Living with Digital Key 2 on the Hyundai IONIQ 5
Several weeks ago, we traded in our aging 2015 Subaru Outback for a leased 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 5. We needed a second car with enough cargo space for the gear necessary for the track meets and running races I coordinate. It was also an opportunity to switch entirely to electric, since our other car is a 2015 Nissan Leaf. With a decade of experience driving an EV, we’ve become convinced that EVs are better cars than gas-powered vehicles in nearly every way. The recent skyrocketing of gas prices makes EVs even more compelling, especially since we charge primarily from our solar panels. Our main unknown has been long-distance trips—the Leaf only has range for around-town driving—and I’ll test what it’s like to take a trip in the IONIQ 5 later this week as I drive to a convention in Arlington, VA.
The other appeal of getting a new car was the opportunity to try out all the new technology that has appeared in cars over the last ten years, including CarPlay, which I’ve only used in rental cars until now. The high-tech option we most looked forward to is Hyundai’s Digital Key 2, a smartphone-based car key that uses Ultra Wideband (UWB) and NFC to unlock, lock, and start the car with nothing but an iPhone or Apple Watch, powered by Apple’s car key technology. For those who are curious, Apple’s Platform Security Guide explains how digital car keys stay secure.
One thing that hasn’t changed much in the last ten years is the abysmal quality of car company documentation. The manuals that come with the IONIQ 5 are just as horrible as those we received with the Outback and Leaf. The main owner’s manual documents most of the physical aspects of the car, and a separate manual covers the infotainment system, but both suffer from covering multiple trim lines (so you’re always trying to figure out if a section applies to your car), lengthy and repetitive warnings required by the lawyers, and the unsatisfying approach of describing how a feature works without telling you when or why you’d want to use it. Hyundai does provide a slim Quick Reference Guide that’s far better than the rest, but it covers only setup and basic usage.
Digital Key Setup
That gap in documentation hit hardest when trying to figure out Digital Key 2. I managed to configure the feature for myself quickly while the sales guy was still around, but he didn’t know offhand how to set it up for Tonya as a second driver. The IONIQ 5’s infotainment system walked me through it and handed me off to Wallet appropriately. But we couldn’t figure out how to give Tonya her own digital key.
Part of the problem was that we had both downloaded and configured the MyHyundai app, but since I had already connected to the IONIQ 5, it wouldn’t let Tonya connect. We then created in-car profiles for each of us, but we couldn’t figure out how to link Tonya’s profile to her iPhone and Apple Watch. (Profiles enable automatic seat position and side mirror changes, along with climate control and audio preferences.) The Hyundai ecosystem has too many separate identity systems, and we couldn’t figure out how to link all the accounts, profiles, and keys. Making matters worse, although the MyHyundai app has decent functionality, it’s hampered by a lousy interface and maddening animations on every screen change.
Eventually, I discovered that I was listed as the primary driver in the MyHyundai app and had to invite Tonya as an additional driver. That got us past one blockage, but it wasn’t until I realized that I also had to share the digital key with Tonya using the iPhone’s Wallet app that we were able to get it to work for her. So, if you find yourself wanting to share a digital key with someone, don’t focus solely on the car’s app; keep the Wallet app in mind as well.
Using Digital Key
In practice, the digital key has been brilliant—I haven’t yet carried the IONIQ 5 key fob, which is larger and uglier than I’d like, though I’ll bring it on my upcoming trip, just in case. With our previous cars, it was all too easy to grab the wrong key fob, such that the car would refuse to start. Or, more confusingly, I could have the wrong key fob but not notice because Tonya had the correct one, even if she wasn’t driving. Now, as long as either of us has an iPhone or Apple Watch, we can unlock and drive away. Realistically, I always have both, and although Tonya very occasionally forgets her iPhone (blame the lack of pockets in women’s clothing), she always has her Apple Watch.
The hard part now is remembering to grab the MagSafe wallet that holds my driver’s license—if only digital driver’s licenses could actually replace the physical cards (see “California Driver’s Licenses in Apple Wallet Largely Symbolic,” 16 August 2024).
