In July of 2024 I had the opportunity to take a Hyundai IONIQ 6 on a road trip from Burnaby to Dawson Creek BC. That’s a round trip of nearly 2,400 kilometres. It was a work trip, attending the Summer Cruise Show n Shine, which we have attended for the past three years.
If you are interested in a deep dive into the trip, you can watch my long format video summary, complete with tons of POV driving footage from the Fraser Canyon though to the Peace region. Sorry about the heavily processed narration. I forgot to bring a mic and had to seriously clean up the camera audio.
We also had a Ford F-150 Lightning (standard range) in the show. I switched out to drive it occasionally, but spent most of my time in the Hyundai IONIQ 6: a super aerodynamic and efficient electric sedan with impressive range and charging performance. This was an all wheel drive, long range version with 18 inch wheels and an NRCAN rated range of 509 kilometres per charge. While highway driving is less efficient than the mixed use energy consumption ratings that get translated into advertised range, my experience with this car is that you could get over 500 km per charge by cruising in eco-mode, which disconnects the front motor when it isn’t needed.
As this was a demo car and I am an EV nerd, I made a few extra stops at charging stations to test settings and see how the car behaved on different types of stations. However, I quickly discovered that this car is so efficient that it rarely needs to be charged. When it does need to charge, it easily maxes out the power of most stations.
In total, I spent an hour and 40 minutes at fast chargers and $124 on charging fees for the entire round trip of nearly 2,400 km. Keep in mind that the time at charging stations is usually combined with getting snacks and coffee, using the washroom, cleaning the windshield and checking messages, so it was really more like 50-60 mins difference compared to driving a gas car. Functionally, that’s not much on a trip of this length, especially considering that EV drivers are free to do other things while the vehicle charges.
TRAVEL TIP: Charging stations have different power levels measured in kilowatts (kW). In B.C., you will see fast-chargers ranging from 25 to 350 kW! More is faster, providing that your vehicle can use faster charging. Look up your vehicle’s charging capabilities and select stations of corresponding power. You won’t damage your vehicle on a higher powered station, but they tend to cost more. See more about charging and planning for road trips in our Up to Speed guide for new EV drivers.
Burnaby to Prince George
I picked the demo car up in Burnaby and spent a few minutes familiarizing myself with the navigation system. I get to drive several different EVs through my work, and I travel the route to Prince George a few times per year. Over the past five years I have done this trip in a Volkswagen E-Golf, Chevrolet Bolt, Ford Mustang Mach E, Telsa Model Y, Ford F-150 Lightning and now the Hyundai IONIQ 6.
The fast-charging network has improved substantially each year on this route. It’s at the point now that I can get into virtually any rental or demo EV and hit the road without planning. But that said, I recommend and least taking a look at PlugShare or A Better Route Planner, or if your vehicle has a good navigation system that can build charging plans for road trips, do a preview of the route before you head into a new area.
I stopped in Hope to use a washroom and the car was just under 80% so there was no need to charge. I plugged in at the Chevron On-the-Run station while I used the washroom just to make sure everything was working properly, but this wasn’t a substantial charge and it didn’t have any impact on the trip.
The temperature reached 42 degrees C through the Fraser Canyon and I wasn’t holding back on air conditioning, but the car still maintained a stellar efficiency of approximately 15 kWh/100 km. I used adaptive cruise control and eco-mode, except for switching into sport mode when passing. The IONIQ 6 is a comfortable highway cruiser that really slips through the air with very little resistance.
I had lunch at the Dessert Hills Taco Stand in Cache Creek, but my first real charging stop wasn’t until 100 Mile House, which is 450 km from Burnaby. The car had 18 percent remaining at this point (80 km of range). I used the On-the-Run station, charging for 22 minutes and spending $23.37 in charger fees. It could have been a shorter stop if the stations there were higher voltage, as this car uses an 800 volt architecture and those stations are 400 volt. The On-the-Run stations are 150 kW, and the car can charge at ~230 kW, but it will only ever pull in 105 kW on those stations due to the mismatched architecture. There’s nothing wrong with the car, or the stations. They just aren’t a perfect match. Still 100+ kW isn’t too bad on this car since it is so efficient and since it will maintain that charging speed right up to 80 percent.
On-the-Run stations can be activated using a credit card or through the Journie app. I opt for the app because I use the stations frequently and it allows me to look up information from past charging sessions.
After charging in 100 Mile House I continued on to Prince George, another 350 km, without having to charge again and still had 18 percent (78 km of range) remaining. I stopped in Williams Lake to connect to a charging station and test some settings, but did not need to charge nor did I get significant range from that stop. While a made a couple experimental stops on this section of the trip, but the IONIQ 6 could easily do it with one charging stop.
Prince George to Dawson Creek
The next day, I used a 200 kW charging station near a shopping mall so that I could grab food and supplies while charging. This one is a ChargePoint station and it can be activated with the ChargePoint or ChargeHub app. I got the car back up to 80%, spending 19 minutes on that charger (and $19.90 in station fees). I met with colleagues who were driving a rental F-150 Lightning and we set out for Dawson Creek.
