So you’ve decided to take the plunge into the world of EV motoring. You’ve done your research on which car you want and ended up on the handsome, athletic and well-appointed Kia EV6 – but what of the charging? You’ve never owned an EV before, and thinking about the extra planning required to “refuel” you car makes your head spin a little.
Well, we’re here to settle all of that down.
For starters, the EV6 can be had with a 77.4 kWh battery that will keep you humming right along for almost 500 km. Even if you opt for the smaller 58 kWh battery, you’ve still got almost 375 km to work with; that’s enough for most average Canadian single drives. So already, you’re off to a good start.
Secondly, more than just holding a good charge, the EV6 includes on-board tools in the form of four different power regen levels and one-pedal driving to help you get the most out of your charge. With one-pedal driving, simply releasing the throttle will cause the EV motor to run backwards, slowing you down and charging your battery at the same time. Since you aren’t using the friction brakes as much to slow down, meanwhile, you prolong brake life.
Eventually, though, you will have to charge the vehicle via its charge cable. This can be done a number of ways; charging on a household 110V outlet will do the trick – eventually; it takes time – but plugging in to a 240V level II charger will be able to charge your EV6 almost ten times as fast. These can be found at various charging stations across Canada, or in parking lots at retail outlets or city parks. Or, you can have one installed at your home.
To really get the full shot of charge, though, you need a level III DC fast charger. Numerous companies continue to expand these networks – Petro-Canada, Electrify Canada, Chargepoint, to name a few – and depending on their speed, they’ll be able to get the EV6 from 10 per cent charge to 80 per cent in about 20 minutes.
See? Not so overwhelming after all!
