Driving range dominates the search for new electric cars to lease, and it’s often the first statistic reported about an EV. Of course, a long driving range is very handy, but it’s half the picture when understanding how comfortable an electric car is at covering long distances. Sometimes, the more important question to ask is this: how long does it take an EV to charge?
It all comes down to simple maths. If you need to cover 400 miles on a trip, there are very few EV options that will let you cover that distance on a single charge. There are plenty of options that will cover 300 miles or less however, requiring a quick charge en route to complete the trip.
But an EV that can cover 300 miles on a charge may not be as suitable as one that completes 250 miles but charges at a faster rate.
The highest-power charge points from networks such as Gridserve, Ionity, Instavolt, BP Pulse, and Tesla are capable of topping up the battery in 15-20 minutes, which is a small amount of time to stop on this hypothetical 400 mile trip. The crucial thing is, not all cars can charge that fast.
Here, we show the fastest charging electric cars available to lease – those that can take the highest power levels from the fastest charge points. As a rule, the higher the power level an electric car can accept, the faster the charging times.
To help rank each model, we have given the cars a “miles per hour” charging speed. This is the theoretical number of miles that could be added in an hour’s charge. Despite none of the EVs capable of charging for an hour at such a rate – the battery would be full in that time – this charging rate is a quick and easy comparison between models, based on the car’s driving range and charging rate.
Thanks to a super-slippery shape, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is extremely efficient, with a range of 295 miles on a charge. But because its battery is 20 kWh less than the Porsche below (despite offering the same range) and it can charge at up to 233 kW DC, it steps straight in to top spot in this list.
A charge from 10-80% will take just over 15 minutes, making the all-electric fastback a great pick for those regularly covering long distances.
Last year’s fastest charging model is the Porsche Taycan, and it still packs a punch when judging how quickly it can add miles to the battery. One of just two models capable of taking 268 kW DC charging – the fastest of any car on the road currently – drivers can top-up much of its range in around 15 minutes.
The electric four-seater is an EV that can both cover a long distance on a single charge – around 300 miles – and see drivers get back on the road again quickly when stopping to top-up.
Kia’s EV6 – in long range, two-wheel drive configuration – is a great choice for those needing a fast-charging, long distance electric car. Featuring a range of 328 miles, the Kia shares much of the same powertrain as the Hyundai Ioniq 6, but with its crossover styling, it loses out because it’s slightly less efficient.
As a practical all-rounder, the Kia EV6 has few challengers, and the number of awards it has won since its launch is testament to that fact.
Under the skin, the Audi e-tron GT is essentially the same as the Porsche Taycan. It’s the other model with the highest charging speeds, but with a slightly lower range than the Porsche, it has a lower charging “mph”.
It still covers a considerable 303 miles on a charge, and will seat four, all the while offering huge amounts of performance from its dual-motor set-up.
The final model from the Hyundai-Kia Group’s triumvirate of EVs, the new Genesis brand GV60 shares a platform and powertrain with the Ioniq 5/6 and Kia EV6. As such, there is little surprise that it appears on this list.
All models here use an 800V charging set-up, allowing the models to take the highest charging rates on the market. The GV60’s 321 mile range and charging times mean the premium crossover can comfortably cover large distances in one day.
This entry was posted in Electric Car News on by Charlie Strand
Categories : Electric Car News
