EV Canada Newsletter: Hyundai Ioniq 5 with Todd Miller

Hey EVeryone, thank you for joining me this week. I’m away on vacation this week and figured I’d take this opportunity to share my experience with meeting up with Todd Miller and sharing some key insights on our conversation regarding his EV, the current EV situation and the future of EVs. To read the story, continue below and if you would like to listen in to our conversation (completely unedited) you can find the SoundCloud link at the end.

I recently had an opportunity to talk to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia resident Todd Miller. Todd is one of the lucky few who is a proud owner of a Hyundai Ioniq 5 RWD Preferred Long Range. Todd was originally looking for a hybrid vehicle or electric vehicle, with the environment in mind. Back in late 2021, Todd and his wife, took part in an event put on by the Clean Foundation and were able to test drive a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and the Hyundai Kona BEV. They really liked the Kona but they were looking for something with a bit more room because they are avid campers and needed more room in an EV for it to fit their lifestyle. At that point, the salesperson they were in contact with suggested they look at the Ioniq 5. Todd hadn’t even heard of the Ioniq 5 at that point but after some initial research he figured he could put a deposit down and if he changed his mind he could get his money back.

As time approached for his Ioniq 5 to be delivered in January 2022, and as reviews poured in from the European market, it seemed like Todd and his wife made a great choice - especially with the crazy high gas prices we’ve experienced lately.

Since taking delivery of the vehicle, Todd states he and his wife have taken the car on a few longer distance road trips and have loved both the way the car drives and the ability to avoid the financial impacts of ever rising gas prices. Todd has not had any issues with his Ioniq 5, although there was a close call were he limped the vehicle into his condo’s parking garage at 2% which admittedly, was due to a miscalculation on his end.

I wanted to know how the car functions in Nova Scotia’s winter weather so I asked Todd about battery life and rear-wheel drive vs all-wheel drive. Todd hasn’t had any issues, but notes that, of course the battery life is affected by the colder temperature. With rear wheel drive, Todd has experienced no issues with traction but does invest in good tires. The lower center of gravity caused by the weight of the battery packs might be a reason for better traction as well.

Todd notes that that one of the biggest changes from switching to an EV, and an area that he would like to see improved, is the charging infrastructure, or lack there of. Todd says driving does become a bit of a planning exercise when you have an EV. There’s not a charger at every corner and really, who wants to sit around a gas station for a half hour. Maintenance around chargers, especially when they are snow covered does not seem to be a priority - who is responsible for maintaining the chargers?Ikea, he notes has really stepped up to support EV drivers offering free charging stations for shoppers. He wishes more retail places would follow suit, for convenience alone “like someone pumping your gas for free while you do your shopping.”

Retail areas could potentially benefit from offering charging stations which encourages people to spend more time shopping and the cost for companies to offer these stations can be quite low and I believe they would see a return on their investment quite quickly.

Todd’s advice for anyone considering switching to a PHEV or BEV: do your research. Its not for everyone and its not accessible to all due to high initial costs and for longer trips, utilize EV planning apps such as PlugShare will help put your mind at ease if you are worried about range.

Todd and I had a great conversation about topics across the EV world and how educating consumers should be a top priority. The misinformation and general misguidance that is spread is hindering EV adoption. This is why I started the EV Canada Newsletter: to inform myself and others on EVs and the EV industry.

Prices of EVs will come down as manufacturers look to improve battery technology and chemistry. Another hot topic for EVs is battery recycling and we have seen investments in Billions across the US and Canada to support battery recycling which is great to see.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Todd for taking the time to talk with me and having great in-depth conversations about EVs. Also thank you for taking me for a ride along and letting me take the Ioniq 5 for a spin.

If you would like to hear an unedited audio version of our conversation, you can listen to it on SoundCloud here. Keep in mind it is 100% unedited:

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