The fear of running out of charge is one of the greatest barriers to the wider adoption of electric vehicles. However, studies suggest that this rarely happens in the real world. One study comprising 163,330 roadside calls for EVs revealed that only 2% were related to dead batteries. So even though range anxiety is very real, certain media reports may be overblown. More importantly, there are several safeguards in place to avoid this.
One of these is knowing that nearly all modern EVs have a buffer beyond 0% charge, similar to gas cars. In a recent range test, YouTuber The Ioniq Guy did exactly that, giving us a real-world worst-case scenario of how many miles a Hyundai Ioniq 6 would cover after the indicated range was 0%.
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Range anxiety hinders wider EV adoption.
Several studies have concluded that range anxiety, or the fear of running out of charge, is among the biggest roadblocks to wider adoption of electric cars. There are several cures for that nowadays, like planning ahead, knowing the real-world capabilities of your EV and being aware of the buffer under 0% indicated charge.
Knowing how much buffer you have could be the difference between having a panic attack and remaining calm. Being calm would go a long way in finding the right solution, which could be driving with a light foot, finding the correct regen setting to maximize range, navigating to the nearby charger safely, or simply calling for help.
The owner calculated the real-time range and power output using an OBD2 scanner. When the indicated range on the gauge cluster displayed 0.5% charge, the battery management system (BMS) showed 5.5%. So that was the buffer on the Ioniq 6.
After the indicated range was 0%, the owner continued driving for nearly 40 minutes, covering 16.3 miles with an average efficiency of 4.8 miles per kilowatt hour before the vehicle came to a complete halt.
How does this compare to other EVs? As with everything, it depends on the vehicle, although this is probably not information you want to find out the hard way. In Edmunds's 65 miles per hour highway test, a Tesla Model 3 standard range covered 17.6 miles after an indicated 0% range. The long-range covered 25.9 miles.
It’s worth noting that the Ioniq 6 is among the most underrated EVs out there. The SE rear-wheel-drive trim is especially remarkable with its 361-mile EPA range, making it one of the longest-range EVs out there, one that offers decent range without burning a hole in your bank account. So getting stranded with that sort of range seems even more unlikely.
Typically, when an EV is running low on energy, it flashes warnings on the screen urging you to find charging stations. Then it reduces the power output to maximize range and switches off features like AC. With the Ioniq 6, the result wasn’t any different.
Gallery: 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Review
When the indicated range was 0%, the Ioniq 6 was still delivering an output of about 120 kilowatts. Eventually, it halved that to 50 kW when the OBD2-indicated range was 1%.
All said we don’t encourage you to drive your EV to such extremes. It’s best to begin scanning for nearby chargers when you have about 10-15% range left.
Teslas automatically suggest nearby chargers when the range is running low. Non-Tesla owners can use the good ol' Google Maps or apps like PlugShare to find nearby chargers. In the worst-case scenario, you can call roadside assistance like the one offered by AAA.
But that’s only available in select cities, so the best solution is to be realistic about your range requirements, know the real-world range of your EV and plan accordingly without taking any uncalculated risks.