While the IONIQ 6 could go from Prince George to Dawson Creek without charging (403 km), the standard range F-150 would need a stop. This trip was a couple months before the completion of B.C.’s “Electric Highway” network, which saw a wave of new fast-chargers opened on HWY 97 between Prince George and the Yukon. So, the best charging station at the time was a 180 kW unit in Mackenzie.
There are 25 kW stations close to the highway at McLeod Lake and East Pine Rest Area, but the Mackenzie stations are so much faster that it still made sense to take the 30km detour (60km round trip) into Mackenzie. Since then, high-powered stations have opened at Bear Lake, Powder King and Chetwynd so there are plenty of options instead of going to Mackenzie.
We were the first users to charge at the new stations in Mackenzie. The truck arrived with 48 percent and ended up charging to 90 percent while we spoke with locals who approached us to ask questions about using the chargers. We also charged the IONIQ 6 while waiting for the truck, but I don’t consider this a necessary stop for the car as I normally would have just gone straight from Prince George to Dawson Creek.
BC Hydro fast chargers can be activated using the BC Hydro EV app/RFID card, Flo app/RFID card, ChargeHub app, or by calling the number listed on the charging station.
After charging in Mackenzie, we switched vehicles and I drove the F-150 Lightning for the rest of the day. At this time, there were no fast-charging stations in Dawson Creek, but several level 2 stations were available throughout the city. We charged overnight on a level 2 station next to our hotel. Since then, BC Hydro has opened two sites in Dawson Creek with multiple 180 kW stations each.
TRAVEL TIP: When taking a multi-day EV road trip, look for accommodations that provide overnight charging. You can find hotels with charging stations by looking for level 2 chargers on PlugShare or ChargeHub. EV charging stations are also searchable amenities on vacation rental platforms. You might also be able to use wall plugs, RV plugs, etc., but please check with the accommodation before charging.
The Summer Cruise Show n Shine is always a great time. I was doing test-drives with the Ford Lightning and neglected to take a lot of videos. In retrospect I should have captured some conversations with the other EV drivers as we had a mix of new and experienced EV road trippers. Regardless, we had a lot of great conversations with attendees who had tons of great questions about going electric. This was our largest EV section of the show to date with a Rivian R1T, two Hyundai IONIQ 5s, one IONIQ 6, a Subaru Solterra and the Ford Lightning. We also did a vehicle to vehicle charging demonstration using the F-150 Lightning.
Dawson Creek to Burnaby
The return trip was largely the same except that I didn’t stop overnight in Prince George but drove straight through to Burnaby. We stayed in Dawson Creek for one night after the car show and charged both vehicles to 100%. I drove the F-150 Lightning to Prince George with a stop in Mackenzie but my colleagues in the IONIQ 6 drove to Prince George with no stops. They arrived with 30% remaining and then traded vehicles with me as I needed to return the IONIQ 6 demo car by the next morning. I used the 200 kW charging station to bring the car back up to 78 percent in 14 minutes for $15.64.
There were no experimental charging stops on the way back to Burnaby but I did spend time taking photos and videos and ended up driving through the night. I stopped to charge at On-the-Run in Williams Lake (240km). Again, those stations are 400-volt instead of 800-volt, so not a perfect match for the car. I charged up from 25 to 80 percent in about 20 minutes. The charging speed throttles down after 80 percent but I got into conversation with a passerby who had questions about using charging stations. This happens a lot when travelling by EV! In total I was at this station for 27 minutes and charged to 82 percent for $24.37.
Williams Lake to Hope is just under 400 km and I arrived with 11 percent remaining. I intended to arrive with a rather low battery so that I could do a proper test on the 350 kW Electrify Canada stations. Using those ultra-high power stations, I charged from 11 to 80 percent in 18 minutes. That amount of power carries a premium price and the session cost $40.53, but it was good to see the car charge at the rate Hyundai advertises when using 350 kW stations.
Electrify Canada stations can be activated using a credit card or the Electrify Canada app.
The Electric Highway
From there I cruised the Fraser Valley back to Burnaby and returned the car. It’s refreshing to drive a slippery sedan given that most of my recent travels have been done with trucks lately. The IONIQ 6 has impressive range and charging capabilities when paired with good stations. Fortunately, BC has an impressive new network of chargers, especially on this route. The new charging sites from Dawson Creek to Prince George use 180 to 200 kW stations, making EV travel a breeze. There are plenty of 50 to 150 kW stations between Prince George and Burnaby (plus Tesla Superchargers), and new 180 kW stations will be online in Ashcroft and near Lytton by the end of September. Those will be a big benefit to 800V vehicles and will make charging sessions even faster.
- Find charging stations on PlugShare
- Create your BC Hydro EV account
- Make a ChargeHub account
- Up to Speed guide for new EV drivers
- Learn about types of charging stations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Submit your #LiveElectric story