, I'm surprised that they work as well as they do when the temperature drops into the 0°F range. Add the resistance heating and we're doing better than I would predict.

 

I feel the range loss is overstated if the baseline is range at 75 degrees, without climate control. I expect to get way above EPA range at that temperature. So yes, the math is correct but it is essentially +0/-40% of baseline, rather than putting the baseline where it would be +20/-20%.

It's been relatively warm here this week, and I've been hitting the EPA range with temps averaging 50F. 15 miles at 60-62 mph and 8 miles of slower roads and stoplights.

 

I think that one of the issues is exactly what should be a baseline. The EV range needs to be an average, but there are those folks who are going to be on the low side of the normal curve and those on the high side. This time of year, those of us who live in the frozen northland are really feeling our position on the front end of that curve! For comparative purposes it would be nice to have some standard-deviation numbers . . . I expect that some vehicles suffer a lot more EV range loss than others. If I knew that vehicle A lost 50% of its EV range at 0°C while vehicle B only lost 25%, it might make a difference in my buying decision. Then again, the vast majority of prospective buyers wouldn't even understand that level of detail.