You can even use Digital Key 2 to lock and unlock a car using Siri when you’re close to it. The first time we drove the IONIQ 5, we didn’t know how to lock it without the key fob, so I reflexively said to my Apple Watch, “Siri, lock the car.” And it did! That may be my favorite Siri moment of all time.
Not needing the key fob is important to us because we often drive to running spots, and it’s annoying to have to carry a large key fob while running in the summer and worry about it when taking the occasional post-run dip in a pond or lake. We don’t usually carry our iPhones while running, of course, but we always wear our Apple Watches. Plus, although the IONIQ 5 allows locking an iPhone with a digital key in the car, it won’t lock the doors with the key fob inside.
You might wonder, as I did, what happens if the digital-key-enabled Apple Watch or iPhone runs out of charge. A dead Apple Watch can do nothing—it won’t unlock the doors or start the car. However, an iPhone that has run out of charge can still open the car for up to 5 hours, thanks to Apple’s Express Mode, which enables certain transit cards, passes, and keys in that state. I verified this by fully discharging my iPhone and then unlocking the IONIQ 5 by pressing the side button. It also started the car, and once I was inside, I could charge wirelessly.
But what if one of us returns from a run with a dead Apple Watch? I had a weird thought—what if I yelled through the window to an iPhone inside, “Siri, unlock the car”? So I tested it. With the iPhone sitting on the console, I could see it had heard me, but it wouldn’t unlock the car without Face ID authentication. (That’s reassuring, actually.) But what if I put the iPhone on the dashboard, facing up, so it could see my face through the window? That worked too! Of course, leaving an iPhone in plain sight on a dashboard seems like a great way to end up with a smashed window and a stolen iPhone—thieves aren’t necessarily knowledgeable enough to know they can’t crack iOS security or turn off Activation Lock.
There’s another fallback option. Tonya often runs with friends, so if her Apple Watch died during a run and her iPhone was locked out of sight in the car, she could use a friend’s phone to call me, and I could use the MyHyundai app to unlock the car remotely. Once she was in the car, she could use the iPhone to start the car. The MyHyundai app relies on the Bluelink service (which we get for free as part of the lease) and cellular connectivity, but as long as someone else’s phone can contact me, Bluelink can contact the car.
The guaranteed, though boring, solution to this hopefully unlikely scenario is to carry the IONIQ 5’s little mechanical key, which can only unlock the driver’s door. Unlike most cars, which embed the mechanical key in the key fob (where you won’t lose it), Hyundai now provides a separate mechanical key that’s easier to lose, but also smaller and easier to carry. Sadly, it’s not also a USB flash drive, which would be fun.
I’m looking forward to sharing a digital key with our son Tristan the next time he visits, to see how it works for an occasional driver.
Digital Key Trade-Offs
The main advantage of the beefy IONIQ 5 key fob over a digital key is that the fob has dedicated switches to drive the car into or out of a parking space too tight for the doors to open, as can happen in some parking garages. If you get parked in, press and hold the switch, and the IONIQ 5 will back itself out of the spot slowly until you let up on the switch. I can’t say I’ve ever needed that feature, but it seems fun.
We have discovered one problem with the digital keys. When either of us walks up to the locked car, the doors unlock and the driver’s seat adjusts appropriately. Unfortunately, the IONIQ 5 is happy to unlock for the first detected digital key, regardless of which door is being opened. As a result, if Tonya happens to arrive at the passenger side door before I walk around to the driver’s side, the IONIQ 5 thinks she’s driving and switches to her profile and seat position. Luckily, it’s easy to switch profiles immediately from the dashboard screen, after which the driver’s seat moves back to my position. It seems likely that the key fobs would encounter the same issue. I suspect that we’ll subconsciously adjust our walking patterns so the driver reaches their door first.
So far, however, we have thoroughly enjoyed using the digital keys, or, I should say, not using them, since having digital keys embedded in an iPhone and Apple Watch means we don’t need to think about keys at all. The IONIQ 5 just unlocks and starts without any key-related interactions, and there’s less to remember or worry about losing.
