Charging and temperature: Kia vs Polestar

Charging and temperature

Over the summer, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find the charging and temperature with the Kia produced far different results than the with the Polestar.

Warm weather range

The Niro topped out over the summer at 325 miles of range at about 85 degrees F. I have charged recently at 60 and today 50 degrees F with a resulting range of 278 miles, once charged to 100% and once extrapolated from 90%.

Note that this car has an EPA rated 250 miles of ranges.

The Polestar 2 also featured an EPA estimated 250 miles of range. This number never varied after charging regardless of temperature. When charged to 80 or 90%, the extrapolated range was always 250 miles.

Cold weather range

I did not actually track the numbers with the Kia over last winter, but believe that it tended to about 230 miles. Last winter lacked a significant cold snap.

The Polestar held its range expectations through most of the three winters it experienced, and only dropped below its range estimate during a significant cold snap that saw temperatures drop below 20 degrees F. This seemed to be the rough dividing line. The general lack of variability kept me from paying a lot of attention.

I reported recently that highway speeds above 62 MPH made a large difference in range performance in the Niro. Curiously, one of the few long trips taken with the Polestar 2 was the same weekend as the cold snap!

Battery chemistry

The primary difference in the these behaviors appears to surround battery chemistry. This is a very complex topic indeed and honestly beyond my comprehension, but I can summarize.

The Niro uses a lithium-ion polymer battery that may have one of two electrolytes: a dry solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) or a gel polymer electrolytes (GPE). I was not able to discover which is used in the vehicle.

The Polestar 2 used a lithium-ion battery with a NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) chemistry. The battery uses a liquid electrolyte more susceptible to fire.

Conclusion

We’ll keep an eye on this going forward and will add anything substantial as discovered. For the record, the Niro‘s added range in the warmer months has thus far exceeded any cold weather losses, which adds up to a solid win over the Polestar.

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