Part of what makes the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and its close cousin, the Kia EV6, so noteworthy in the market is that they’re capable of taking advantage of 350-kw CCS connectors, and their faster-charging power levels allowed by 800-volt charging systems.
On those 350-kw connectors, in ideal conditions, that can assure a road-trip charge from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes. We’ve seen close to that, and it’s astonishingly quick. It and other vehicles that can utilize the increasingly common 350-kw connectors—including the Lucid Air, the Porsche Taycan, the Audi E-Tron GT, and the GMC Hummer EV—show that higher-power charging can be a game-changer.
That said, 350-kw connectors still aren’t that common. Map out your electric-vehicle trip around 150-kw connectors and it’s likely you have a lot more flexibility versus aiming for 350-kw connectors every time.
So… if we were to just charge at a more conveniently located 150-kw charger, would I really be giving that much up in time?
The short answer: In the Ioniq 5 or EV6, probably not. Between these two models, I’ve already seen more than a half-dozen DC fast-charges, with only two of those charge sessions, on a nice warm day, at something close to the claimed rate. Just under a half hour is more realistic from a 350-kw connector.
That happens to be, essentially, what I recently saw during a follow-up with the Hyundai Ioniq 5. On a 150-kw connector.
In charging this test car, a 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD—with the larger 77.4-kwh battery pack and a 256-mile EPA range rating—I don’t think I gave up any time in heading over to the 150-kw charger instead.
With ambient temperature at 68 degrees and relatively gentle driving just beforehand, I plugged into an 150-kw Electrify America connector at 8%. And it took just 15 minutes to get to 50%, with only 11 minutes remaining to get to 80%. And the shocking part was that, while I’ve noted erratic burst rates in 350-kw charging, the Ioniq 5 charged steady around 130 kw, working its way gradually closer to 150 kw as the pack warmed up to ideal.
Cooler or rainy? Probably not going to see fast enough to justify 350 kw
To throw another example into the mix. About a week later I revisited the Kia EV6, with the same size battery pack, and after more spirited driving but moister, cooler weather (49 degrees), plugging into the 350-kw connector got me from 7% to 80% in 31 minutes. Yes, actually slower. I saw lower power at first, then a burst to 202 kw, briefly at 35%, with power settling to just above 150 kw for the rest of the charge.
Yes, the ambient temperature probably had a lot to do with the slower pace. But unlike the 350-kw charges, the battery temperature doesn’t seem to need to be in a particular sweet spot in order to achieve close to the peak rate from a 150-kw connector.
Hyundai and Kia have talked about introducing a preconditioning feature and that might change things in the future, making that peak rate more widely accessible. But it's worth keeping in mind that even by official, ideal times, Hyundai quotes 25 minutes at 150 kw vs. 18 minutes at 350 kw.
Great efficiency, too
In my follow-up with the Ioniq 5, I found it to be nearly as efficient as I experienced in my Southern California first drive back in December. Over 70.7 miles (odometer checked), I averaged an indicated 3.8 miles per kwh in a mix of city and suburban driving, then over 141.4 miles of freeway driving—most of it near 70 mph, but in Eco mode—I averaged 3.3 miles per kwh. That points to highway driving right in line with the EPA range, and commute-style range likely to deliver something close to 300 miles in ideal conditions. . . .
