Range anxiety remains a hurdle for electric car adoption.
And concerns are heightened during the colder months, when lower temperatures and reliance on heaters, window wipers and other electronics are known to zap an EV’s battery faster than normal.
But which electric models suffer worst in the chilliest climates?
The world’s largest independent real-world performance assessment has put some of the biggest EV names to the test to find out how well – or badly – they perform.
The 2026 ‘El Prix’ winter test conducted by FIA Member Club the Norges Automobil-Forbund (NAF) pitched 24 of the latest electric vehicles against each other in Norway’s extreme temperatures for two days in January to reveal the best and worst.
Here are the 20 EVs tested (we excluded most of those not available in the UK) – from worst to best.
24 new EVs were tested in Norway’s Arctic driving conditions to see how cold weather affected claimed range. Here are the results
One requirement was for drivers to be comfortable, with the cabins set to a controlled mild temperature, as an owner would in real-world conditions.
Models with battery pre-conditioning – which warms the battery before journeys to optimise performance but also heats the interior – used this system.
With the ambient temperatures as low as -32°C, the harsh conditions did indeed impact vehicle ranges, triggering an average reduction of 38 per cent when compared with the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) benchmarks.
20. Lucid Air – 274 miles short
This is the only EV not sold in the UK that we’re including – simply as it is the benchmark of range reduction, coming firmly in last place.
The Lucid Air is a luxury saloon has become a major rival to the Tesla Model S in the US. It costs from $70,900 in North America – so around £53,000 – and the version used in the test has a WLTP range of 597 miles.
In the test, though, it only delivered a real-life range of 323 miles – 45.8 per cent less than advertised. This drop is equivalent to a summer road trip from Derby to Penzance.
For the Lucid Air and all other EVs included, we’ve converted the km figures used for European testing into miles, rounding up or down as required.
19. Mercedes CLA – 179 miles short
The Mercedes CLA is a new EV that offers a huge amount of range for a surprisingly reasonable price.
On paper, it gives customers 483 miles of maximum range for £45,615, which is near price parity with the combustion version of the car.
However, the test found that extreme temperatures meant it could only manage 262 miles until the battery ran flat out of the 441 miles of range the model had on paper.
This shortfall is around the same amount of miles as a round trip from Essex to Southampton.
18. Volvo EX90 – 169 miles short
Volvo’s stylish and safe family seven-seater SUV is priced from £80,160 and is packed with plenty of practicality and space.
The E100 408hp Ultra AWD claimed 380 miles of range was put to the test, with the real-world winter range falling a considerable 44.5 per cent short as 211 miles was as far as it could go.
This is equivalent to London to Crewe.
17. Tesla Model Y – 168 miles short
The new Tesla Model Y builds on the success of the previous worldwide best-selling Y.
The longest range version available in the UK is the Premium Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive model that has a claimed range of 391 miles. This will set you back £51,990.
Tesla Model Y Premium Long Range AWD tested and in the cold conditions only completed 223 of them. This is a reduction of 168 miles – similar to the same London to Crewe drive.
16. BMW iX – 157 miles short
The iX is an expensive, luxury, long range EV that should be able to eat up as much as 426 miles on a single charge, if the advertised figures are to be believed.
Buyers are looking at anything from the mid £70,000s to over £110,000 for this electric family car – so it’s far from cheap.
And the real world range doesn’t quite hold up. The iX xDrive60 Supercharged tested managed a measured range of 241 miles, a fair reduction on the 398-mile WLTP claim for this specific variant.
This is a 39.5 per cent reduction. The 157 miles short is around the distance of Berkshire to Warwickshire.
15. Audi A6 e-tron – 156 miles short
Audi’s electric, luxury family car is available as an estate or Sportback and costs from £65,165.
The Sportback e-tron Quattro tested fell short of its claimed range by 156 miles. This is around the London to Cardiff distance.
Its WLTP range is 406 miles but it covered only 250 miles in the -30 conditions.
14. Volvo ES90 – 156 miles short
Volvo’s new flagship saloon is a move away from the constant SUVs that are entering the market.
It comes with the headline grabbing range figure of over 420 miles on a single charge for some variants – and a price tag starting from £67,560. But for the longest range you’re going to be paying over £80k.
But in real-world, extreme conditions, the ES90 measured in the test covered only 232 miles out of its 388 miles stated range, a reduction of 156 miles. Again this is the equivalent to London to Cardiff.
13. Hyundai Ioniq 9 – 143 miles short
Hyundai’s three-seater, all-electric SUV will set you back at least £64,995.
It promises a range of up to 385 mile.
