What happens when you’re stuck in a five-mile tailback in an electric car with less than a full battery charge?
It’s a question consumer watchdog Which? has attempted to answer after it had received messages from its members concerned an EV’s battery will be sapped if a driver is using the air-con, heated seats and other features in a traffic jam.
It found that over an hour at a standstill with the lights on, modulating the cabin temperature, streaming music and playing videos through screens in the back had only a small impact on energy usage – losing just 2 per cent capacity, or eight miles of range.
However, it warned the test was conducted in the summer and suggested the capacity could deplete quicker in colder conditions and batteries don’t perform at their optimum level.
![EV myth busting! Will an electric vehicle's battery drain when stuck in traffic and you want to use features such as air-con and heated-seats? A consumer watchdog has simulated being stuck in a tailback in a plug-in model to find out](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/10/19/46522921-9880591-image-a-184_1628620561265.jpg)
EV myth busting! Will an electric vehicle’s battery drain when stuck in traffic and you want to use features such as air-con and heated-seats? A consumer watchdog has simulated being stuck in a tailback in a plug-in model to find out
‘Electric cars are still relatively new and there is a lot of misinformation out there about battery range, including dystopian style warnings of dormant electric cars strewn across our roads because the air-con (or lights, or similar) drained the battery in a traffic jam,’ Which? explained.
To attempt to disprove the myth, it simulated a traffic jam scenario in the latest Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV.
To understand how battery capacity was impacted by the vehicle being stationary, the test was conducted with music being streamed through the Android Auto system built into the infotainment system.
Both front heated seats were also turned up to the highest temperature setting, the air-con at full blast, dipped headlights on (not on automatic, but manually on) and a tablet plugged into a USB socket playing a film in the back seats.
After just over an hour and 15 minutes the VW’s battery lost just 2 per cent of of its 77kWh capacity – the equivalent of only eight miles in range.
‘In short, a very small amount of the electric car’s battery was used to keep the car comfortable,’ the study revealed.
However, Which? did point out that its controlled test was conducted on a summer’s day and warned that cold weather will have more of an affect on the car’s power usage.
‘We’ll return to this subject in winter, when the temperature starts dropping, to look at what happens,’ it promised.
![To attempt to disprove the myth that an EV battery will drain when using the car's features, it simulated a traffic jam scenario like this one in the latest Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/10/19/46522935-9880591-image-a-183_1628620540579.jpg)
To attempt to disprove the myth that an EV battery will drain when using the car’s features, it simulated a traffic jam scenario like this one in the latest Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV
![After just over an hour and 15 minutes the VW's battery lost just 2% of of its 77kWh capacity - the equivalent of only eight miles in range](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/10/19/46522919-9880591-image-a-189_1628620773396.jpg)
After just over an hour and 15 minutes the VW’s battery lost just 2% of of its 77kWh capacity – the equivalent of only eight miles in range
![While Which? said the mini test had proved a point, it warned that in colder conditions the impact on the batteries is likely to be bigger](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/10/19/46522915-9880591-image-a-190_1628620778380.jpg)
While Which? said the mini test had proved a point, it warned that in colder conditions the impact on the batteries is likely to be bigger
Commenting on the test results, Lisa Barber, Which?’s products and services Editor, said: ‘There is a lot of misinformation out there about electric vehicles, including whether you are likely to run out of juice when stuck in a traffic jam.
‘However, our research has shown that electric vehicles can preserve their battery power well, even if they are stuck in traffic with the music, air-con and headlights on.
‘We know consumers are open to switching to electric vehicles, however there are several barriers to ownership that must be addressed including perceived performance, the high upfront cost of a new electric vehicle and the UK’s fragmented public charging network, which needs to be overhauled to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.’