Hi Adam:
Thanks for your article about the IONIQ. I’m looking forward to a possible report about driving and using the IONIQ after you return from your trip to Arlington, VA. Cheers and congratulations on the new vehicle!
Hi Adam, I have a Kia EV3 and have been enjoying it for the past year, it’s from the same group as yours. I too put the Digital Key on my iPhone and Watch until I realised it was all too easy to leave my iPhone in the car and still lock it from outside. The answer that has worked well for me is to remove it from my Watch and rely on the iPhone.
One thing to watch out for is having the Digital Key in Passive mode on the iPhone. If you’re at home, say, and you’re walking about in close proximity to the car - in my case it was the other side of an external wall - it will keep waking up the car and unlocking it without you knowing. Not a huge problem just one to be aware of.
Enjoy!
Oh more thing, when I’m going out of town I too take the key fob but keep it in a Faraday pouch, that way I’m safe but it stays inoperative unless needed.
Adam, will you be using Tesla Superchargers on your trip to Arlington? You are the first person I know who has a non-Tesla with a NACS port so I’m interested in how it will work.
I am really happy to see this. It sounds so much better than my 2024 Ioniq 5, whose lease ends in December.
I just missed the digital key on my 2020 BMW X3. They started supporting it the next model year. However, I can say that even with a fob in my pocket, and another in my wife’s purse, the car has never guessed wrong in terms of who is opening the driver’s door, so I guess there’s that.
Thanks for delving into this for us. I am inspired to set up the digital key on my Kia EV3. You mentioned that Tanya is often without her iPhone because she lacks pockets. My solution to this was to keep my iPhone on a lanyard which I’ve done for many years. It used to be more difficult, adding little gadgets used by festival-goers which enabled adding a neck strap but which also blocked the charging port. Now there are many more good lanyard phone case options. My preference is a Peak Design case with one of their lighter-weight camera straps.
Hi Adam
We have a Tesla Model Y which as with all (most?) Teslas has a digital key. We find this is a most useful function for all the reasons you describe. The only problem is that once in a while the connection fails requiring a restart of the phone. The Tesla also comes with a credit card sized key which unlocks the car by touching it to a spot on the car - easy. I get quite nervous when I forget my wallet with card. Enjoy your IONIQ.
Cheers
Peter
As a backup, you can by a Hyundai branded NFC card key, for your wallet. You buy the “blank” key. and activate it on the charge pad. Don’t leave home without it.
I wish on-street charging was more affordable, because only charging at home at cheap electric prices makes owning an EV a realistic option for most buyers – at least here in London/UK, but probably similar in the US with the cost of energy rising there too (AI/data-centres and Iran war not permitting).
Living in a flat with only on-street parking, like most flats (and houses here), means only having access to expensive street chargers. And even then, while London has the most chargers in the UK, they’re still too few and far between, along with major reliability problems many have, to make the thought of running an EV too much of an expensive pain in the backside.
Then we have the the introduction of the £13.50/day ($18.00) Congestion Charge for EV’s introduced in the last few months – so you don’t even get to drive into central London without paying, anymore. Along with the start in road tax on EV’s (though still relatively low compared to ICE cars) and the UK govt consulting on introducing pay-per-mile tax from April 2028 to balance the huge income lost from ICE fuel duties – all contributing to the delaying factors.
Oh well, maybe in another 10-years or something.
It’s messy-ish but the Tesla app helps navigate it. I have a Chevy Blazer EV without a NACS port, but a couple of years ago Tesla starting opening up their charger network to unlock government funding / help establish NACS as the de facto standard port for EVs in America.
Older Superchargers are incompatible as they lack certain communication systems to enable billing to non-Tesla cars. The newer systems (most v3, all v4) are technically compatible, but not all have been opened up. The ones that do, are marked in the app. Of those, some but not all are equipped with their “magic dock” connector which allows my non-NACS EV to plug in. For others, I have a small dongle in my trunk to convert from CCS to NACS which I used all of once at a non-Supercharger Tesla charging point.
