I also own a Scorpio-N. Primarily for expeditions and travel to offbeat places; apart from an Innova Crysta, because your garage is incomplete without a reliable Toyota.
BHPian Lego28 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
When I purchased Ioniq 5 in Nov 2023, I was clueless about EVs. Today, after running it 15k km, I wish there was a thread like the one I am posting which would have helped me adopt, utilize and understand my machine to its full potential quicker.
I am putting this post here to help fellow BHPians and share as much knowledge as I can. EVs being a new platform, still needs a lot of understanding, and I am still learning. I will keep updating this thread, and I request fellow BHPians to share their input as well. So that we collectively help each other and everyone.
I have done 2 long road trips on the Ioniq 5, and 2 other short trips.
- Delhi to Jaipur (~750km)
- Delhi to Pushkar (~950kms)
- Delhi to Gujrat Road Trip (Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Diu, Somnath, Dwarka, Dholavira, Rann of Kutch and back) (~3800kms)
- Delhi to Bir Road Trip(Bir, Billing, Barot, Bir and back) (~1500kms)
I also own a Scorpio N. Primarily for expeditions and travel to offbeat places. I also own an Innova Crysta, because your Garage is incomplete without a reliable Toyota.
Adding a few pictures from the road trips.
Since there is already a post on reasons to (not) buy an EV:
I will just write a few lines about why I purchased mine:
My reasons are quite unorthodox. I personally feel low running cost is the wrong reason to purchase an EV, better put that money in stocks and refuel your ICE cars using the returns.
So is it being called environment friendly, It is NOT.
The only 3 reasons I purchased mine were: Power, Tech, and Looks. This thing hands down beats anything under 2 Cr for the above 3.
Now that we are done with the pleasantries, let us get to the point.
Firstly, all these are my personal experiences, opinions and practices and I would love positive feedback on them. I will break down the list in separate posts for better segregation and try to be as detailed as possible. If anyone has any follow-up questions, feel free to ask me the same.
- Spare Tyre kit
- DIY Extension Cord
- 11kw Home Charger Installation
- Highway/Hotel DC/AC Chargers Mapping
- Understanding Regen
- Battery Temps
- Charging tips and Battery Temps
- Accessories and Customization
- Incidents, Service and Ownership Experience
I. Spare Tyre kit
Since there is already a Thread started by me regarding the same, I’ll simply put the link of the same here.
II. DIY Extension Cord
After researching a lot online, and checking out many extension cords, I was not comfortable with the quality/length/safety of the cords I found online. So, decided to build my own.
It has come in handy on 7 different occasions till now. All Homestays and most of the Hotels/ resorts I’ve been to are not ready for EVs. But because I had this extension, I did not have to plan my stays in remote areas at the mercy of Properties with charging Points at the parking area. may it be Rann of Kutch or Dholavira in Gujrat, or Barot and Bir in Himachal. This thing is truly a lifesaver for a traveler like me.
Ordered 2 parts online. Adding an Amazon link to the items, so that it helps others.
1. Waterproof 16Amp Socket: this was an Anchor socket, which I planned to replace with Norisys 25 amp socket, but after seeing the quality and using it multiple times without any issues, dropped the plan.
2. Cord Reel : Expensive for what it offers, but is unbreakable/flexible material, fuss free, keeps the wire tangle free and the 16 amp Plug secure in place. Very easy to unwind and reel it back in. Can take 35Mtr+ cable easily.
*If you will look closely, you will see a wood insect hugging the reel.
3. Finolex 2.5 sq mm 3 Core 100% copper flexible cable: I would suggest to go for the same or equivalent.
You will want something that you are sure is 100% pure Copper, and you want something with Longevity.
Went to an electronics shop nearby and started reeling the cable in the cord reel. At 30mtr mark, the reel was quite heavy and I felt the length is enough for my emergency needs etc.
You can make out from this picture that the reel can still handle 7-10 mtrs more easily, but I decided to stop at 30.
4. Wire Gland: Weirdly, the waterproof socket did not come with a waterproof gland, so I had to purchase the same. After a little hit and trial at the stop, 13.5 Gland fit perfectly.
5. Plug Top: Went for a 25amp Legrand Top, Purchased it offline.
6. 16amp to 6amp converter: Only for emergencies if 16amp socket is not available. I’ll suggest you reduce the charging speed from the portable charger to max 10amps is you are using this.
I keep the extension cord in the frunk.
Experiences:
I have mostly had fuss free charging experience of the Portable charger with charging speeds ranging from 2.5-3.2KWh depending on the input voltage and wiring. The charger always starts up with a self load etc test and decides the maximum wattage it can stably send the car.
