Over 1,200km with the Hyundai Ioniq 6: Here’s how much we spent on EV charging

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — A few weeks ago, we took the Hyundai Ioniq 6 Max RWD for a road trip to find out if it could travel from Taiping to Johor Baru on a single charge.

From our test, the Ioniq 6 is indeed capable of delivering its claimed 614km range with normal driving within the national speed limit. If you’re wondering how much time and money we’ve spent on charging this fully electric long-distance cruiser, continue reading.

Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh

The night before we started the journey, we charged the Hyundai Ioniq 6 to 100 per cent at 1 Utama for FREE. This is a convenient place to charge as I was watching a late-night movie at GSC Cinemas. With the 11kW AC charge point, the car took slightly over two hours to charge which is just nice while catching a movie.

For those who don’t know, 1 Utama has a total of 11 AC chargers that are provided for OneCard members. There are four units at the underground carpark of Old Wing, two units at One Utama E underground car park and five units at Level 4 One Utama New Wing.

To activate these chargers, you’ll need to use the 1 Utama app and have at least RM10 balance which will be deducted as a “deposit” to use the chargers. The first three hours are free and the subsequent hours are charged at RM2 per hour.

Ipoh to Taiping to Johor Baru

The next day, we made our way to Ipoh for a full charge in preparation for our Taiping to Kuala Lumpur journey. We charged at the Ioniq 6 at XPark Sunway Ipoh City which is located behind Starbucks Sunway Tambun which has a 100kW Kempower DC Charger with two nozzles. Oddly, we only got about 45kW from a single nozzle and a 68 per cent to 100 per cent charge took about 42 minutes for a 25.5kWh top up.

This DC charger by Gentari is priced at RM1.50 per kWh but we are getting a cheaper RM0.75 per kWh rate with an annual Gentari membership plan which costs RM899 per year. For this charging session, we only paid RM19.14. Considering we covered 202km from the last full charge, this means our travel cost was merely 9.5 sen per km for this first stretch.

After that, we continued to Taiping where we spent quite a lot of time for photo and video shoots. As we set off from Taiping, the nearest DC Charger was at Caltex Bukit Gantang. Since we are embarking on a single charge challenge from Taiping to Johor Baru, we did another full charge to 100 per cent.

Unlike the earlier Gentari charger, this 50kW DC charger from JomCharge is priced at RM1.20 per minute. This per-minute pricing is a huge disadvantage to us as the charging rate slows down significantly below 50kW when the battery level exceeds 92 per cent. A full charge took about 27 minutes with a total of 18kWh consumed. We paid RM32.40 for this charging session which effectively cost us RM1.80 per kWh which was pretty high.

Johor Baru to Kuala Lumpur

The next charge was after we reached Johor Baru with 5 per cent battery remaining. Before we headed to our accommodation at Danga Bay, we did a quick 25-minute top-up at another JomCharge 50kW DC Charger which is also priced at RM1.20 per minute. This 25-minute charge bumped the battery level to 32 per cent with a total of 20.9kWh consumed. We paid RM30 which is equivalent to RM1.44 per kWh.

On our return trip back to Kuala Lumpur, we made another quick top-up at Petronas Bandar Ayer Hitam. This is one of Gentari’s major EV Charging Hub which has a total of 5 DC Charging bays which are priced per kWh. On the 180kW DC Charger, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 was charged from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in just 20 minutes thanks to its 800V architecture.

With our annual Gentari Membership, we paid RM42.15 for 56.2kWh energy consumed which is only RM0.75 per kWh instead of the normal rate of RM1.50 per kWh.

When we finally reached Klang Valley, we did one more final charge since we were returning the Ioniq 6 back to Hyundai Sime Darby Motor the next day. The best place to demonstrate its full charging potential was Gentari’s EV Charging Hub at XPark Sunway Serene which has a 350kW DC charger.

It only took 14 minutes to charge the Ioniq 6 from 26-80 per cent and this 44.2kWh charging session only cost us RM37.55 with the Annual Gentari Membership. This calculates to just RM0.85 per kWh instead of the normal rate of RM1.70 per kWh.

For the entire 1,236km journey from the initial full charge in 1 Utama followed by a long drive to Ipoh, Taiping, Johor Baru and then back to Petaling Jaya, we spent a total of RM161.24 for EV charging. That calculates to about 13 sen per km.

Despite using mostly DC charging, our EV charging cost is comparable to petrol-powered vehicles. For example, if a petrol vehicle has an efficiency of 6.5 litres per 100km, that’s 13.3 sen per km if we calculate based on the current RON95 petrol of RM2.05 per litre.

With a total of 186kWh energy used, that calculates to an average of RM0.87 per kWh for the entire trip.

Tips for quicker and cost-efficient charging for long-distance drives

Here are our tips if you’re planning for a long-distance interstate trip with an EV.

Avoid charging beyond 80pc unless it is necessary

To save time, avoid charging your EV to full on a DC charger. In most cases, charging from 80-100 per cent takes a longer time than charging from 10-80 per cent due to the charging curve. If you looked at Charge #2 and #3, it took 26-42 minutes to charge to 100 per cent while Charge #5 from 10-80 per cent only took us 20 minutes.

Unless you absolutely need the maximum range or if you’re doing a single charge challenge like we did, it is best to stop charging at 80 per cent and continue driving until you need another top-up. You really don’t need to fully charge an EV like pumping a full tank for a petrol vehicle.

Plan your charging with your R&R breaks

Your EV may have a fantastic range but you’ll definitely need to make a stop for toilet breaks, meals and refreshments. During those short stops at the R&R, you could use the short 15-20 minute time to top up your EV’s battery. To plan and locate your EV charging stops, you can download several apps such as PlugShare and A Better Route Planner (ABRP).

Use AC charging at destinations

If you have more idle time at a destination for example, at a shopping mall or at a hotel, you could use AC charging which is significantly more cost-effective to charge up to 100 per cent. Some hotels or malls offer free or discounted charging rates on AC and that provides a more cost-effective way to charge your EV. For a worry-free experience, you can consider booking your hotels that are within close proximity with a charger. You can use PlugShare to look for chargers around your destination.

Compare prices for the best deal

Over the past year, we are seeing more EV chargers being deployed throughout the country. While the number of charging locations is still far from ideal, there are now more providers and locations that offer competitive EV charging options. Ideally, it is best to look out for EV chargers that are priced per kWh instead of time. Of course, there are some chargers that provide competitive rates per minute. If you’re new to a location, we recommend performing a quick check on PlugShare and sometimes a cheaper charger could just be around the corner.

EV subscription plan for greater savings

For greater savings, some charge point operators offer a membership plan that provides discounted rates for EV charging. During our trip, we took advantage of the annual Gentari Membership Plan which gave us a 50 per cent discount on all Gentari AC and DC chargers nationwide. It is available for purchase on the JomCharge app for RM899 and we got it at a discounted price of RM399 during the EVx event in July.

Based on our calculation for the full RM899 subscription, this plan is worth it if you spend at least RM150 per month on Gentari’s chargers and you’ll definitely save more if you make multiple long-distance trips per month. As an extra perk, the EV charging subscription is also deductible for income tax relief. — SoyaCincau