Canada to Mexico in a Hyundai IONIQ 5

In a current press launch, Hyundai Canada shared a buyer story that ought to be fascinating to individuals from throughout North America. Why? As a result of the client, Patrick Nadeau of Quebec, drove from there all the best way to Mexico and again, proving alongside the best way that the IONIQ 5 is greater than appropriate for highway journeys.

The large level Hyundai needed to make in sharing that is that electrical autos will not be restricted to city commutes anymore. The spine of improved EVs is their enhanced vary and charging techniques, which allows drivers to journey lengthy distances at a fraction of the price of a fossil-fuel automobile. Mr. Patrick Nadeau’s current journey to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from Disraeli, Quebec, in his IONIQ 5 demonstrated this. The journey exemplified how enhancements in EV know-how and infrastructure have expanded their capabilities and usefulness in long-distance journeys.

Mr. Nadeau’s 15,700-kilometer (nearly 10,000-mile) spherical journey from Quebec to Mexico solely value him $630 CAD ($460 USD at current charges) in charging prices. This value is considerably decrease than what he would have paid for gas in an inner combustion engine (ICE) automobile. The low value of charging was simply one of many many advantages of this extraordinary highway journey for Mr. Nadeau.

What could shock some readers is that he used to personal two massive pickup vehicles. Mr. Nadeau opted for the IONIQ 5 electrical automobile primarily because of monetary causes. Prior to buying the IONIQ 5, he paid round $1,200 to $1,400 CAD per thirty days on gasoline alone. The IONIQ 5 proved to be an environment friendly electrical automobile that saved him a whole bunch of {dollars} each month. Aside from the fee financial savings, Mr. Nadeau additionally remarked that the IONIQ 5 had ample trunk area and will comfortably accommodate his household of 5. He even used his IONIQ 5 for work functions, additional confirming its versatile utilization.

The Journey

A Google Maps plot of the journey he took. Picture offered by Hyundai.

Mr. Nadeau, the proprietor of a digital actuality firm, introduced his gear together with him on his 116-day journey to create new digital actuality experiences of the nationwide parks visited on his route. On the best way there, he traveled by the Midwest, and on the best way again, he traveled by the US Southwest, visiting standard nationwide parks equivalent to Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, and the Grand Canyon. Each his journey and his potential to create digital actuality experiences from these locations exhibit the flexibility and comfort of the IONIQ 5.

Throughout his journey, Mr. Nadeau would drive by the desert through the day, and at evening he would arrange camp in his IONIQ 5, the place he would sleep. In accordance with Mr. Nadeau, the desert nights had been fairly chilly, so he would put his gear in his tent and sleep within the automobile whereas maintaining the warmth on at 20 levels. Even with the heating on all evening, he famous that it solely consumed about 10% of the automobile’s battery reserves. These options spotlight the flexibility and comfort of utilizing an electrical automobile for long-distance journeys.

The IONIQ 5’s V2L (Car-to-Load) perform allowed Mr. Nadeau to function his electrical gear by merely plugging it into the automobile’s V2L adapter.

“It allowed me to work and recharge the batteries of my gear in nationwide parks, the place campgrounds are sometimes with out service,” he defined, even telling Hyundai Canada that he used the V2L function to run an electrical griddle.

Electrical gear of varied varieties being powered by the V2L adapter. Picture offered by Hyundai.

Mr. Nadeau was in a position to journey to Puerto Vallarta with none points because of the cautious planning of his journey in mild of the restricted availability of quick charging stations in Mexico. The IONIQ 5 had a variety of as much as 460 kilometers (286 miles) on a single cost, with an additional 7% battery capability out there in reserve. Upon returning residence, the automobile’s journey pc confirmed a mean energy consumption of 18.5 kWh/100 km during the journey.

Mr. Nadeau feels a way of delight for efficiently finishing his tri-country journey, which demonstrated the viability of electrical autos for long-distance journey. He hopes that his story can encourage extra individuals to contemplate these autos in the case of inter-continental journeys.

“I now not see any actual constraint to the adoption of electrical autos,” Mr. Nadeau concluded.

Why This Issues

Whereas most CleanTechnica readers know that EVs are appropriate for highway journeys, and have been for years, it’s necessary to get tales on the market that show this, even in 2023.

The final inhabitants is beginning to come round to EVs, however there’s nonetheless plenty of work to be performed and there’s nonetheless plenty of misinformation and outright lies about EVs floating round, similar to they’ve been for the reason that Chevy Volt first got here out. At the moment, individuals had been forwarding emails that ignored the truth that the Volt was a plugin hybrid (and will simply use gasoline on journeys) and claimed that the automobile would take weeks or months to cross america because of restricted electrical vary and lack of DC quick charging.

So, even in the present day, there are various individuals who do not know that EVs may be taken on highway journeys and never solely be tolerable however pleasurable to drive. Nicely, that’s assuming you might have a good automobile with liquid cooling and semi-decent Degree 3 cost charges. In the event you do one thing loopy like I did in 2019 and drive a Nissan LEAF 1200 miles, you would possibly nonetheless undergo, however the Hyundai IONIQ has an 800-volt charging system that even places Teslas to disgrace on cost charges, in order that’s more and more changing into an issue of the previous.

However, it’s additionally necessary to notice that you simply don’t want the newest and best EVs, or the most costly ones, to make highway journeys. Even my lowly and tech-ancient Bolt EUV has confirmed to be fairly drivable on highway journeys, even all the best way throughout Texas. Sure, having to spend 45–60 minutes charging at nearly each Electrify America could be a ache and make the journey type of lengthy, however with in the present day’s infrastructure, the journey is rather a lot simpler than it as soon as would have been.

Featured picture offered by Hyundai Canada.