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How do hills affect electric car range?

I live in a region with a lot more hills, so I’m wondering if my terrain will affect my EV’s driving range. How do hills affect driving range?

avatar
Marlee John · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Great question! Hills affect electric car driving range like hills on a treadmill affects our energy: hills take a lot more energy than flat land!
EVs are able to go up hills, in fact, the instant torque of an electric motor is better suited to pull heavy loads or drive up a hill. This, however, uses a lot of energy and will therefore put a heavier load on the battery. (Literally, as EVs are heavier vehicles!)
Electric cars are built with a
regenerative braking system
that allows cars to recycle some of the heat energy released from the brakes back into the battery. While this may help a little bit, it likely won’t create the same amount of energy the vehicle spent on driving up the hill.
You can still drive an EV if you live in a region that isn’t flat but, depending on how much you use your vehicle in a day, make sure to know where public charging stations are located in case you need to use one.
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