It’ll charge at up to 77kW, which means it can add 110 miles in a half-hour coffee stop, and thanks to its battery cooling system, this rate won’t drop off if you need to do lots of driving and charging in one day. And like other EVs, you can charge it from a 3-pin plug if you’re staying somewhere with no other options (albeit slowly). But here’s the thing – if you leave the door open, the interior light will drain the 12v battery and render the car unusable. My 1997 Rover 200 used to turn the interior light off to prevent the battery draining. How they could overlook something so basic, I don’t know. Kia’s parent company Hyundai are the first manufacturer to do away with the 12v lead acid battery in the Ioniq Hybrid. It still has a low voltage system, with a 12.8v lithium-ion battery at its heart, mounted alongside the hybrid battery. All lithiumion batteries have an internal safety cut-off circuit, which will disable the battery permanently if it drops below a certain voltage. Although this sounds quite alarming, the battery can be left for months or years before this happens, and with regular use it won’t happen. However, it’s possible to happen relatively quickly if the car has a parasitic drain on the battery. Although the battery is replaceable as a spare part, it’s not a standard type that a breakdown service or motor factor would have in stock, so it’s desirable to prevent failure as much as possible. The system has an external cut-off that will disconnect the battery when the voltage gets below a predetermined value, well before the internal circuit in the battery. Of course, this means you’ll have to open the car with the
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"Hyundai are the first manufacturer to do away with the 12v lead acid battery in the Ioniq Hybrid"
emergency key, but a jab of the 12v battery reset button will reconnect it and have you on your way again, before visiting your local EV garage for a proper investigation to prevent it from happening again. The Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Repair Alliance is a network of garages who have the right tools and qualifications to work on EV and hybrid vehicles. Members receive unlimited technical support advice and drivers are able to use its garage finder to find qualified workshops in their area. www. hevra.org.uk hello@hevra.org.uk
