Charging speeds: 400v vs. 800v

[AnthonyIEV]

Hey there, I'm torn between the Mustang Mach-E with the big battery vs. the Kia EV6 First Edition. I love the looks of the Mustang and the Kia has the advantage of next generation EV tech. Which should I get?

Both have similar EPA range for AWD. From 10% to 80%, the real life charging times are:
Mustang Mach-E - 40 minutes
EV6/Ioniq 5 - 18 minutes;
charge time to 50kWh and 72kWh
Mustang Mach-E - 31 mins and 47 mins
EV6/Ioniq 5 - 18 mins and 42 mins

Sources: Tom Moloughney DCFC test and EV Battery Life YouTube

 

[Domenick]

I guess it might come down to how often you drive distances that require you to charge and how much you value your time. I like the Mustang Mach-E, but the charging time on the Kia EV6 is so much better.

 

[AnthonyIEV]

Thanks Domenick, I rarely road trip now (1-4x a year with trips of 300-500mi) with practically unlimited range in my ICE. Every single Tesla owner I know says they drive more now than ever because it's so much fun. I'm anticipating the same with my next car. Your Spark EV makes every drive an adventure.

 

[bwilson4web]

Perhaps you might describe your requirements? For example, driving 700 mi to my Mom’s house from Huntsville AL to Coffeyville KS.

Bob Wilson

 

[ENirogus]

As a Kia owner, that fast charge time is sexy, but how available are 800 volt chargers now?

1500 miles and yet to charge anywhere but home....

 

[AnthonyIEV]

As a Kia owner, that fast charge time is sexy, but how available are 800 volt chargers now?

1500 miles and yet to charge anywhere but home....

Electrify America is probably the most obvious choice for road tripping and will be most everywhere I'll be driving to. Since most of their stations are 150-350kW, the fast chargers shouldn't be a problem.

 

[AnthonyIEV]

Perhaps you might describe your requirements? For example, driving 700 mi to my Mom’s house from Huntsville AL to Coffeyville KS.

Bob Wilson

Kia's new EV seems to be a generational leap ahead of Ford's Mustang Mach-E. For the same range, it charges in half the time and offers 1.6kW of V2L output. Augmented Reality seems really cool. These features will probably be offered on most new EVs from 2025 onwards. These things make the Kia a lot more valuable in the future.

The Mach-E is beautiful and the GT is especially quick. While it charges slower (and only to 80%), for trips of about 300 miles, the charging time difference is pretty negligible (~10 minutes) for a single stop. It's stops number 2, 3, 4, etc where Kia will just pour it on. The lack of V2L is kind of a shame but almost no cars can do it anyways now.

 

[marshall]

I would want to know the efficiency too. It doesn't help much if you have to stop more often to charge. We've seen that before, where an e-tron charges faster, but the Tesla didn't really need to charge at all to complete the round trip.

I would also want to know if the number of vehicles charging at the same time effects the charge rate.

I would also be a bit concerned that slower charging, cheaper cars would become a waiting for a charger issue. Plus, there is the issue with the number of chargers per location.

I see that becoming an issue at one of the popular summer locations here in Washington state. It appears the EA is only putting in 4 chargers for multiple brands of electric vehicles. Tesla has 16 chargers at this location and only charges Tesla vehicles! To be fair, Tesla is going to have the same issue due to the number of cars sold.

 

[Domenick]

Thanks Domenick, I rarely road trip now (1-4x a year with trips of 300-500mi) with practically unlimited range in my ICE. Every single Tesla owner I know says they drive more now than ever because it's so much fun. I'm anticipating the same with my next car. Your Spark EV makes every drive an adventure.

So, you would probably want to make a charging stop half to 2/3rds of your way into these trips. I would check to see where the Electrify America chargers may be along this route, and then decide if the Mustang Mach-E is worth waiting 20 extra minutes on each leg of your trips. As I 've said, I really liked it, but the Kia EV6 experience is still unknown. It may be even better.