EV Owner Stories

IT manager Mark took a long journey in his electric car with his wife and family from London to Spain in February 2022 and back home again in April 2022.

“Having taken delivery of my local garage’s first ever Kia EV6 in October 2021, I placed my faith in the car’s range and the EU charging network to drive it to Spain."

"As an early purchaser of the EV6 I benefited from the 12-month Kia Charge/Ionity scheme included with the EV6 purchase, giving me a free subscription and cheaper rates on the Ionity HPC 350Kw chargers.”


We cut two-thirds off our bills


“With a full battery, charged at home for just under £4 on an Octopus EV tariff, and topping up for free at Eurotunnel Folkestone, we had six very easy charging stops from Calais to Barcelona resulting in a Kia Charge bill of just over £50. This is about a third of the cost of fuel for my prior petrol car.”


It was safer to drive on the motorway


“Using the A Better Route Planner mobile app to plot a route between Ionity chargers worked very well. I expected to stop every 2.5 to 3 hours due to the motorway range of the EV6. This forces more breaks than I would have done with a 500-mile range petrol car, but I found it much easier and safer.”

Charging really was seamless


“In all cases the Kia Charge card worked perfectly at Ionity charge points – plug in, swipe the card, check it’s charging OK, and leave it. No having to set up an account, app or charging card per network as I’ve had to in the past. “


One fast charge cost only 7p per kW


“On the return journey the temperature leaving Spain was 22C. For my first stop across the French border I pulled up, plugged in then went for a break. I returned to find the car almost fully charged, averaging 170kW – with a 230kW peak. Amazingly, the charging basis in France is per minute, not kW. A super-fast charge worked out at 7p per kW!”


Some stations could use more lighting


“Whilst most stops were at well-lit service stations, one at 11pm north of Paris was in a dark empty car park a few miles off the motorway. My wife would not have wanted to charge on her own there at night.”


My verdict


“I was massively impressed with the car, the Kia Charge card and the Ionity network. Our EV6 is superb to drive.”