Verdict: False
This fear is understandable but the math is firmly on the EV's side.
This fear is understandable but the math is firmly on the EV's side. Electric vehicles require anywhere from 1.6 to 4.0 kW of energy per hour to keep the interior warm. That means a 60-kWh battery with even two-thirds of a full charge can keep you warm for 10 to 25 hours straight. Larger batteries or more charge means even longer. Compare that to a gas car: idling burns about 0.5-1 gallon per hour, so a half-tank might give you 6-10 hours -- and you also risk carbon monoxide poisoning if snow blocks the tailpipe. An EV has no exhaust, so there's zero CO risk. In reality, an EV is one of the safest vehicles to be stranded in during winter.
Range varies a lot by model. Filter real EVs by range, body type and budget style and skip the guessing.
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