To draw reliable conclusions about the thermal characteristic of or a preferential cooling strategy for a lithium–ion battery, the correct set of thermal input parameters and a detailed battery layout is crucial. In our previous work, an electrochemical model for a commercially-available, 40 $\mathrm{Ah}$ prismatic lithium–ion battery was validated under heuristic temperature dependence. In this work the validated electrochemical model is coupled to a spatially resolved, three dimensional (3D), thermal model of the same battery to evaluate the thermal characteristics, i.e., thermal barriers and preferential heat rejection patterns, within common environment layouts. We discuss to which extent the knowledge of the batteries’ interior layout can be constructively used for the design of an exterior battery thermal management. It is found from the study results that: (1) Increasing the current rate without considering an increased heat removal flux at natural convection at higher temperatures will lead to increased model deviations; (2) Centralized fan air-cooling within a climate chamber in a multi cell test arrangement can lead to significantly different thermal characteristics at each battery cell; (3) Increasing the interfacial surface area, at which preferential battery interior and exterior heat rejection match, can significantly lower the temperature rise and inhomogeneity within the electrode stack and increase the batteries’ lifespan.