Porsche & Hyundai Zoom Past Lucid: ADAC Reveals the Real Road Trip EVs!

TL;DR: ADAC's latest long-range EV test shows Porsche Taycan topping the charts for road trip capability, with Hyundai Ioniq 6 surprisingly outperforming Lucid Air due to consistent charging. Turns out, it's not just about big batteries or peak charging numbers; consistent power delivery is king!

Meta: ADAC's latest long-range EV test shows Porsche Taycan topping the charts for road trip capability, with Hyundai Ioniq 6 surprisingly outperforming Lucid Air due to consistent charging.

Alright, alright, settle down now! You wanna know which EVs are the real road trip heroes? Forget the marketing hype and those peak charging numbers! Germany's ADAC, the biggest car club over there, just dropped a new long-range EV test, and the results are gonna surprise some folks. You'd think the Lucid Air Grand Touring, with its massive battery and crazy range, would be top dog, right? Wrong! Turns out, consistency beats raw power, and both the Porsche Taycan and, get this, the Hyundai Ioniq 6, are zooming past Lucid where it matters most: real-world road trips!

ADAC's test is clever: they simulate a mixed driving route, drain the battery to 10%, then charge for 20 minutes, and see how much range is gained. They add that to the miles driven before the charge. And the Porsche Taycan Performance Plus? It's the undisputed champion, scoring a combined 609 miles (981 km)! It only drove 318 miles before needing a charge, but its charging curve was legendary. It hit 290 kW, then 295 kW, and stayed above 250 kW until 63% charged. The average charging power was a mind-blowing 274.9 kW. That's a consistent punch, baby!

The Ioniq 6 Shocker: Consistency Trumps Peak Power

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Coming in second, ahead of the Lucid Air, is the Hyundai Ioniq 6 single-motor. This bad boy, with its smaller 77.4 kWh battery, managed 578 miles (931 km) combined. It drove 311 miles before charging, and then gained 266 miles in just 20 minutes! Its charging curve ain't as pretty as the Taycan's, starting lower and peaking later at 235 kW. But its average charging power of 189.7 kW was still better than Lucid's 153.4 kW. Think about that: a more affordable Hyundai, beating a super-premium Lucid Air due to consistent, usable charging performance! That's a story for the ages!

Lucid Air, with its 112 kWh battery and a claimed 300 kW peak charge, could only manage 533 miles combined. It peaked at 243 kW, but then its power dropped significantly by 50% state of charge. That inconsistency, despite the big battery, pushed it down to fifth place. The Audi A6 E-Tron, with its 800-volt architecture, came in third, peaking at 281 kW and holding strong. This test proves that big numbers on paper don't always translate to real-world performance. It's like a boxer with a glass jaw; a strong punch means nothing if you can't take a hit!

What Really Makes a Road Trip EV?

This ADAC test highlights a crucial point: for road trips, it's not just about how far you can go on a full charge, or the theoretical peak charging speed. It's about how efficiently the car uses its energy, how consistently it can take a charge, and how quickly it can regain usable range. The Taycan's ability to maintain high charging power throughout most of the session is a testament to its engineering. And the Ioniq 6's performance shows that even a smaller battery, combined with efficiency and a decent charging curve, can be a formidable road trip companion, especially when you factor in its price point.

ADAC uses a 300 kW charger as its benchmark, which is common in Germany. But they're already talking about updating their tests for even more powerful 400 kW chargers, with new EVs like the BMW iX3 and Zeekr 7X already capable of utilizing them. So, the game is always evolving, always getting faster, always pushing the boundaries of what's possible. It's a race, and only the most consistent performers will win.

What’s Next: Expect automakers to focus more on consistent charging curves and overall efficiency, not just peak numbers, as these real-world tests gain prominence. Future EVs might see even faster average charging speeds and optimized battery management systems. The competition is only going to get tougher, and that's a win for consumers!

So, next time you're planning a long drive, remember: it ain't just the size of the battery, it's how you charge it! And now you know. Peace!