The cold weather test found a range depletion of 143 miles – equivalent to Glasglow to Aviemore – with the Ioniq 9 specification put under the microscope covering 230 miles out of its claimed 373 miles.
12. Vauxhall Grandland Electric – 138 miles short
The Vauxhall Grandland Electric offers up to 322 miles of range, and costs £36,055.
The Grandland Electric put to the test eked out 163 miles of range out of the WLTP number of 301 miles, which is a range reduction of 138 miles. Again this is similar to the distance between Glasgow and Aviemore.
11. Ford Capri – 137 miles short
The controversial all-electric Ford Capri is priced from £37,485 and can deliver drivers up to 389 miles of range.
The cold weather test showed it faired in the lower end of the mid-pack, with 211 miles achieved out of a claimed range of 348 miles – 137 miles difference or London to Ledbury.
The Ford Capri split the pack, ranking at the top of the worst performers: 211 miles of range was achieved out of a claimed range of 348 miles
10. Skoda Elroq – 134 miles short
The Skoda Elroq EV is priced from £33,560 and can cover up to 355 miles on a single charge.
The RS model tested saw its battery range depleted by 134 miles, managing 192 miles out of its 326 mile range figure. Or again, the distance from London and Ledbury.
9. Kia EV4 – 127 miles short
Kia’s electric fastback promises up to 388 miles of range and costs between £33,245 and £44,845.
In the test, it saw a range shortfall of 127 miles, covering 242 miles of its stated 369-mile range. The shortfall is also similar to the distance of just over London to Tewkesbury.
8. Mazda 6e – 127 miles short
The all-new Mazda 6e costs from £38,995 and can deliver up to 348 miles of range.
The Japanese electric saloon covered 216 miles in the test, 127 miles less than its stipulated 343-mile range.
This puts it in the top 10 performers.
The same as the Kia EV4, this drop is around the distance of London to Tewkesbury.
7. Smart #5 – 123 miles short
The Smart #5 has some solid stats for a mid-market electric SUV.
It offers up to 366 miles of range and costs from £39,800.
The #5 hung onto 213 miles out of 336 miles WLTP, which is 123 miles less than the official claimed range.
6. Volkswagen ID.Buzz – 107 miles short
The electric campervan is an expensive option for large families, costing from £60,005 for a seven-seater with a range of up to 293 miles.
It performed just outside the top five, managing 172 miles out of its 279 miles WLTP figure – 107 miles short or London to Cheltenham.
5. Suzuki e-Vitara – 106 miles short
The e-Vitara lands in the top five and offers up to 264 miles of range on a single charge and only costs from £26,249.
Its real world cold weather test figures show a range of 139 miles, 106 miles short of the quoted 245 miles WLTP. Once more the drop is equivalent to driving from London to Cheltenham.
Out of the 314-mile WLTP, the MG IM6 held onto 219 miles of range – 95 miles less than its paper range
4. MG IM6 – 95 miles short
IM is MG’s ‘Intelligence in Motion’ arm – an off-shoot of MG.
The more luxurious and techy IM6 SUV is a rival for the Tesla Model Y and the Long Range version can deliver 388 miles on a single charge. It costs £47,995.
Out of the 314-mile WLTP, the IM6 held onto 219 miles – 95 miles less than its paper range and equivalent to London to Leamington Spa.
3. Changan Deepal S05 – 95 miles short
Changan appears to be the latest Chinese car maker in the UK, but it is in fact the Chinese car maker with the longest history in Europe.
Its new S05 RWD Max model offers a maximum of 301 miles of WLTP range and costs £37,990.
In the test it managed 182 miles of the 277-mile claimed range, a shortfall of 95 miles.
This shortfall is also the drive between London and Leamington Spa.
The Changan is in the top three thanks to its ability to preserve range and sits in between two other Chinese EVs.
2. MG S6 EV – 87 miles short
MG’s affordable family electric SUV costs £37,995 for the SE Long Range model that can do 329 miles on a single charge. It takes home silver.
Faced with -30 degrees it delivered 214-mile real-life range out of the 301 WLTP range – a decrease of 87 miles or the distance from London to Ipswich.
The EV that held its range best in -32 degrees was the cheap, Hyundai Inster small EV. It only dropped 87 miles
1. Hyundai Inster – 65 miles short
And gold goes to a very affordable EV, demonstrating a high price doesn’t mean range performance.
The cheap, small Inster EV performed the best under the extreme conditions.
Despite having a small range to begin with, the plucky little Inster managed to deliver 159 real-world miles out of its 224 WLTP range, a drop of only 65 miles.
This means you lose only the equivalent of about the distance from London to Northampton.