Note that you can go in reverse. If you have a NACS equipped car you can get a NACS to CCS dongle to allow you to charge at other third party EV charging networks.
Why was that a problem, assuming you had your Apple Watch to unlock the car?
We’ve noticed this too, but it’s not generally an issue at home. We have a garage and leave the car unlocked in the garage, so it doesn’t notice when I walk out there. If I’ve locked it for testing, it notices when we walk nearby—even to get in the other car—unlocks the doors, and then re-locks them because we haven’t opened the door yet.
I don’t think so, offhand, because the A Better Route Planner system identified an Electrify America charging stop as the best one for me on the way down and back. The question will be what I use to charge in Arlington itself. I’ll be playing that more by ear as I get close to arrival. So we’ll see!
A running friend has a slightly older IONIQ 5 as well, and he said that it didn’t have a rear windshield wiper, which was his main complaint. Ours does, and I agree that it would be annoying not to have one.
As Ira Flatow noted, Hyundai does make a digital card key as well, but since I use a MagSafe wallet that only holds four cards, I’m not sure if it would do me any good.
Though I sent a duplicate Apple Wallet key to my wife, the Ioniq 5 doors still don’t open when she walks by the car, as they do with mine. She also is listed as a user in the car. Not sure what I’m..or she…is not doing right. But not enough hours in the day to fiddle with this..since she has the fob to use if needed in an emergency. Thanks, Adam, for this piece as I was sure I was the only geek fooling around with this.
For many years I have used a “wet key” (sports fob) that is included with Volvo cars. I wear it as a necklace when at the beach instead of leaving a normal key fob in a bag on the sand. It would great if my Apple Watch was able to open the car but that would mean replacing the current car.
One time I learned that Volvo wet keys have a battery that is not replaceable and lasts about 3 years (and is costly to replace). I returned from the surf and the car would not open (similar to the scenario described by Adam). I had to walk to town in swimwear, convince a taxi driver that I could pay with my watch, be driven home to pick up my spare key and be driven back to the beach.
The lesson - whichever key system you use, make sure the batteries are in good order!
That’s a horrible design. I guess they expect you to replace your car more often than every three years.
My car is a 2012 Honda Civic. Over the last 14 years, I’ve replaced the battery in my key fob at least three times. A non-replaceable battery? Completely unacceptable under any circumstance.
This is why I really appreciate the key/fob to my 2019 Subaru. If the battery fails I just use the key to get into the vehicle.
Yes - my normal key fob has an emergency metal key. The fob doesn’t like water though!
Just returned from the beach in Sydney
so I used my wet key, as usual. It worked but I wish I had a way to check the battery from time to time. It doesn’t have a button to press and needs to be in close proximity to the vehicle so I cannot test its effective range as a battery check.
BTW The unit is sealed to make it very waterproof. Even if I could prise it open to replace the battery I assume it would lose its coding and need to be recoded at a Volvo dealer.
It’s always interesting to hear people’s experiences with electric vehicles. I expect my next vehicle will be electric, but since my current daily driver is 5.5 years old with 29K miles, I’m in no hurry to replace it. I did think about it briefly last summer when I heard the tax credit was going away, then realized that thanks to a Roth conversion I wouldn’t qualify for it that year anyhow.
As for digital driver’s license, we don’t have that in the state I live in but even if we did it wouldn’t replace the driver’s license in my wallet. I wouldn’t want to be put in the position of having to unlock my phone for a police officer to show them my ID, or worse, to have to give them my unlocked phone in lieu of a card.
I often drive an old Toyota Scion with 130,000 miles on it. It’s delightful. There is no key fob just a key and all controls are knobs and buttons and stalks. The two things I miss from driving more recent rental cars are the backup camera and blind spot warnings which I think are just the bee’s knees.
And, by the way, it has a tiny engine with good gas mileage that still instantly bursts to life in -5º temperatures after all these years.
Dave
I don’t believe that’s how digital ID works. The ID is presented on a separate screen, just like credit cards or passes in Wallet, while the rest of your phone remains locked.
