[dirk362]

I very rarely rapid charge, indeed only 3 times since owning the car from mid-January.

I've never used the pre-conditioning outside a short test, so that didn't really get the HV battery to temp.

To date, from those 3 charging sessions, the average was 43kW. There was a brief peak to 55kW on one occasion but that was short-lived at less than 2 minutes.

Those charging sessions were to take the car from somewhere in the low 30s SoC to the mid-60s SoC and in one case to 80% SoC so I could get home without another charge. So not really optimal charging sessions anyway.

 

[idiotzoo]

There's only been one occasion I wished our e-Niro could charge more quickly when it was clear the car was the limiting factor. In almost three years that's not bad.

 

[jm31828]

Reports in this forum seem to show little or no battery degradation in the Niro EV, so far.
Slower charging rates could indicate a more cautious approach to battery life, so less degradation.

That's fantastic to hear! Maybe a give and take, where faster charging on road trips would be really nice- but I do like the lack of degradation as losing range would be problematic for road trips, leading to- over time- the need to stop more often for fast charging.

On that note, though- any other thoughts on why the batteries in the Niro don't seem to be losing range even after a few years (I've seen that mentioned here and on Reddit forums as well)? Fast charging may be a part of it, but even over on the Tesla forums- people who never go to Superchargers are seeing measurable degradation even within the first year or two, so there must be something else at play aside from the conservative approach to fast charging on the Niro.

Is it the buffer, that there is maybe degradation, but it's in the buffer and software over time adjusts the buffer size, so that no actual loss of range is encountered with any potential degradation that is occurring?

 

[Xinix]

So in order to achieve a faster rapid charging speeds, cells with lower internal resistance by design must be used. OR use a higher Voltage battery system as in the 800V EVs. Then the charging current (Amps) required (to achieve the same power charging) is halved. Peter

Actually I don't think the 800V statement is entirely true. Yes, 800v will be applied at the pack level, and it means wiring and connectors can be designed for less current, but at the cell level the applied voltage and current will be the same. There's an interesting video by Peter Rawlinson (!) on the Lucid battery pack where he explains this in more detail.

 

[dirk362]

I had to do a rapid charge today, on a 350W charger at Gridserve in Pease Pottage, to just give me enough of a buffer to get to Worthing and then back home, after having traveled around 200 miles by that point.
It was a hot day at 26C when I pulled up at the charging point, and I had 31% SOC according to the car.

Plugged in and was pleasantly surprised to very quickly see this spin up to 83kW then tweak down to 77kW for about 5 mins, then down to 62kW afterward.
As it was a short charge to just get a bit in the car, I only let this run from 31% to 48% but that took only about 10 minutes I reckon.

Edit: Just checked the receipt and it was 00:09:22 charging time and added 11.2100kWh

So it is possible to get decent charging. We just need to have a hot day, and clearly, the HV battery must have been reasonably warm to get close to the charging curve (for once).

Given this is only the 4th time I've ever had to resort to public charging, I'm not in any way disappointed in what the Niro EV does. Sure, if I was public charging more often I'd like to see this sort of charging speed all the time. But as I'm a rare public charger user this is no issue in the real world.

 

[Duff]

Just back from Southampton in my Niro Ev it took only about 10 mins extra waiting per charge than I would have expected with my ev6 so a total of about 1/2 an hour extra for a 467 mile journey just as predicted by ABRP. It was charging at about 72 kw after pre heating on a 150kw charger shell recharge. Straight to 80kw on Ionity and 44kw on a gridserve charger. No real hassle at all.
Going down I stopped overnight next to an Stafford Ionity and had a bite to eat at Gretna while on Ionity plus plugged in while grabbing a coffee at a motorway service station so always had more charge than I needed.

so only noticed a total of 30 mins of waiting in 2 days of driving.

 

[kev_7101]

It seems the new Hyundai Kona can charge at a little over 100kW, but still 41 min from 10 to 80%. I cant find information on the battery in the Kona, except that it is 65,5 kW or so, so I wonder if it is the same battery that is in the Niro? If it is the same battery, than Niro can go faster too. The Niro battery is put together by Webasto (German), using CATL modules.

 

[dirk362]

It seems the new Hyundai Kona can charge at a little over 100kW, but still 41 min from 10 to 80%. I cant find information on the battery in the Kona, except that it is 65,5 kW or so, so I wonder if it is the same battery that is in the Niro? If it is the same battery, than Niro can go faster too. The Niro battery is put together by Webasto (German), using CATL modules.

I read the same but was waiting until the UK site was properly updated with accurate information as some may be region-specific.

To me, it looks like the 2nd Gen Kona is actually not the same underlying EV architecture as the 2nd Gen Niro because there are several differences such as battery capacity and charging rate. It is still a 400V architecture but does look to be different across the two brands which isn't how it has been in the past. They were identical platforms but with a different skin.

Indeed on paper at least the 2nd Gen Kona looks all round better than the Niro EV. Better interior, better EV capacity and charging, improved safety features such as Blind Spot View Monitor (the live video feed on the driver dash when you indicate), and acoustic glass on both front windows and not just the windscreen. Oh, and it is cheaper too.

EV Database highlights some differences between the two models. Niro EV is here. Kona EV is here.

 

[27897]

It seems the new Hyundai Kona can charge at a little over 100kW, but still 41 min from 10 to 80%. I cant find information on the battery in the Kona, except that it is 65,5 kW or so, so I wonder if it is the same battery that is in the Niro? If it is the same battery, than Niro can go faster too. The Niro battery is put together by Webasto (German), using CATL modules.

I thought Kona was different, made in UK but Niro made in Korea. Niro cells now Chinese, Kona cells German?

 

[kev_7101]

O, interesting the new Kona is in that database already. Well its 68.5 kWh for Kona vs 68.0 kWh for Niro. Niro has 24 of some kind of generic CATL modules of 2,835 kWh, 4 cells per module, 0,708 kWh/Cell, all in series, big cells (compare EV6: 0,2 kWh/Cell). I guess that's why it heats up too much for fast charging. So I really wonder what Kona has. If reviewers would try to look at it would be great (at least tell us the brand, who made it).

 

[Mark_T]

So I really wonder what Kona has. If reviewers would try to look at it would be great (at least tell us the brand, who made it).

They are using LG cells produced in Poland, with finally assembly at the Czech based HMMC plant.

 

[interbear]

Personally, anything above 50kWh charging is good but way above that is not really realistic in the world I live in.

Most charging done at home - 7kWH standard or if you’re a fancy-Dan 11kWh.

Some charging done at public chargers - lucky if you get a fraction of what you asked for so up to 50kWh-77kWh is a win.

Higher than that the cost to charge is ridiculous and I’d rather not, thanks.

In my real world experience higher DC charging rates are not a game changer. If 150-350kWh EVSE’s were plentiful and sensibly priced I’d not have bought a Kia Niro EV….but they’re not so I did. 🤓👍

My thoughts exactly and why I’ve just ordered a Niro EV to replace our e-208. In reality 90% of our charging is overnight at home so the need for rapid charging is limited. I think many EV owners will have a similar use case.