Our jaunt on Jeju Island proves to be every bit as free-spirited as the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5
I’ve always been vocal in my scepticism about going on extended road tours using an electric vehicle.
After all, I don’t want to be a slave to any machine’s charging appetite by planning my road route around charging points.
This seems to defeat the unbridled freedom an automobile is supposed to embody on road trips.
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A car should let one sniff out adventure on the open roads and take off on spontaneous sojourns.
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For instance, some of the unscheduled stops during our visit to Jeju included heading to Aewol to chase the sunset, or simply scratching an itch for a half-and-half bowl of Sol Dongsan’s hearty meat noodles after visiting the Jeongbang waterfall in the pouring rain, leaving our core memories all the richer for it.
An EV is the perfect transport within the built-up environs of a city like Singapore, but for exploring new lands and venturing into parts unknown, it requires a little more thought than many wish to expend compared to its ICE or PHEV counterparts.
YMMV (your mileage may vary)… literally.
We know of folks who relish the order and structure involved in coordinating charging stops in between visiting points of interest, especially in countries where charging facilities could be few, far between, or simply unreliable (for example, occupied by an ICE vehicle or inoperative when you get there).
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However, some people still feel that charging (like refuelling an ICE) should be an afterthought, as opposed to a main event, which makes any exercise that extends beyond the six minutes it takes to refuel an ICE vehicle, settle the bill and take a whizz, something of a chore.
On leisurely and languid drive trips, many travellers prefer to see where side-quests, the wind (and their bellies) take them, and then worry about charging when they get there.
Now, this isn’t a problem for Singapore because you’re unlikely to be more than six minutes away from a charging spot, but it can pose a problem in sprawling countries that see you covering larger distances.
As a side-note, on our last drive-trip to the UK, we opted for a peachy Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid plug-in petrol-electric all-rounder (our favourite powertrain at the moment for cross-country touring, especially with a mix of high autobahn / motorway cruising speeds and destinations that potentially aren’t on the charging grid), instead of an all-electric Macan.
Sure, you could argue that an EV can be DC-charged from 20-80% in under half an hour, but to some motorists, that’s already 20 minutes too long.
Destination charging aside (the first Pension we stayed at had a note on the charger to say it was reserved for the owner), EV practitioners recommend plugging in for a quick splash whenever you can, but nah.
We were going to try our darndest to be difficult with the Ioniq 5 – in other words, behave like the staunch ICE driver I am, because we can’t think of a better way of inflicting the “real world” on the car.
Sick of my rabble-rousing, HMGICS (Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre Singapore) threw down a gauntlet.
The challenge? It put this writer in an electric Ioniq 5 for a one-week jaunt in the land of Hallasan, Hallabong oranges and halla’tasty haenyeo-caught abalone dolsotbap — Jeju Island.
If you’re wondering, Jeju Island is South Korea’s largest island, and covers an area of approximately 1,830 sq km (to put this in perspective, Singapore measures in at 735.7 sq km).
We had heard mixed impressions about Jeju, but our virgin trip proved to be a real blast from the past with its idyllic island environs and hospitality.
It's possible to channel your inner Bohemian, especially when you venture outside the city, as we did, criss-crossing our way through the island by staying at a variety of eclectic Pensions (or guest boarding houses).
The other big surprise is the proliferation of charging stations, even in spite of Jeju’s size and diverse town, country and seaside landscape.
From the Oreum hiking hot-spots to countryside accommodation and even the far-flung postcard-perfect locations (with familiar favourites like Snoopy Garden and Eco Land in-between), you won't be more than a short drive to a charging point.
In fact, a news report from 2019 indicated that there was an EV charging station every 3.5km, with the number of chargers only growing since then!
Some of you might recall that Jeju Island was selected in 2011 to lead the EV industry development in South Korea, which explains the island’s push towards EVs and EV rentals for tourists.
Furthermore, Jeju’s chill throwback vibes are a perfect match for the throwback aesthetic elements of the retro-futuristic Ioniq 5.
And as luck would have it, we spent more time cafe-hopping and keeping ourselves juiced-up on Hallabong oranges than having to fret about juicing up the car.
EVs thrive in built-up cityscapes and/or places with relatively low speed limits, all of which suit Jeju to a T.
Even when we were out of the city, the 30-50-60km/h country road speed limits meant we never put a huge dent in the Ioniq 5’s 400+ km range on a full charge.
Unfortunately, our kiasu-ness made us charge the car once (about an hour and $18 on the AMEX to go from 55 to 100%), but we finished the trip with well over 200km range to spare.
Driven judiciously, it was possible to maintain a comfortable pace on the undulating roads to optimise energy usage, so much so that we reckon it would have been possible to have ended our trip without recharging!
In the city, the low-speed, start-stop traffic lets you hone your OPD (or One Pedal Driving) skills. After all, if you’re not OPD, can you profess to say you’ve even driven an EV properly?
From sunset on the beach in Aewol to sunrise on the summit of Seongsan Ilchulbong (that we missed!), as well as meals of Jeju Hanwoo and Jeju Black pork, we had a wish-list of sights to see and things to eat.
Even with no set agenda, we ended up visiting all four corners of Jeju-do.
This did mean we occasionally retraced our driving route and doubled our distance travelled, but we quickly realised that in Jeju at least, range anxiety never becomes a bad thing.
The Ioniq 5’s living room-like cabin provides comfortable and cosy accommodation for three and their baggage, with features that are of use, rather than mere novelty.
The glovebox "drawer" was particularly useful as a snack stash! (pictured above)
In-cabin V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) won’t just power your glamp tent and cooking implements, but is a godsend for anyone with a tweenager, because it helps keep their devices juiced up for music, as well as primed to post and always in contact with their friends.
Google Maps doesn’t work on Jeju, but between the Ioniq 5’s onboard GPS and the Naver app (a peer-based food review and GPS app), you’re never far away from a hot meal and warm place to stay for the night.
Compared to the frenetic intensity of planned itineraries, the Ioniq 5 perfectly complemented our relaxed pace of travel (end May, early June if you’re wondering) and proved more than capable of playing the role of intrepid explorer very well.
The Ioniq 5 even demonstrated a temperance in putting up with a driver who was out to foil the EV’s seeming infallibility.
A combination of the island’s heavily policed low speed limits, ample charging stations and the car’s own intelligent battery management system all served to show that there are no strings attached with this EV, and one need never worry about becoming a slave to this machine.
HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 LONG RANGE AWD PRESTIGE
Battery: 77.4kWh, Lithium-Ion, dual-motor, AWD
System Power: 239kW
System Torque: 605Nm
0-100km/h: 7.3secs
Top speed: 185km/h
Range (WLTP): 387km (combined)