Coming out of a car with an internal combustion engine, you have a lot to learn. About the range at 100 and 130 km/h, the intricacies of fast charging and the difference between gross and net capacity. We ran into this ourselves and we think you will struggle with it too. This is how the EV file was created, a section in Auto Review in which we examine the electrical properties of a new model.
Learn about the fast charger
To continue developing the EV dossier, we need more input than just our own curiosity. In the process, I learned that fast charging stations are the best places to get in touch with EV drivers from the very beginning. And that these experts share their knowledge with conviction. We have to wait for the moment when someone puts his foot in the driver’s door during fast charging…
500 kilometers on a battery
I’m talking to a smart gentleman with a Hyundai Kona Electric. It gets 500 kilometers from a full battery. My brain starts to crack and come to the conclusion that he must drive very economically. And he does.
He proudly tells that his son also drives Kona Electric, but he adds with disappointment that it only travels 400 kilometers. I would be very satisfied with such a range, but it clearly bothers him. His tone suggests that the dear son has disgraced the family’s honor and will soon be deleted from the will. I dare not tell him how much power I just wasted during the range test of the Skoda Enyaq iV.
Save power
Does the gentleman sometimes turn off the heating to save electricity? The answer is yes, always. He finds seat and steering wheel heating enough. So those people are there. I make a mental note. We always do our range test the comfortable way, with the heating at 21 degrees, because we think that’s how most drivers use their car.
Maybe that’s the next step for the EV file in the magazine: an eco-test. Getting every mile out of it. We have tried it and with the Citroën e-C4 this provides about 40 kilometers extra range in practice. Learned something about electric cars.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is central to the next EV file! Shall we notify you as soon as that magazine is in the store?