It does, and it is very well insulated with its sandwich core composite construction. The solar also allows the interior to stay at ambient temps on hot days so you don't have to cool the car down before driving in the summer.
@Randy Spencer The founders have stated that they'd prefer to have a heat pump - if they can find a supplier. Currently, the prototype has resistance heating. They'd also like to include heated and ventilated seat - also if they can find the right supplier.
@Paul Harsch Like any EV (or PHEV) Aptera will have the ability to pre-condition its cabin for hot or cold conditions and the battery pack will be actively heated or cooled as necessary.
:-) I've been spoiled with a heated steering wheel, heated seats and powerful heater in my huge Yukon Denali XL. This will be a "big" change and one I am actually excited to make......so long as the Aptera will handle the cold conditions up here. As for snow.....that's another matter for such a light vehicle.....
@Paul Harsch I drove a tiny Ford Festiva through several snowy Pennsylvania mountain winters: It was so light it barely left tracks when running on top of the snow! The Founders have said that they hope to offer seats that are both heated and ventilated and that they're considering a heated steering wheel. Even Tesla is finally getting on the "heated steering wheel" bandwagon!
Thanks very much for all this helpful insight. If it had such options that would really make a difference. I love my remote start fob so in the bitterest cold I can have the cabin pre-heated and then the steering wheel warm up really fast too. I hope the Aptera will turn out to be my ideal next vehicle. I don't feel the need to haul around all the mass of the Yukon any longer so long as the Aptera will handle all but the worst winter weather. My Yukon goes anywhere anytime but of course at a cost.
There's a good snow thread on the general forum (click here).
Line 76 of their FAQ spreadsheet says it will have a heat pump heated seats and steering wheel, but line 133 says "it may only have resistive heat". Even the latter works fine in the similarly-small cabin of my 500e, taking about 1/2kWh to heat it from freezing, & then about 1kW avg continuously.
Line 65 says "With all-wheel-drive and vectorized torque control, Aptera handles very well in the snow and ice. We are designing specifically for a lot of the cold countries that love electric vehicles. The Aptera will have a full climate control system capable down to -20 and up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. With our sandwich core composites body offering great insulation and a nice heater, it’s very comfortable to drive in the winter..."
I know from personal experience that even cars that are lighter than Aptera work fine in snow. Tires that are narrow enough to still sink into the snow seem to help. Aptera's smooth 9" high belly would seem to help also.
I really appreciate all the input and insights. These are giving me more confidence in the Aptera being suitable for winter conditions. Thanks very much!
Ride comfort - how is this ride thought to feel like as compared say to my Yukon which is really comfortable and which softens all the road imperfections nicely. I remember riding in a friend's Corvette years ago and feeling as if it was a pretty direct connection from the bumps in the road to my seat. Not at all comfortable.
Kinda wondering the power consumption of the heating /cooling system. My friend has a volt and with the lo range of that and winter driving it zaps the range by a 1/3...OH no...so that is why went for the 600 mile range one..to account for the power draw..thanks
Good choice, but not for the reason you think. Range will still likely drop by about 1/3 when it's freezing, but mostly not from the power draw of cabin heat. It's the battery's own power drop from freezing:
Cooling: I tested my 500e range with A/C when it was warm out & couldn't even detect any range loss compared to no A/C when it was cool out. I then learned the battery efficiency increases when hot, peaking at around 125F*, so greater battery efficiency compensates for the power use of A/C (about 0.25kW, after about 5 min of 1kW to cool it down).
Heating: Aptera may come with an inefficient resistance heater like mine, but that's still only about 1kW (after about 5 min of 6kW to warm it up). By comparison, driving 60 takes about 17kW. Slowing down 1mph saves more than 1kW.
Battery: The battery itself temporarily loses capacity at low temperature. For a demo, get a free phone app like AccuBattery, that shows voltage, put it in the freezer for a few minutes & the voltage plummets, then bounces back when it warms up.
That's why you get SO much better winter range by simply timing it to be charging when you unplug to drive, preferably after 5 minutes pre-heating the cabin while plugged in. Aptera has SO much range though that it's not much of an issue.
*Note that while 125F may be ideal for EFFICIENCY, it is FAR from ideal for longevity, which peaks at LOW temperatures.
Yes. Hopefully variable speed compressor like other electrified vehicles. But details TBA.
From the"Performance" section of the FAQ:
Does Aptera have air conditioning?
