Auto123 puts the Kia Niro EV to the long-term test. Today, part 5.
See also: Kia Niro EV Long-Term Review, Part 1: The carmaker, the reviewer and the (young) enthusiast
See also: Kia Niro EV Long-Term Review, Part 2: Electric cars, a new idea with a long history
See also: Kia Niro EV Long-Term Review, Part 4: Getting a charge out of charging
I did it! My first long drive in a 100 percent electric vehicle! A real, live road trip, without the back-up of a gas engine.
From Montreal, I was headed for Cavan, in the Ontario countryside. 460 km on the way there, and the same on the way back, with a sleepover in Kingston (add another 278 km).
Would I make it without a hitch? That was the first question I asked myself, naturally enough. But it was just the beginning of my interrogations. Many other questions would punctuate my odyssey. I felt a little like Homer.
So, with your permission, I'll proceed in stages because there will be too much material to cover in this short space.
First, a summary of the first part of my journey, highlighting the questions that I did not know the answers to. Then a part two. And then I promise to come back to you with the answers, obtained by contacting people who know such things...
I would like to add, readers, that if you know the answers to the questions that stump me and would like to educate me, you can write me at michel.crepault@auto123.com.
OK, it's true no research is required to know that an increasing number of charging stations are springing up all over North America, if only because the companies behind these networks don't mind bragging about them.
As for me, if I didn't want to feel the feeling of abject failure that surely must come with having to call CAA to get a tow (cause: empty battery), I was going to have to deal with one of these charging stations, probably even several.
I was ill-prepared, however. Instead of setting off with a full battery like a boy scout, I drove off with the 2020 Niro's display showing a range of 271 km. Not even enough to reach Kingston in the best possible conditions. Not even with a favourable wind.
If I had been more forward thinking, I could have had at least 385 km, the range advertised by Kia. And even 410 or 430 km, as I noted one time when I started the Niro after a full night of charging at home.
Actually, since I've been plugging the car into the garage's 120V outlet - not even 240V - I regularly get a charge that exceeds the theoretical maximum provided by the manufacturer. Which of course leads to…
Question # 1
Is it normal for an EV to have a range greater than the one “promised” by the manufacturer?
After winter cold, the highway is the EV's worst enemy. It eats up range like an ogre eats up interlopers in his cave. And opportunities to regenerate electricity by braking, as you would in a city centre, are much rarer. Unless you deliberately create them. For example, you could be moving at 115 km/h and suddenly you take your foot off the gas pedal. You immediately notice the needle dipping into the "Charge" part of the dial; but it doesn't last long, and it's sometimes a perilous move to make in traffic.
And so, as I sped down the highway towards Kingston, I could see the kilometres of range remaining running down inexorably.
Another oddity occurred when I paid attention to the signs along the 401 telling me how far I was from Kingston. A little mental calculation after passing two of these signs told me that I had cut 55 km off my route. A glance at the dashboard followed by another little calculation (I made a mental note to duct-tape a calculator somewhere in the cabin before my cortex started overheating) told me that I'd used 63 km of range to cover those 55 km.
A difference of 8 km. That seemed acceptable to me.
But the same little exercise after seeing the third sign told me that this time there was a 22-km difference between the real distance and the one taken from my range indicator. Blatant theft!
I should add that the weather was nice and almost warm. So weather was not a factor.
And so two other questions arise:
Question # 2
One kilometre driven on the highway does not always correspond to one kilometre of range consumed. Why is this?
Question # 3
The more my range decreased, the more the gap between theory and reality seemed to increase. Why is this?
These questions were overtaken by a more pressing problem. I now had 60 km of range left and I was now sure I wouldn't have enough to sleep in Kingston.
Unless I could find a charging station.
In fact, from the time I crossed the Quebec-Ontario “border”, I'd been poking at a rectangle on the centre screen called “Station Finder”, which, obviously enough, shows the charging stations in your vicinity. Their name, their direction (an arrow) and the distance between them. Very practical, I thought.
But not so much when I discovered that the indications could sometimes be… strange. The Kia, in fact, advised me to go to several terminals located in... the state of New York, just across the Saint-Lawrence!
Hum, no thank you. Was there anything closer, like, on Canadian soil?
Finally, I stopped on a secondary road and, with the help of my iPhone, discovered that there were several other stations within a more reasonable distance, and for which I didn’t need a passport (vaccine and the other kind).
Question # 4
Why does the Niro want to send me to kingdom come to charge it?
Finally, salvation came in Brockville (82 km out from Kingston), in the parking lot of a Tim Hortons. There I parked in front of a 50-kW Electric Circuit station, the English-Canadian counterpart of a home-grown creation, Hydro-Québec's Circuit électrique.
Question # 5
What exactly is the Electric Circuit and how does it work?
After a Tim-style feast in the car highlighted by a cruller, my favorite doughnut, while the Niro EV glugged up juice, I was off again, and made it safely to my hotel in Kingston.
I thought it wise to plug in the Niro while I slept, so I could get back on the road with a full battery. But the hotel didn’t have a charging station. A shortcoming that should no longer exist when all hoteliers realize the importance of accommodating EV owners.
I found a charging station downtown, within walking distance of the hotel. This time it was a Flo station.
Question #6
What exactly is Flo and how does it work?
Question #7
So, how many networks like the Circuit électrique and Flo are there?
After wishing the Niro a good night, I went to take care of my own recharging needs, and sank into a refreshing night of sleep.
When we meet again in this space, I'll have answers to my first questions. You can safely assume more will come up over the next part of my road trip.
Specifications sheet of KIA Niro EV