The 5 Fastest-Charging Electric Cars You Can Buy

Electric vehicle fast-charging speed. It's potentially one of the most vital statistics to consider when buying an EV — especially if you're not in a single-family home with a Level 2 EV charger. But unlike 0-60 mph time, it's not a metric we get much standardized, comparable data about; manufacturers present charging info in a manner most flattering to their cars rather than in a formalized manner.

Luckily, the wise folks at Car and Driver have sought to resolve that with a standardized fast-charging test for each vehicle it reviews. The study ranked vehicles by their average charging rate from 10–90 percent (roughly what most people would be doing on a road trip), which producted some interesting results; for example, while the Lucid Air reached the highest peak charging rate (305 kW), its average charging rate over the total time was only 76 kW. (Car and Driver didn't rank the vehicles by fastest time as that would depend as much on the battery size and the range as the charging speed.)

We would caution you to consider the charging rates holistically and in context. The Kia EV6 GT may be faster than the standard models at charging, but it also only offers a range of 206 miles. The Kia EV6 RWD (310 miles) and EV6 AWD (274 miles) will save you time by not needing to be at the fast charger as often.