Apparently that’s true as long as they have the appropriate reader device - it sounds like it works similarly to tap to pay. Without that, you’d have to open up the Wallet app to show them.
Have you checked if there is an override? I have two cars that use fobs, a 2016 Nissan and a 2015 Tesla. Both allow the key fobs to work even if the fob battery is dead, you just have to know the magic spot to put the fob (which presumably then gets powered by an inductive system).
BTW, older Teslas can be started from the app, but they don’t use NFC technology. The gotcha is that, if all you have is a phone (no fob) and your car and/or phone is outside cellular and WiFi range or Tesla’s servers are down, you cannot unlock or start the car.
I’ve thought I’d like an all-electric, but still have concerned that driving the two-lanes in the wide-open western states (US-12 across the Dakotas and Montana, for example), as I love to do in lieu of freeways, would still be problematic for finding charging stations. So I decided to compromise, and ordered a non-plug-in hybrid Forester.
Agreed about lousy manuals! I’ve found that the worst part of the Subaru manual is the index combined with clever names for features which make looking them up difficult. Even if the feature is reasonably described, the manual is of no use if I can’t find it!
Our Volvo EX key lives in 3 places: a tiny digital fob, a plastic card, and Apple Wallet. I have never used the fob, because the other 2 are so convenient. Howsomever…
Twice I have been unable to drive home, after I unlocked the car with iPhone and put it into drive, only to be confronted with this alert on the display panel: No valid key read
Right. If the phone let me into the car, it is obviously a valid key.
So, much like Ronald Reagan, I trust but verify — the card always in my back pocket.
Displaying your mDL in Wallet or showing a photo of your physical card (a photo image) is generally not a legal substitute for the original in a traffic stop situation. That’s also not how mDL was intended to be used.
Most states require showing a physical license upon request during a traffic stop. A LEO might use their discretion to accept a picture (which they then use to look up your actual DL through their systems), but in most states they are perfectly within their right to cite/fine you if you are not able to produce the physical DL within a timely manner (seconds/minutes, but not “I live just around the corner and can go get it”).
Some states accept digital proof of insurance, but DL is an entirely different matter. There is no legal right to drive on the public roadway in a MV (unlike the bogus “traveling” garbage put forth by some nut jobs). It is a privilege, in most states contingent on possessing, and being able to produce upon lawful request, a valid DL.
Ron, I have a 2016 Nissan Murano. BOTH key fob batteries died at the same time. Where is that magic spot you mentioned? (And to make it worse, 1 key fob was totally dead. It was very expensive to replace through Nissan!!!)
It varies based on the car, but it should be in your owner’s manual (which you may have to download these days).
On our 2018 Kia Sedona, there’s a mechanical key inside the fob which can be used to unlock the doors. And if you press the fob up against the starter button, you can start the car even if the fob’s battery is completely dead.
As I understand it (and I could be wrong about this), the fob normally communicates via Bluetooth, but it also has an NFC tag in it, which can be used when it has a dead battery, if you hold it near the receiving antenna (which is behind the start button for this car).
I’ve also seen manuals document specific locations on/in the center console where you can place a key fob when its battery is dead.
But this hasn’t been an issue for me. The Kia fob uses a standard CR2032 battery, which isn’t hard to replace. And the car alerts you (via a dashboard popup) when the battery is running low, so you have time to replace it before it dies.
When shopping for a new car these days, I think it’s a good idea to ask about things like how to change the battery in a key fob. If it requires dealer servicing, then I’d immediately change my plans and shop for a different model car.
On Toyotas, the sweet spot is the Start/Stop button. When I did a web search for information on a Nissan, it also appears to be true for them. Is that the same for other cars that have moved away from a traditional metal key?
By the way, for my 2023 Prius, the front of the metal key that can open the driver’s front door also fits in a slot between the 2 halves of the fob.. You can then twist the key to open the fob to replace the battery.
That is by design. And it’s not just for the key fob. That “key” is also designed to be able to release the mechanical shiftâlock override during loss of power events as well as release windshield wiper blades from the arm (J hook).
