I'm sorry, I meant to say reduce regenerative braking, not turn it off. And yes, with regenerative braking on at full strength, the car can skid a bit. I know because it's happened to me. Reducing the strength of regenerative braking when the roads are snowy or icy definitely helps with traction.
Hmmm. I wasn't aware of that. So anyone driving a 2021 Model 3 should ease up on the accelerator very carefully when driving on snow or ice covered roads
My experience with Midwest winters is that 250+ mile EVs are significantly better than gas cars in cold weather, provided you have charging at home.
yup! B6 A4 sedan with torsen fulltime awd, ran blizzak LM32s in the winter. was seriously a tank in the snow and slush here in chicago. i never really have to drive in deep stuff since the streets around me get plowed pretty promptly and frequently. my thinking is that i'll be good with RWD and dedicated winter tires for the few blizzards we have, but also know it will be an adjustment after driving the audi. my wife also has a Q5 so we still have an option to take that around if/when weather really calls for it.
Most people will tell you that you should. Personally, I do not. I've been through two winters in my AWD (remember I'm also coming from 13 years prior with Quattro) and drive routinely across snow covered mountain passes and on poor roads for winter recreation, thousands of such miles every winter (sample below). I leave mine in Sport (acceleration boost!) and maximum regeneration, and just operate the accelerator like a surgeon. I also use Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 snow tires, which is the primary factor in my driving experience (more than the car itself). I would guess that it's probably helpful to have a snow driving profile in many circumstances, but I will just manually choose one of those settings if and when I happen to need it, which is rare to never.
No, what would I change? I use a teflon-silicone spray on the window seals and around the charge port cover in the fall. I also preheat the car before getting into it which further helps with the windows.
Im assuming you were driving a SR+? It can be hard even when the weather is good, but when the temps are near zeroF, it can be very sketchy to make a leg. I'd definitely use a good trip planner, like ABRP, ABRP. If it were me, I'd sign up for the free trial, before a sketchy trip, because it'll use the wind data and give you a very accurate prediction. The free version doesn't use wind data, and that can have a big affect upon your result. I've found up to a 15% difference depending upon wind.
A year ago this month I had an opportunity to spend an afternoon with a pre-release version of a Ford Mach-E. Loaded long range AWD. The temperature never got above 5°F. I found a screen that showed where the energy consumption was going. 40% went to heating the cabin to 66°. Another 5% for thermal management of the battery. My short lived 2020 Leaf was similar. So reduction of range is common on EVs when very cold.
