I recently bought an EV with regenerative braking. I thought by having this it might be safer in winter because I can slow down more gently without hitting the brakes, but last week I started skidding while going 10 kilometres an hour in a roundabout. I nearly hit a street light. Our roads are really slippery right now, but could the regen also be adding to the problem? Anything else I should know about winter driving with an EV? – Derek, Edmonton
If your electric vehicle is doing the electric slide on winter roads, your braking could be the culprit.
“Everything in winter needs to be done with moderation,” said Dennis Porter, a senior driving instructor with the Alberta Motor Association (AMA). “If you’re lifting off the [accelerator] pedal quickly [when using regenerative braking], that’s like slamming on your brakes.”
EVs and hybrids use regenerative braking to slow the car by using the electric motor as a generator to charge the battery.
While regen is mostly imperceptible in most hybrids, in EVs and plug-in hybrids it causes the car to slow down when the driver lifts off the accelerator.
Some EVs let you adjust how abruptly the regen slows you down – and some offer one-pedal driving, which lets you come to a complete stop without touching the brake pedal at all.
Although some automakers let you turn off the feature entirely, others – including Tesla and Rivian – don’t.
On winter roads, it’s a good idea to turn regen off if you can – or if you can’t, to set it at the lowest level, said Carl Nadeau, a driving expert with Michelin and a former race car driver.
“If [the roads] are really slippery, using it could cause your car to slide,” he said.
Winter brake
Any time you’re turning or changing lanes on slick roads, hitting your brakes could cause you to lose control in any car, whether it’s electric or gas-powered, Nadeau said.
“We always say never turn the steering wheel and hit the brakes at the same time,” he said. “But, [with regenerative braking], turning the steering wheel and lifting the accelerator quickly has the same effect.”
That’s because the tires on any car can, generally, only do one thing at a time without sacrificing some of their grip on winter roads, Nadeau said.
“[Your car] can be accelerating in a straight line, braking in a straight line or cornering at a steady speed,” he said. So that also means you shouldn’t suddenly hit the accelerator while turning, he said.
All that’s especially important in an EV, which can accelerate more quickly than comparable gas-powered cars, AMA’s Porter said.
“Everything should be done gently,” Porter said. “Do not slam down on the gas pedal.”
Smooth operator?
So, if you know you’ll need to slow down for a roundabout or an exit off the highway, slow down as much as you can before you get there – while you’re still going straight, Michelin’s Nadeau said.
“[Brake smoothly], like you’re squeezing a sponge, while keeping the wheel straight,” he said.
And, if you’re in an EV that won’t let you turn off the regen, keep your foot steady on the accelerator anytime you’re turning the steering wheel, he said.
“I’m different because I was a precision pro driver, pro racer [and] stuntman,” Nadeau said. “So I drive my [EV] with full regen on the whole time because I never, ever lift the accelerator when my wheels turn. And if I do, it’s because I want to slide.”
If you do start to skid, look exactly where you want to go and steer that way, he said.
Because the large batteries on EVs make them heavier than comparable gas-powered cars – for example, the 2026 Hyundai Kona EV has a curb weight of more than 1,700 kilograms compared to around 1,350 kilograms for the base gas-powered version – they may need more distance to stop, he said.
That means that winter driving basics – drive with winter tires, slow down and keep a safe distance from other cars – are especially important.
“Physics wins every time,” Nadeau said. “You have to drive according to the … conditions.”
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