A couple of experiences with the Ioniq 5 and digital key:
After 6+ months of using the dk and never giving a thought to the fob, we drove 45 minutes to our Hyundai dealership for regular service. Guess what they needed? Take the fob with you when you go for service.
The “who arrives first” at the car being the person whose profile is set is a pain. We’ve gotten into the habit of whoever is going to drive approaches first and the other person hangs back 4 or 5 feet.
fairly often I get the message “no dk device found” when I hit the start button. Most of the time hitting the start button again works just fine. Sometimes the car still refuses to acknowledge the phone. If you set the phone on the charging pad, Apple Wallet opens to the dk and everything works after that.
My doors won’t lock if the phone is inside, same as a fob. Touching the square spot on the door handy just makes a beep. Maybe having a watch attached makes a difference. I’ve wondered what I’d do if I ever needed to leave the phone in the car on purpose,
If you have a spare electronic key fob, it makes a lot of sense to replace its battery every couple of years. Almost all fobs use common, easily replaceable batteries. You can find videos on YouTube showing exactly how to do it and which battery to buy for most relatively recent vehicles.
Although I’ve had fobs last more than ten years, 2-5 years seems to be the average rating. It may seem like overkill, but if you tend to leave your spare key fob sitting a drawer for long periods, I suggest replacing the battery on your spare fob annually, e.g., when you replace the battery on your smoke/CO2 detectors or just set a reminder on your phone.
Much better to spend $5/year on a battery than to be caught without a working spare when you really need one or to spend hundreds of dollars to reprogram your fob!
It’s in front of the Start/Stop button on our Titan XD pickup. Yes, shortly after we bought the truck (used) both key fob batteries died while we were away. There is a physical key hidden inside the fob (you have to slide a button on the back of the fob to release it) that will unlock the door, and then once inside you can hold the fob in front of the start/stop button to start the vehicle. Fortunately, both our fobs were revived with a battery replacement.
I got a new 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD 2 months ago, too. I had the same collection of challenges getting my wife’s Digital Key set up, too. Got nowhere with the Hyundai docs, either. I asked Perplexity for help, got a lot of instructions, but as with all guidance telling me what menus to follow in app, the guidance often fails because the AI forgets the version details or the exact car model details (“2026” is key for our car). I finally called for Hyundai phone support and we stumbled our way to the Apple Wallet and the Hyundai card there. That did the trick.
Thanks, too, Adam for the “Lock with Siri” info, since Claude got that one wrong (telling me I can’t to that), even though I told it I had the 2026 model.
I have used the Tesla chargers twice now. A breeze to use with the Tesla app. I have the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD, which comes standard with the NACS port. The 2025 model did not. So it will depend on your specific car model.
Hi Adam - You said your favorite Siri experience was when you said “Siri, lock the car.” I’m pessimistically wondering if you’ve ever experienced Siri denying a request to unlock the car. “I’m sorry Adam, I can’t do that.”
Ah, so you still have to use Tesla’s app. That was one of the things I was wondering about. I have a reservation for an Aptera LE and they still have a projected 2026 delivery year fro me. Of course, when I made my initial reservation 4 years ago, it was 2023 so I take their delivery estimates with a lot of salt!
My wife’s car alerted us to a low fob battery with advice to “take it to a dealer”. I contacted the service guy who said that it was easy- look it up on Youtube. He was correct.
The instructions might also be in your owner’s manual. At least it is for my 2012 Honda and 2018 Kia.
Have you had any issues when you’ve had to valet park your car? Do you need to have the little extra physical key on hand? What if you don’t have it with you?
2025s have NACS, earlier models do not. Have any other Ioniq 5 owners here experienced a blown ICCU?
Frankly…I don’t care for Musk either…and have no interest in an EV at this point. But…generally speaking one should buy cars (and other things) as well as make decisions based on the smartest decision…and not based on a personal viewpoint. Sometimes one must IMO just hold your nose and make the least bad decision when none of the choices re that great.
We might buy a hybrid but not a full EV…we travel and stopping every couple hundred miles for recharging would seriously affect that.
