The Indian car market is now flooded with electric cars of all shapes and sizes, and there’s one available in almost every budget. Despite being loaded with features and tech, the one major factor that still deters many of us from buying electric cars is range anxiety. Most EV users prefer them for use in the city, while they’re still not sure about taking them on a long-distance trip, majorly due to the availability of charging stations that are actually functional. But do you actually need a charger when your EV comes with a claimed range of over 650 kms?
Korean carmaker Kia launched an updated version of its premium electric car, the EV6, earlier this year in India. Apart from getting a fresh design and additional features in the cabin, the SUV also came with a bigger battery pack when compared to earlier. But with that, Kia also decided to offer it in just an all-wheel drive version, which comes with a claimed range of 663 kms. But how different is the range in real-world conditions? We set out on a Delhi-Jaipur weekend trip to find out.
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The journey began at 97% state of charge, and soon we were on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway munching miles at a good pace. With smooth tarmac and almost no traffic for company, it was an ideal situation to put the car in smart cruise control and enjoy the comforts of this premium EV. The cabin on the facelift has many new elements to offer, including a curved display with twin screens and a redesigned centre console, which now also gets ventilated seat buttons. The new steering wheel is good to hold, and the cabin ensures a premium feel during the drive.
A fast expressway is an ideal place to test the acceleration of a vehicle. Kia claims a 0-100 kmph time of 5.30 seconds, and that was experienced many times on a road which has a speed limit of 120 kmph. A majority of the drive was done in regen level 2 and Eco mode, though occasionally, my instincts got the better of me and Sport mode without regen was the chosen combo. With clearly marked lanes, ADAS functions like lane keeping assist also came in handy on the expressway. The view is quite clear from the driver's seat, especially on the front, and the head-up display contributes to a safer drive.
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The intelligent AWD system ensures that the car is not running on both motors all the time, which also helps in getting an enhanced range. After covering the initial 100 kms, the EV6 was left with 80% battery and was good for going another 465 kms. The recently opened Bandikui-Jaipur stretch of the expressway not only offers scenic views but has also helped in cutting down the travel time by almost 1 hour when compared to earlier, though you have to pay a higher toll amount now.
Soon the highway stretch ended, and passing through some country roads, we reached Jaipur after covering a distance of 261 km. The expressway ensured that the EV got an efficiency of 6.2 km/kWh, and what remained from here on for the return leg was 48% state of charge. This time, the chosen route was the old highway, which meant the distance covered would be less. The big question was, would the car make it back without looking for a charger?
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The old Jaipur-Delhi highway is completely opposite to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. Lots of traffic, broken patches of roads and frequent diversions — there are plenty of challenges to deal with. But with a sorted car like the EV6, most of those worries are reduced. The ride is quite smooth, and the suspension does its job well to ensure that bumps and potholes don’t unsettle you. Sudden lane changes are taken in stride, and features like blind spot monitor make the manoeuvres safer.
Along the way, we could spot many charging stations, and the number is much higher on this old highway, while the expressway still doesn’t offer a lot of options. And in case you’re able to find a 350 kW charger, the battery can go from 10-80% in just 18 minutes, which means your charging stop will not be time-consuming, but for now, most chargers you’ll find on this route are of 60 kW capacity.
As the day turned into night and the battery started to deplete, we inched closer towards the destination. With 38% SOC, the EV6 showed a remaining range of 221 kms. At 20% SOC, the infotainment screen flagged the first warning – look for the nearest charging station. But with less than 60 kms to go, there was no real panic during the drive. Eventually, the journey ended with 485 kms on the trip meter and 10% battery left. The SUV was good to go for another 63 kms, which meant the eventual real-world range on a fully charged battery (remember we started at 97%) would be approximately 550 kms.
Based on our experience, the best way to kill range anxiety is to actually go for that much-awaited road trip in the EV. A little bit of research will go a long way in helping you plan your charging stops better in case there’s a need for a recharge. EVs are getting better, and charging infrastructure is improving too. With many brands investing in improving the ecosystem, owning an electric vehicle will be far less challenging in the future. And yes, you won’t have to worry about things like DPF, pollution checks, Ethanol blending or those long CNG queues.
