A record was set for how far an electric car drives in winter in NAF (Norwegian Automobile Federation) and Motors’ large winter range test. The Tesla Model S drove 530 kilometers (329 miles) in cold winter weather. “It’s always fun with a new range record, but unfortunately, we saw new range loss records today as well,” says Nils Soedal, senior communications advisor at NAF.

Last winter, the Tesla Model 3 LR Dual Motor drove 521 kilometers (324 miles) in the world’s largest electric car test. Last week, that record was broken by another Tesla. The Model S Standard went 530 kilometers (329 miles) before being completely out of power. Last year the temperature was between 0°C and -10°C (14°F), while this year it was slightly colder with temperatures between 0°C and -19°C (-2.2°F).

“The range is impressive, and the range loss of 16.4 percent compared to its official range is a pretty good result,” says Soedal.

The winner: A budget car

Although the Tesla S drove the furthest, it was another car that came the closest to its advertised range (WLTP) and therefore won the test; the far more affordable Maxus Euniq6. The Maxus Euniq6 finished at 317 kilometers (197 miles), only 10.45 percent short of its advertised 354 km (220 miles) range.

“This is the winner this winter. In our test, the best cars are the ones that come closest to their stated range,” says Nils Soedal.

A new range loss record

This is the fourth winter range test NAF and Motor have conducted. Previous test results show a deviation from the official range between 4 and 32 percent. In this year’s test, there were four cars that did worse than what has so far been the biggest deviation in range.

Mercedes EQE 300, Skoda Enyaq Coupe RS, Toyota bZ4x 2WD and Hongqi e-HS9 saw a more than 32 percent deviation from its advertised range.

“There is a large variation in the extent of range loss from car model to car model. We had some really cold parts on the test route today, but mostly the cars drove in normal winter temperatures,” says the NAF adviser. “We want an official test of the range of electric cars in winter. Our hope is that this will be included in an European winter-WLTP,” says Nils Soedal.

Here are the range results for every EV model tested in the winter range test:

Facts about the electric car test:

• This year’s winter test took place on 1 to 2 February.
• The test route goes from Oslo, via Lygnasæter, Gjøvik, Ringebu, Dombås, Hjerkinn, Folldal and then south to Venabygdsfjellet to Ringebu again.
• The cars start with a fully charged battery, without preheating, from Skur 13 in Oslo where the temperature overnight is between 10 and 15 degrees.
• We test the actual range of electric cars in the winter, what happens when the electric cars go into power saving mode, and how quickly the electric cars charge from 10 to 80 percent.