How will the scouts handle the extreme cold?

[R1TVT]

All well and good, for those whose lives are so scheduled. But how important or essential is it? What about the volunteer firemen and rescue folks of our rural areas. The get the call, grab keys, and run. Their ICE can be moving within ten seconds of the door closing. What is the reality of EV setups?

The reality for EV set-ups is that they will always be faster to "get up and go" compared to ICE, since there is no mechanical "start" process, per se. You put the EV in DRIVE and blast off - whether it is cold or not cold, that doesn't matter in terms of "elapsed time".

Since this thread started with the question about Scouts in "extreme cold", I added the bit about pre-conditioning, because preconditioning can make the cabin more comfortable, warm the battery pack and most importantly, help increase EV efficiency in extreme cold. The part about scheduling was really just to point out that you can easily do this remotely, or set it and forget it. For example, if you wake up everyday and commute, you may want to be on a preconditioning schedule in colder months up north (for convenience and for efficiency in winter). Hope that makes sense.

 

[Logan]

So, saw this article today.

Basically, the Equinox has an EPA range of 306 miles. They drove at 75mph on a day when it was -6f, and they got 150 miles out of the first 90% of the battery, with an estimated ~19miles remaining, and an efficiency of ~1.7 miles per KWh.

https://insideevs.com/news/749106/chevrolet-equinox-ev-awd-winter-range-test-owner-video/

Personally, "really cold weather" for my area, means ~20f. So I'm not really super worried about it, as most of the winter is in the ~30-45f range. I'm not trying to be "doom and gloom". But info like the above helps me understand why people are worried about how the scout will handle cold temperatures.

 

[R1TVT]

So, saw this article today.

Basically, the Equinox has an EPA range of 306 miles. They drove at 75mph on a day when it was -6f, and they got 150 miles out of the first 90% of the battery, with an estimated ~19miles remaining, and an efficiency of ~1.7 miles per KWh.

https://insideevs.com/news/749106/chevrolet-equinox-ev-awd-winter-range-test-owner-video/

Personally, "really cold weather" for my area, means ~20f. So I'm not really super worried about it, as most of the winter is in the ~30-45f range. I'm not trying to be "doom and gloom". But info like the above helps me understand why people are worried about how the scout will handle cold temperatures.

Sub-freezing cold weather, road conditions, head-wind and elevation gain will cut your efficiency for sure. Climbing into the mountains I can see my averages drop, so advanced planning can be needed in these conditions to ensure you have enough juice to get back to a charger (if going into the backcountry for example). The funny thing is though, the opposite is true too... I can watch my averages climb drastically on the return trip with a tailwind, elevation drop and regen kicking in.

I wouldn't get too bogged down on comparisons to the Equinox though, its the lowest-end EV SUV (at least in terms of pricing) that Chevy has on the market, and I would say that it is an awkward EV implementation, and will be very different than the Scout battery, BMS and architecture. When you dig in to the voltage, , battery chemistry and what is considered "top-end" speed in a vehicle like that, you have already "run out of room" at 75mph. Interestingly, that is the exact number that Inside EV's notated in this article about the Equinox: https://insideevs.com/news/722934/chevy-equinox-ev-ultium-platform/

The compromise was clearly made for a lower range of operating speeds in the Equinox EV. Its front drive unit has an 11.59:1 ratio as compared to the RWD Lyriq/Blazer’s 11.63:1 (almost identical). If the motor KV rating is similar—which I unfortunately can only assume—the top-end performance will suffer.

In practice, this isn’t much of an assumption. Driving the FWD Equinox EV, we noticed that above 75 mph it gets seriously short on power. This phenomenon is a combination of all of these factors.

On the flip side of this, we can look at the AWD Cadillac Lyriq. Its front and rear drive units have ratios of 9.87:1 and 10.49:1, respectively. The Lyriq’s pack has a higher voltage and two drive units, so the current handling capability of the drivetrain is increased. This means more torque, higher potential speed, and greater power.

