Kia EV2 impresses at the El Prix Winter Test Drive

Revealed just over a month ago, the Kia EV2 is set to become the South Korean brand’s smallest and most affordable electric car in Europe. Before it reaches customers, however, it has already been put through one of the toughest proving grounds any EV can face: the depth of winter.

The harshest winter test for an electric car

To do that, it took part unofficially in the El Prix Winter Test Drive, run by the Norwegian Automobile Federation. This event is widely regarded as one of the most punishing tests for any electric vehicle because it takes place in genuine, extreme cold. This year’s edition was the coldest on record, with temperatures ranging from -8 ºC to -31 ºC. The aim is straightforward: measure how much range EVs lose in these conditions compared with what they claim.

The Norwegian route: Oslo to the mountains

The challenge is made even tougher by the route itself. The drive begins in Oslo, Norway’s coastal capital, and climbs to elevations of around 1000 m through the mountains and valleys between Otta and Fåvang. Along the way, it mixes several types of driving: urban sections, motorway running, and long climbs and descents.

Vehicles are driven until they start to lose power due to running out of energy, and every car finishes the test the same way: on a recovery truck. The point is to establish a realistic cold-weather range and set it against the official (WLTP) figure, so consumers can understand how much usable range typically disappears in low temperatures.

More than 20 models took part this year. It is worth reiterating that the Kia EV2 was not entered as an official participant because it is still a pre-production model. Even so, its run followed the same rules and took place under exactly the same conditions as the rest.

How did the Kia EV2 behave?

The EV2 GT-Line Kia brought to the El Prix lists a projected WLTP combined range of 413 km. It was fitted with the model’s larger 61 kWh battery and, as a GT-Line, it ran on 19″ wheels. In the end, the compact EV2 covered a total of 310.6 km before coming to a complete stop, after more than five hours behind the wheel. In other words, it shed almost 103 km of range, which corresponds to a 24.81% reduction.

Even though it was not an official entry, the Kia EV2’s outcome turned out to be the best of all the cars present. Officially, the Hyundai Inster and the MGS6 delivered the strongest results in this year’s El Prix Winter Test Drive, each recording a 29% drop in range versus their official figures.

Charging test in sub-zero temperatures

The EV2 also performed well in the charging assessment, which forms part of the El Prix Winter Test Drive. Despite the below-freezing temperatures, the small South Korean SUV needed only 36 minutes to raise the battery’s state of charge from 10% to 80%-just six minutes slower than the official 30 minutes.

Even as the most budget-friendly EV in the range, Kia sought to show that the EV2’s entry-level positioning does not necessarily mean major compromises on range, including when faced with sub-zero temperatures-one of the biggest enemies of fully electric vehicles.