Are EV Winter Tires Actually More Efficient? Testing the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 EVs
Winter driving in cold climates means higher consumption. It is true for both EVs and gasoline combustion cars. You’re battling more dense cold air, snow/slush on the roadway, and increased HVAC demands to keep passengers comfortable. Winter tires are designed for increased winter safety and control, and they do this with large sipes in their […]
Teslas Will Soon Precondition Batteries for Third-Party DC Fast Chargers
This one is long overdue, but as fans of fast charging we are so happy to finally see Tesla address this issue. Starting with software version 2025.2, Tesla cars in North America will initiate battery preconditioning (heating) when navigating to a non-Supercharger DC fast charger. Although this functionality was already available in Europe when navigating […]
IONNA Launches, A True Rival to Superchargers, EA, and EVgo
This past week, I travelled to Apex, North Carolina for the launch event for the IONNA EV charging network. Anticipation has been building towards this launch ever since the announcement of the founding of this company. IONNA came into existence when eight major automakers were dissatisfied with the current options, and banded together to fund […]
Tesla Model Y Real-World Efficiency in 4 Seasons
How much does energy efficiency really change throughout the year when driving an EV? I have been collecting data for this experiment for well over a year driving several thousand kilometres in each season. The Tesla Model Y I’m driving is currently the best selling EV (and car!) in the world, so this test is […]
Tesla V4 Superchargers Are Finally Coming
Today, Tesla announced more specifications and a timeline for deployment of Version 4 Supercharger sites. The V4 dispensers have been appearing at new locations in Europe and North America since 2023. However, those dispensers were still connected to V3 electronics cabinets, so they were still operating at 400 volts and 250 kW. That combination has […]
Two-Car Household? Why (at least) One Should be Electric
Fully electric cars continue to grow their market share or new car sales worldwide, and hovering around 6-7% in the US in recent months. In urban areas especially, EVs can be spotted at pretty much every intersection. As we’re approaching the inflection point, electric cars are popular not only with early adopters but with regular […]
All My Tesla Model Y Repairs in the First Year and a Half
My Tesla ownership experience has certainly gone through more ups and downs than anyone I know. I’ve got many friends with problem-free cars, and I’ve driven about a dozen other Tesla products without issues. But I got dealt a whole bingo card of issues with my September 2022 Fremont-built Model Y Long Range that were […]