It does, and it is very well insulated with its sandwich core composite construction. The solar also allows the interior to stay at ambient temps on hot days so you don't have to cool the car down before driving in the summer.
SS
Heat pump for winter?
@Randy Spencer The founders have stated that they'd prefer to have a heat pump - if they can find a supplier. Currently, the prototype has resistance heating. They'd also like to include heated and ventilated seat - also if they can find the right supplier.
Any way of knowing now the Aptera's ability to warm for northern cold winter conditions?
@Paul Harsch Like any EV (or PHEV) Aptera will have the ability to pre-condition its cabin for hot or cold conditions and the battery pack will be actively heated or cooled as necessary.
Just get those hand warmer packs, you'll be fine
:-) I've been spoiled with a heated steering wheel, heated seats and powerful heater in my huge Yukon Denali XL. This will be a "big" change and one I am actually excited to make......so long as the Aptera will handle the cold conditions up here. As for snow.....that's another matter for such a light vehicle.....
@Paul Harsch I drove a tiny Ford Festiva through several snowy Pennsylvania mountain winters: It was so light it barely left tracks when running on top of the snow! The Founders have said that they hope to offer seats that are both heated and ventilated and that they're considering a heated steering wheel. Even Tesla is finally getting on the "heated steering wheel" bandwagon!
Thanks very much for all this helpful insight. If it had such options that would really make a difference. I love my remote start fob so in the bitterest cold I can have the cabin pre-heated and then the steering wheel warm up really fast too. I hope the Aptera will turn out to be my ideal next vehicle. I don't feel the need to haul around all the mass of the Yukon any longer so long as the Aptera will handle all but the worst winter weather. My Yukon goes anywhere anytime but of course at a cost.
There's a good snow thread on the general forum (click here).
Line 76 of their FAQ spreadsheet says it will have a heat pump heated seats and steering wheel, but line 133 says "it may only have resistive heat". Even the latter works fine in the similarly-small cabin of my 500e, taking about 1/2kWh to heat it from freezing, & then about 1kW avg continuously.
Line 65 says "With all-wheel-drive and vectorized torque control, Aptera handles very well in the snow and ice. We are designing specifically for a lot of the cold countries that love electric vehicles. The Aptera will have a full climate control system capable down to -20 and up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. With our sandwich core composites body offering great insulation and a nice heater, it’s very comfortable to drive in the winter..."
I know from personal experience that even cars that are lighter than Aptera work fine in snow. Tires that are narrow enough to still sink into the snow seem to help. Aptera's smooth 9" high belly would seem to help also.
I really appreciate all the input and insights. These are giving me more confidence in the Aptera being suitable for winter conditions. Thanks very much!
Ride comfort - how is this ride thought to feel like as compared say to my Yukon which is really comfortable and which softens all the road imperfections nicely. I remember riding in a friend's Corvette years ago and feeling as if it was a pretty direct connection from the bumps in the road to my seat. Not at all comfortable.
Kinda wondering the power consumption of the heating /cooling system. My friend has a volt and with the lo range of that and winter driving it zaps the range by a 1/3...OH no...so that is why went for the 600 mile range one..to account for the power draw..thanks
Good choice, but not for the reason you think. Range will still likely drop by about 1/3 when it's freezing, but mostly not from the power draw of cabin heat. It's the battery's own power drop from freezing:
Cooling: I tested my 500e range with A/C when it was warm out & couldn't even detect any range loss compared to no A/C when it was cool out. I then learned the battery efficiency increases when hot, peaking at around 125F*, so greater battery efficiency compensates for the power use of A/C (about 0.25kW, after about 5 min of 1kW to cool it down).
Heating: Aptera may come with an inefficient resistance heater like mine, but that's still only about 1kW (after about 5 min of 6kW to warm it up). By comparison, driving 60 takes about 17kW. Slowing down 1mph saves more than 1kW.
Battery: The battery itself temporarily loses capacity at low temperature. For a demo, get a free phone app like AccuBattery, that shows voltage, put it in the freezer for a few minutes & the voltage plummets, then bounces back when it warms up.
That's why you get SO much better winter range by simply timing it to be charging when you unplug to drive, preferably after 5 minutes pre-heating the cabin while plugged in. Aptera has SO much range though that it's not much of an issue.
*Note that while 125F may be ideal for EFFICIENCY, it is FAR from ideal for longevity, which peaks at LOW temperatures.