 

[Logan]

Sub-freezing cold weather, road conditions, head-wind and elevation gain will cut your efficiency for sure. Climbing into the mountains I can see my averages drop, so advanced planning can be needed in these conditions to ensure you have enough juice to get back to a charger (if going into the backcountry for example). The funny thing is though, the opposite is true too... I can watch my averages climb drastically on the return trip with a tailwind, elevation drop and regen kicking in.

I wouldn't get too bogged down on comparisons to the Equinox though, its the lowest-end EV SUV (at least in terms of pricing) that Chevy has on the market, and I would say that it is an awkward EV implementation, and will be very different than the Scout battery, BMS and architecture. When you dig in to the voltage, , battery chemistry and what is considered "top-end" speed in a vehicle like that, you have already "run out of room" at 75mph. Interestingly, that is the exact number that Inside EV's notated in this article about the Equinox: https://insideevs.com/news/722934/chevy-equinox-ev-ultium-platform/

The compromise was clearly made for a lower range of operating speeds in the Equinox EV. Its front drive unit has an 11.59:1 ratio as compared to the RWD Lyriq/Blazer’s 11.63:1 (almost identical). If the motor KV rating is similar—which I unfortunately can only assume—the top-end performance will suffer.

In practice, this isn’t much of an assumption. Driving the FWD Equinox EV, we noticed that above 75 mph it gets seriously short on power. This phenomenon is a combination of all of these factors.

On the flip side of this, we can look at the AWD Cadillac Lyriq. Its front and rear drive units have ratios of 9.87:1 and 10.49:1, respectively. The Lyriq’s pack has a higher voltage and two drive units, so the current handling capability of the drivetrain is increased. This means more torque, higher potential speed, and greater power.

Oh, absolutely agree on all of it. More was showing "uh, its definitely a justifiable worry" for the general public, and that I understood why it was a topic.

Interesting about the final drive ratio differences, as that part I hadn't dug into that level for the Equinox quite yet. And one I hadn't thought about as a reason to use a dual motor (or generally more powerful EV). That is a super short final drive ratio for an EV, and I could see that being an issue at higher speeds. Good info there. Funny enough, the final drive ratio and different efficient operating speeds is a topic I've brought up before. Some Teslas (S/X) actually use different final drive ratios on the front and rear axles, with a different motor being prioritized for different speeds of travel.

I've been shouted down for this before, but I still that vehicles like the Scout might actually benefit from a 2 speed transmission (functioning sort of like a transfer case). One for lower speeds/trails/around town (because big offroad moves draw lots of amperage... the Rivian R1S that did 12 miles of the rubicon, used something like 85% SOC for that distance), and another for highway speeds (like what you're saying here). I doubt we'll see it, but, I still think its a potentially good idea.

* FWIW, Mercedes is working on 2 speed transmissions for their next gen platform, Jeep is also working on 2 speed EV transmissions for their future EV Wrangler.

 

[dleepnw]

while i can appreciate your specific use case of extreme cold, most owners will not be in that situation so i dont expect to see anything extraordinary for cold weather extremes. it also wouldn't be cost effective for them to do so. if they can add in heated wipers and a way to auto clean/wipe/melt the headlights of snow i think that will cover most situations.

 

[J Alynn]

while i can appreciate your specific use case of extreme cold, most owners will not be in that situation so i dont expect to see anything extraordinary for cold weather extremes. it also wouldn't be cost effective for them to do so. if they can add in heated wipers and a way to auto clean/wipe/melt the headlights of snow i think that will cover most situations.

I would add too at least in central PA when snow and extreme cold hit, people reduce their traveling considerably. Granted if it’s -20 and your commute is 100 miles round trip you are probably screwed . But those temperatures are typically the top row of states and Canada so to agree-this won’t impact that large of a percentage unless the south just doesn’t purchase the Scouts