11 exciting observation points of my Ioniq 5 after an 800 km drive

I did not dare use the EV for local trips in Ooty & Coonoor, instead, relied on the taxis.

BHPian v_avinash recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Did a Bangalore - Nilgiris (Kotagiri) trip in the second week of May - Some very exciting and interesting observations/thoughts.

1. Used the Bangalore - Mysore - Bandipur, Mudumalai, Doddabetta, Kotagiri route - About 325 km - Took about 2.5 to Mysore (150 kms) and the rest of the forest /ghats section took the 4.5 hours.
2. Started at Bangalore with 100 per cent - reached Mysore and visited family for a few hours and then resumed journey early next morning. Drove out about 20 kms on the Mysore Bandipur route, stopped at a Shell charger and went up from 49 per cent to 92 per cent in about 15 minutes.
3. I did my journey with a spare tyre (after my December tyre incident) - While I would not have still been able to swap the tyre in case of a situation, at least the feeling of having one with you puts you at ease and It can always be swapped by a mechanic (I had bought the tools as well - see the Hyundai Ioniq spare tyre thread for details).
4. I was not sure how much luggage would fit, given the huge spare - but I removed the luggage cover extensible tarp rod and that helped me easily pack 6 bags (medium-sized) along with the tyre. I was also able to fit a medium bag in the frunk (along with the car charger), so that made me feel really comfortable.
5. The car handled itself beautifully on the hairpin bends and the ascent. Not a single time did I feel the extra weight of the tyre and the tools (About 20 kilos overall). The spare tyre does not roll and move given its sheer girth and weight.
6. Naturally the ascent takes its toll in terms of battery efficiency (Regen level 2 is my standard) and I reached my destination with about 48 per cent battery - meaning that I have used about 43 per cent for the 175 km uphill/through the forest journey. I was noticing almost every 2 hairpins the battery would drop by a percentage! (AC on throughout - in spite of the cool crisp air, we had some truck traffic which was spewing black smoke...so)
7. At the property where we stayed, I was able to work with them and connect my extension cord and the car portable charger for it to take 1.5 days to charge up to about 80 per cent. It was raining, so I made sure to safely cover the extension with a plastic bag and hid under the car.
8. On the descent we had warnings for rain in the hills and surrounding - so we decided to take the Mettupalayam, Mettur Dam, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Hosur route back. It was going to be at least 60 km more and probably an hour and a bit more - but I wanted to complete my descent and face the rain on the plains. Here is where I had the most exciting time of the drive - The car was beautifully regenerating - started with 80 per cent battery and by the time I reached Mettupalayam - roughly 37 km and 1.15-hour drive - the car had a battery UP to 87 per cent!
9. While I knew I was going to get some juice back, I did not expect to end up in a positive gain situation - Effectively I got a benefit of about 35/40 km - in addition to the 37 that I drove to Mettupalayam.
10. Thereafter I stopped at the Relux charging station near Thoppur (just after the Tollbooth) - it is a funny "on the road, covered by a tarp/shed" charger. But it works beautifully - I was able to charge up to 95 per cent from 45 per cent in about 45 mins, while we completely a nice lunch in the Saravana Bhavan (not the real one, but very decent) just a 50 m walk from this shed.
11. After that I had the most difficult highway drive ever - Absolutely dark and apocalyptic clouds and heavy pouring rain from Dharmapuri to the Hosur border (almost about 70 km) - no stop, with severe flooding at all the troughs / down ramps near Krishnagiri and around. It was about 3 pm in the afternoon but felt like 7 - continuous wipers, hazard lights on, but I was not concerned about the vehicle handling itself beautifully! - After that, we were met with rains in Bangalore (this was a Sunday after the RCB miracle, which it was, because it if had rained like this on Saturday, no chance of a game happening!).

PS: I did not dare use the car for local trips in Ooty, Coonoor - relied on the taxis and the drivers knowing the right places/parking spots - Overall was about 800 km round trip and a mighty pleasing one.

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