I have faced 3 anomalies with the portable charger till date:
1. No Earthing: The 16AMP socket provided by our Diu resort did not have any earthing and the charger quickly threw the error light for the same on the Led indicator. Changing to another socket solved this issue. Note: In case of earthing fault, the charging is limited to 1.0-1.3KW. Safe to Assume the same is in place to protect one from electrocution due to current leak etc.
2. Charging on Genset: During our stay at Dholavira, there was a power outage and soon after the genset was turned on, I got a notification on bluelink app stating, unable to charge. On heading to the car, is saw a weird pattern.
So, the MID screen display always starts charging from 0.3kwh and it gradually increases till the max wattage it will charge at, whenever charging is started. This is a 2-4sec pattern, Which I feel is to not put sudden load/stress on the grid. But today, it went till 2.5KW and cycled back to 0, and then again the same cycle in an infinite repetitive loop It was not difficult to decipher that the same is happening due to Genset not able to provide Constant Current/wattage. I reduced the charging speed to 2.5 and it started without any issues.
(If you will look closely, you will see the genset on the extreme right. Those were 2 big Mahindra powerol units, I do not know the kva rating.)
3. Load > Supply: at our Homestay at Bir, The same issue that happened with the Genset happened. The voltage supply was very low during the day (10 am to 11pm). So low that you could even make out the fans were turning slower than usual. The car charging would cycle into an infinite loop above 2kw and The whole property’s lights would flicker repeatedly with each loop.
On reducing the charging speed to 1.7KW, it charged and I increased the charging speed back to maximum post 11 pm and it took nicely.
P.S.: I assembled the extension cord myself, but if you are unsure about what you’re doing, please get a professional/ electrician to do it for you.
III. 11KW Home Charger.
Installation: Charger Installation can get tricky to impossible if you are living in an apartment. And Even post installation, there is always an uncertainty of it being revoked any time by the management.
Exhibit A: This is a notice from the apartment my in-laws live in. It needs no further explanation.
Exhibit B: This is my personal experience. I almost purchased a Nexon EV back in 2018-19, so i Fortunately had put in a request for charger installation with my apartment Facilities Management and had a written approval with me.
I booked the Ioniq 5 back in november 2023. The initial Booking experience in itself was Poor, but hyundai later made it up for it, thanks to the reach-ability of TeamBHP.
Post Booking, I approached My apartment management office for due diligence related to charger installation and was told that they no longer allow EV charger installation as they do not have the infrastructure to support the same. I was told that the apartment (Albeit constructed in 2017 in the heart of of the Capital of India) did not consider rise in EV demands and do not have the feasibility to Sanction for the same.
With my dreams shattered and my ear burning red with heartbroken emotions, i asked to meet with the estate manager deputed by JLL. I told him about my booking and I told him that since i had already done my due diligence once in 2019, i went ahead with the booking thinking the conditions will be same as before, and canceling the same will cost me almost 1L. After a long discussion and showing him email Proofs of 2019, the gentleman agreed and granted me charger installation permission as an exception case. (Phew) Granted I follow proper protocols laid out by the JLL engineering team regarding wiring etc.
1. JLL Asked me to get 16sqmm 4 pole armored cable, instead of 10mm 4 pole PVC cable Provided by the Exicom Charger Installation Team.
2. The wire to be routed properly via existing cable trays and properly tied down using cable ties and wall clips.
The total Length of cable used was 38Mtrs and i ended up paying Rs. 25,000 extra over and above the free Charger installation, for the wire upgrade differential and extra length. I am not sure but 20 or 25Mtrs was the maximum length included in the free installation. Exicom team was more than happy to procure the 16sqmm finolex armored cable as requested by DLF team. And for a reasonable cost.(I cross checked it with a few other vendors)
Plus Misc expenses like 3 PhaseSub meter, 4 pole 63Amp MCB etc.
Pretty reasonable i would say for the wire upgrade and the peace of mind which comes with it.
Installation Day:
The Exicom-eChargeBays Installation team were very professional and accomodating. The task took almost the whole day.
The Car was moved from my parking slot to make space for installation equipments. Leading to my trio, for the first time parked adjacent to each other.
The Parking slot was prepped for Charger installation. Sorry for dark photos, the light at my parking slot was kaput since long, and i never bothered to get it replaced. Asked the JLL guys and they replaced it within an hour.
The team Laid everything out nicely and did a prelim check, made notes, videos etc of all the equipment and Cable etc. Company protocols, I am sure.
First Glimpse of the Charger in the box. 
The Cable Tray From my parking slot.
To the Closest Panel Room in the background.
Inside the Panel Room
The Panel (Bus Bar on the left from where supply was borrowed)
First line of defense
Charger Being Commissioned
And here it is
First Trial Charge
Home Sweet Home
Non-Jeep Jeep easter egg
Continue reading BHPian Lego28’s review for more insights and information.
