In this week’s Ask Nathan:
- Stuck in a Dallas snow storm, in an old EV – hilarity ensues
- You avoid politics and ban people for no reason?
The first part comes directly from me: after I got nailed by a brutal artic blast in Texas.
This just happened.
Q: (Via: Nathan Adlen Journalist Facebook) I posted a video
I just emerged from a rare artic wave that slammed into Dallas, Texas – among many other states. Last time this happened in T-haws, it was a disaster. Power failed, people froze – it was a nightmare. This time it was much better, and they were far better prepared. Being that I was visiting for a family event, I did something unusual for an automotive journalist: I rented a car.
The price was good, and (given the geographical makeup of Dallas, Fort Worth) I figured getting an EV was a good idea.
Let me explain how things went down with a well-used (2021) Hyundai Ioniq5, and a sub-freezing blast.
— Me
A: Yes, I had issues: but it wasn’t with the range, or charging.
There were surprisingly few issues driving the older Hyundai Ioniq 5 in the snow, despite it riding on standard (worn) all-season tires. The all-wheel-drive system was outstanding, and the vehicle felt planted, predictable, and safe. It also had well over 25,000 hard miles on it and had not exactly been treated gently.
My point is simple: despite being an older EV, it performed extremely well in brutally cold, difficult conditions. I brought it to a fast charger near Meow Wolf in Grapevine, Texas, where I topped it off to 100% while wandering through a nearly abandoned mall. The weather was so severe that roads, businesses, and public facilities were either closed or eerily empty.
Yet the car held its charge just fine. Sure, I lost a bit here and there, but less than 10-percent overall. Over three days of sub-zero temperatures, heavy ice accumulation, and snow both above and below freezing, the Ioniq 5 drove like a champ. No drama, no range collapse, no major cold-weather failures. It just worked.
Minor issues consisted of a lack of a rear wiper (which the newer ones have), some sluggish controls and poor sound isolation. Nothing tragic. But then I discovered one major problem – something that somehow never stood out during more than two decades of living in Colorado.
The door handles.
The electrically actuated pop-out handles, which extend so you can pull the door open, became a genuine liability. Sometimes they wouldn’t deploy. Sometimes they wouldn’t retract. In several cases, they wouldn’t close properly at all.
The doors were so frozen that I literally had to spill a cup of hot coffee on the driver’s door just to free part of the mechanism. On the other side, I had to physically pound on the door to break the ice seal. Humidity, freezing rain, and rapid icing are brutal companions for electronic exterior components – especially in environments not designed for that kind of weather.
It made me realize why I hadn’t noticed this problem in Colorado. Most snow there is light and powdery. Elevation changes everything. Texas ice is different; it’s wet, dense, heavy, and invasive. It creeps into every seam, crevice, and mechanism. When those pop-out handles were completely encased in ice, the design went from “futuristic” to “ridiculous” very quickly.
And this isn’t just an EV issue anymore. Pop-out door handles are spreading across the industry. Automakers cite aerodynamics, security, and aesthetics. Maybe there are other justifications too; but I can tell you this: in real winter conditions, they make absolutely no sense. None. Zero.
I was lucky I could physically force my way into the car.
So yes: my brush with a severe snow event in Dallas ended with delayed flights, extended hotel stays, and more time in Texas than I planned. That said, Texans are genuinely some of the nicest people I’ve ever met – especially when things go wrong. Still, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough, and I got real tired of fighting my own car every morning after overnight icing.
This is a major design flaw. It needs to be eliminated from vehicle design entirely.
I said what I said.
— N
The last question comes from a viewer who isn’t happy about being marginalized.
Q:(Via: YouTube) RE: Cancel culture Nathan.
You guys never answer political questions. All of you hide from real questions and now you block people who jokingly respond to posts.
— 816Chicken
A: Without going too deep here:
We do cars, trucks UTVs and motorcycles. Sometimes, we cover boats and planes. From time to time, we touch on current political hot spots when they affect with the automotive industry. That’s pretty much it.
Oh and impersonating us (which is what you’re referring to)? It’s because impersonation isn’t just annoying – it’s actively harmful. Banning people who impersonate others protects trust, safety, and accountability.
We talk to our viewers, and someone pretending to be one of us can be a major issue.
Period.
– N
