From Disraeli, Québec to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico epic road trip in a Hyundai IONIQ 5
Electric vehicles today are not limited to urban use. Improvements in range and a fast charging system allow drivers to cover great distances in a short period of time, for a fraction of the cost of using a gas-powered model. Mr. Patrick Nadeau recently demonstrated this by driving his IONIQ 5 from his home in Disraeli, QC all the way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
This 15,700 kilometre round trip cost Mr. Nadeau $630 CAD in charging costs, a fraction of the cost in fuel that he would have had to pay with an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. The cost savings were just the start of the benefits for this epic road trip.
From a pickup truck to an IONIQ 5
Formerly the owner of two pick-up trucks, it was mainly for financial reasons that Mr. Nadeau selected the IONIQ 5 as his vehicle. “It was a purely mathematical decision,” Nadeau explains, adding that he would pay between $1,200 and $1,400 CAD for gas per month with his previous vehicles. “I save hundreds every month by driving electric,” says Mr. Nadeau.
Thanks to its generous trunk space and spacious second-row for passengers, the IONIQ 5 met all the criteria for this father of three, who also relies on his IONIQ 5 for his work.
Camping and working in the desert
Owner of a company specializing in virtual reality, Mr. Nadeau brought his equipment during his 116 days’ journey, in order to create new virtual reality experiences in the national parks visited on his route. He passed through the American Midwest to visit the parks of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches and Grand Canyon.
Mr. Nadeau traversed through the desert during the day, and set up camp in his IONIQ 5 at night, where he slept. “The nights in the desert are quite cold, so I put my equipment in my tent and I slept in the car with the heat on at 20 degrees,” says Mr. Nadeau, adding that an entire night with the heating on only required about 10 per cent of battery reserves.
What’s more, the V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) function allowed Mr. Nadeau to operate his electrical equipment by plugging it into the IONIQ 5’s V2L adapter. “It allowed me to work and recharge the batteries of my equipment in national parks, where campgrounds are often without service,” explains Mr. Nadeau, who even plugged in a portable stove to cook.
Relying on range when chargers are sparse
Once in Mexico, trip planning became crucial due to the low number of fast charging stations, which are easy to find in Canada and the United States but almost non-existent south of the U.S. border. That said, Mr. Nadeau was able to continue his journey to Puerto Vallarta without issue. The IONIQ 5 was able to travel up to 460 kilometres on a single charge, with another 7 per cent in reserve. “It totally met my expectations,” he says. Upon returning home, the IONIQ 5’s trip computer showed an average power consumption of 18.5 kWh/100 km for the entire trip.
Patrick Nadeau does not regret his tri-country trip, rather he has a sense of pride for accomplishing such an important journey many wonder is even possible. Mr. Nadeau hopes his story will convince a few people of the viability of electric vehicles, even for those who regularly travel long distances. “I no longer see any real constraint to the adoption of electric vehicles,” Mr. Nadeau concludes.
