KUALA LUMPUR – Singaporeans love driving to Malaysia. On average, 31,000 Singapore cars enter Malaysia a day. The number rises exponentially during school holidays.
If you are among the thousands who drive north, having an electric car should not alter your plans significantly. Of late, I notice a good number of electric cars wearing Singapore number plates across the Causeway – as far as Penang. This is proof that range anxiety may be largely in the head.
Of course, having a car with sufficient range makes any journey more pleasant. While there are many charging points along Malaysia’s North-South Expressway, there is usually not much to do at these stops. And chargers are out in the open.
Hence in my view, something which lets you drive to Melaka (some 240km away) without a charging stop is essential if you enjoy driving to Malaysia. Something which does the same to Kuala Lumpur would even be better.
Mind you, the above distances should be tackled at a reasonable pace – that is, mostly 110kmh on the highway, with spurts of up to 140kmh for overtaking. There are folks who drive at 80 to 90kmh to preserve range, but that would be a rather frustrating endeavour.
Two years ago, I drove a Kia Niro EV 64.8kWh to KL to see if it would make the trip without stopping. It did, but with only 9km left in its range. The margin for error was too thin.
This time, I decide to take up Hyundai’s longstanding offer to repeat such a drive in its Singapore-assembled Ioniq 6 77kWh.
With the car juiced up to 100 per cent before the trip, its instrumentation shows a range of 614km – more than enough to make the 360km drive, even if I know quite well that the actual range tends to be somewhat shorter.
The conditions are identical to the drive in the Kia Niro: Three occupants plus luggage, the air-conditioner set at 23.5 deg C, and cruise control set at a little higher than 110kmh (since the speedometers in most cars are usually a tad generous).
I aim to drive to Melaka for lunch, but my bladder has other plans. We pull into a rest stop, and then out in a jiffy. The next stop is at a coffee shop in Ayer Keroh.
Driving into Melaka town might have been more interesting, but it entails distance, traffic and scarce parking. Just as well, since the Ayer Keroh coffee shop serves excellent Penang char kway teow and prawn noodles.
After a 40-minute lunch break, we push on to KL. We reach our hotel in fashionable Bangsar before 3.30pm, with 150km of range remaining. I am amazed how modern, clean and well-integrated this part of KL is.
I plug the car into the hotel’s EV charger run by QuickCharge.
As usual, this takes around 15 minutes because you have to download an app, key in your credit card details and wait for authentication before you can start charging. You also have to click boxes with predetermined charges. This requires mental maths because you do not want to overpay.
We stay two nights, getting around to wherever we want to go by ride-hailing, which is inexpensive and prompt.
We then leave KL for Ipoh, arriving at our hotel by around 1pm. This leg is most enjoyable as the traffic is light, and the scenery rivals what you get in some farther-flung destinations.
The Ioniq 6 proves to be an excellent long-haul carrier. Its super spacious cabin and competent suspension ensure occupants remain comfortable even at high speeds.
As a driver, I appreciate its ample and sculpted door-side arm rest. I fail to notice this when driving other variants of the Ioniq 6 in Singapore, but on a long drive, this feature most definitely sets the Hyundai apart from others.
I drive the car exclusively in Eco mode, which surprisingly provides enough oomph on the highway. Squeeze the throttle, and tailgaters are relegated to tiny images on the rear-view mirror. The car further proves its mettle when we decide to make a day trip to Cameron Highlands.
The Ioniq 6 is fully juiced up at a charger operated by Jom Charge at our Ipoh hotel. Although I already have the app on my phone from a previous trip, I have to re-enter my credit card details. Even so, Jom Charge proves to be more user-friendly than QuickCharge.
After breakfast on the second day in Ipoh, we make that impromptu hill climb. The drive is done without cruise control, and with the brake recuperation force set at its second highest level. This provides useful “engine braking” around the multitude of corners.
On the way up, the Ioniq 6 overtakes numerous vehicles – including truck convoys – with ease. With its monumental torque and strong brake recuperation, the Hyundai is an absolute joy at the wheel. In lesser cars, it is not uncommon for the driver to be fatigued or rear passengers to be car-sick on such twisty tarmac. But in the Ioniq 6, neither happens.
At 22 deg C, Cameron Highlands is a cool respite from the unusual heatwave Ipoh is having this time of the year, with the mercury hitting 37. We have an early lunch at the charming Smokehouse, a heritage hotel built in 1937. We then visit an old colonial bungalow we last stayed at.
The drive back to Ipoh is just as effortless. With a couple of hours before dinner, I go for a dip in the pool to unwind.
We head for home after breakfast the next day. But this time, the stated range with a full battery is 553km – not quite enough for a drive from Ipoh to Singapore without a charging stop.
So, we revisit Ayer Keroh to plug into a ChargeSini 60kW charger, which proves to be quick enough for a 35 per cent top-up in just over an hour. The duration includes figuring out the operator’s convoluted system.
The Ioniq 6 accepts AC charging of up to 10.5kW, and DC charging of up to 350kW. As hotels typically offer AC charging, the low speed is not an issue. And the car’s DC charging capacity allows it to exploit the fastest chargers in Malaysia.
Although measuring 4,855mm long, 1,880mm wide and 1,495mm tall with a 2,950mm wheelbase and 1.95-tonne kerb weight, the Ioniq 6 is fairly efficient, averaging 15.5kWh/100km. Excluding the full battery at the start of the journey, charging in Malaysia comes up to around RM170 (S$53), with some 75km of range remaining when we reach home.
The car is a peachy long-haul cruiser. It has a wonderful blend of range, performance and comfort. It is equipped with a driver assistance system which is effective but not in the least intrusive. During the trip, it puts out only one suggestion for me to take a break after I yawn repeatedly.
It has a 401-litre boot, which is sufficient for our luggage and shopping without us having to resort to its 45-litre frunk. Its only weakness is its rather wide 5.91m turning radius, which makes U-turns on smaller roads sometimes challenging. A small inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.
Hyundai Ioniq 6 77kWh
Price: $300,888 with COE, before discounts
Motor: Rear-mounted permanent magnet synchronous with 77kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed with paddle shift for modulating energy regeneration
Power: 168kW
Torque: 350Nm
0-100kmh: 7.4 seconds
Top speed: 185kmh
Power consumption: 14.3kWh/100km
Charging capacity: 10.5kW AC; 350kW DC
Agent: Komoco Motors
Source:[The Straits Times] © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
