Tesla Model 3 takes on gas-powered Ford in winter defroster showdown: Who melts first?

When six inches of snow is piled on top of your car, what kind of vehicle is superior in its defrosting capabilities: A Tesla Model 3, or an internal combustion engine vehicle? The owner of both a Model 3 and a Ford Fusion pit the two vehicles against one another in the ultimate “defroster showdown” to determine what vehicle would be better suited for melting away snow and ice.

Aaron Jackson of the Charging Chats YouTube channel demonstrated the effectiveness of both vehicle’s defroster systems after a six-and-a-half inch snowstorm struck his home state of Michigan. Jackson woke up to the snow covering his two vehicles and decided it would be a perfect opportunity to show how an all-electric Model 3 would perform in melting away snow when up against a traditional gas-powered engine.

After starting the two vehicles, Jackson set a timer in thirty-minute intervals. After the first thirty minutes of testing, both cars had successfully cleared their side windows and front grilles of snow.

After the second half-hour interval, the Tesla was beginning to become more visible than the Ford. Nearly the entire front hood of the Model 3 was visible as the snow slid off during the defrosting process. The Fusion was still covered for the most part, but was melting the snow at a similar rate.

Jackson determined the winner by breaking the test down into three different categories: convenience, snow cover, and how much work was leftover after letting the cars defrost on high heat for an hour.

Convenience was an easy win for the Tesla according to Jackson. “I give it to the Tesla, hands down. Just the functionality of the app, I can control it, I can start the car, warm it up, change the temperature to whatever I want it to be,” he said. While mentioning that other vehicles do have a remote start option, he still gives the advantage to his Model 3 simply because of the convenience and accessibility the app gives him.

Snow cover was a tie because both vehicles still had around the same amount of snow covering the car after the hour of defrosting. The Tesla did have less on the hood and Jackson credits the vehicle’s unique shape and design for assisting with that.

The final category of how much work remained for Jackson after the hour defrosting went to the Tesla as well. “There was the same amount of snow on both cars, but it actually cleaned off of the Tesla a lot easier than the Fusion. I think that is because of the design whereas my Fusion still has a good amount of snow on the roof of it.”

Jackson states the Tesla was the victor in the assessment as the shape and design of the vehicle certainly did assist him in an easier snow removal process. However, he did note that both vehicles did a good job of defrosting the snow and he was happy with the performance of the Fusion as well.

Tesla’s vehicles are great for any kind of weather and they are suited for both warm and cold climate driving. Each vehicle is equipped with a series of heated parts, like wheels, cameras, wipers and steering wheels so comfortability is at a maximum for drivers who are forced to brave the cold winter months.

You can watch Aaron Jackson’s defrost test of the Tesla Model 3 and Ford Fusion below.

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