Good luck finding a non-Tesla 350 kW DCFC.
While the Hyundai Ioniq 5 isn’t the king of range in its class, it makes up for that with excellent charging capabilities. As the car features 800-volt battery technology, it can charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in just 18 minutes at a 350 kW DC fast-charger. While filing up an ICE alternative with petrol or diesel is much quicker, the Ioniq 5 proves just how quickly EVs and their batteries are developing.
Source: Can The Hyundai Ioniq 5 Achieve Its Range Claims In The Real World? | Carscoops
I used a route planner to look at charging options for EVs, on a route from our house to a relative that is over 500 miles away. I also took a look at several routes inside my state.
I discovered (except for Tesla vehicles), virtually all chargers along the route max out at 50 kw – no where near the maximum charge capability of the cars. Thus, may as well buy a cheaper EV for local and regional travel.
- For the 500+ mile route, an ICE vehicle has about 30 minutes cumulative stops for gas, bathroom and something to eat.
- For the 500+ mile route, the Tesla Model 3 would have 50 minutes charge time – not really a big deal.
- All other EVs checked were around 2 + or – hours in charging time. That was because there are nearly no true DCFC stations! Almost all stations maxed out at 50 kw, a few at 62.5 kw, and only 1 went up to 150 kw. Needless to say, 2+ hours of charging time on an already long drive won’t cut it.
Thus, the reality is – until EV DCFC infrastructure is built out, fast charging capability of an EV is nice, but useless.
Unless you own a Tesla. There were multiple true Tesla exclusive DCFC stations, up to 350 kw, along the routes I checked in the EV route planner.
PLUS – as we live in a 4-season area, cold weather can cut maximum range by 20-25% for most of the EVs looked at. That would add another 30 or more minutes on to the charging time during winter travel, for most EVs.