Maybe yes, maybe no. I’ve seen several videos about road-tripping in EVs. If you plan your route appropriately (there are apps for that), you can arrange to eat your meals near reasonably-priced charging stations. Plug in, go have lunch, and be charged when you’re done.
But yes, we’re not yet at the point where you can just wing it and expect to find conveniently-located charging stations without advance planning.
There are plenty of better alternatives to Tesla. The Kia Niro EV got some kind of car of the year award (I don’t recall the details), and its EV6 has a range of about 350 miles. You don’t have to charge every couple 100 miles. And they get better every year. Plenty of fast chargers on most Interstates and other major roads (rural areas not so much) that can get you going in about 15 minutes. China has developed a system that can charge an EV in 5 minutes. Charging depends on the fast charger and what the car can take. And, as I said, it is getting better every year. There are a lot of myths about EVs. I own one and would never get another ICE vehicle or even a plug-in hybrid. Personally, I am tired of breathing in ICE vehicle exhaust. I have had mine for 3 years, and the total cost of service and maintenance was $80 for those three years. No oil changes. And it would have been less if I had known how to replace a cabin filter, which I understand is very easy to do.
I’ve seen those as well…but it won’t work for our style of travel. We drive instead of fly (because flying is so hard now)unless we have to be there today or there is ocean between here and there. We drive 500-600 miles per day and stop for gas and McDonalds then head down the road. That would be 1 or 2 charge periods and they’re whay, at lest n hour each? No go for us. As I said we would consider a hybrid for the range. But pure EV…nah…and we would have e to get a charger for home in the garage. And trying to plan a route around charging stations that might be full when we get there…yeah, nah. Others with different styles vary of course…but we re far too anal and would have range anxiety which makes the whole vacation/FunStuff trip too stressful. I drive and my bride becomes the Radio Reder as it used to be known back in the day. Occasionally music or podcast but mostly Kindle on the iPad.
It depends on the car and where you stop. If your car and the charging station supports high-power DC charging (up to 400v for passenger cars and up to 800v for some trucks), you may be able to fully charge (or at least charge to 80%) in 30-45 minutes. Which is probably going to be the amount of time you’re stopped at McDonalds (unless you eat and run really fast without taking any breaks).
I actually agree with you here, and I doubt I’ll be getting an EV any time soon, for precisely the same reasons, but I have seen enough videos from others to know that it is possible and might even be practical.
This video is one of the most impressive ones I’ve seen, and I wouldn’t have thought it possible (but it also showed some of the really annoying problems with such a trip):
Yes, you need the key fob if you’re going to use valet parking. That said, I can’t remember the last time (if ever) I used valet parking, and I’d only do so if there was no alternative, so I doubt I’d ever run into the issue.
My experience with the Ioniq 5 is that high speeds significantly lower mileage estimates. I don’t do much freeway driving (70+ mph) but when I do I don’t come close to the estimates. And, yes, lack of a rear wiper on the 2024 is a major inconvenience since I live on a dusty road.
Too many if’s there…we generally get gas, go through the drive through to get burgers and head down the road. Most places the freeway traffic density is low enough that eating a burger with one hand isn’t distracting…in cities or heavier traffic we eat quickly in the parking lot. We take. 5 minute break for potty breaks or if we re tired and need one but generally we re on the move.
And we’ve probably strayed far enough from the topic that we should quit before Adam does it.
Same here - normal range is claimed to be 480km but driving on motorway at 110km/h (70mph) drops the range to 350km (30% reduction). The penalty of travelling faster in any vehicle. So more care is needed planning trips and stops for recharging.
But even though Australia is well behind Europe and China with charging infrastructure I don’t have “range anxiety” on long trips. Of course the current shortage of, and high price of, diesel in Australia means EVs have an advantage over the many diesel pickups on our roads.
Lower Servicing costs of EVs are mentioned above. One saving is brake wear because the energy from decelerating usually goes into the battery instead friction heating of the brakes. While descending long hills I have sometimes gained a couple of kilometres in range.
I have been tracking the development of EVs here: