With the federal government planning to phase out sales of gas-powered vehicles during the next decade, many drivers question how they will fare on cold Prairie days like this week’s.
But two electric car enthusiasts who chatted with host Leisha Grebinski on CBC’s Blue Sky this week say they love driving their vehicles in the winter.
“It heats up faster than any gas car I’ve ever had. It’s more reliable,” said Tyler Krause, who sits on the board for the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association and founded the Tesla Owners Club of Saskatchewan.
“You know, there’s no starting of the car. It’s always just kind of on, right? It’s like a phone, basically, or a computer on wheels.”
The major downside in winter is the loss of driving range in really frigid temperatures, Krause said. His Tesla Model 3 can generally travel 500 kilometres on a single charge in the summer, but on cold winter days that decreases to around 300 kilometres, he said.
With the charging infrastructure that has come online in the last few years in the province, that’s still enough to feel confident leaving town, he said.