What the EV Guide route planner calculates
The EV Guide route planner is designed for a practical question: what changes when the same Portuguese journey is driven in different electric cars? Select a model from the catalogue, choose two locations and the planner estimates road distance, driving time, motorway-adjusted energy use, public energy required, charging stops and charging time.
The calculation starts with the exact catalogue version rather than a generic electric car. Battery capacity, combined WLTP range and peak DC charging power therefore change with the selected model. Mapbox supplies the driving route when live routing is available. EV Guide then places charging stops against charging locations imported from MOBI.E’s infrastructure and actual-status feeds.
This is a planning estimate, not a navigation guarantee. Traffic, diversions, temperature, rain, wind, elevation, speed, passengers and luggage can all change consumption. Charger status and prices can change after the data import and before the car arrives.
The assumptions make the result deliberately cautious
The planner assumes departure at 90% rather than promising a full battery at every start. It protects an 8% hard arrival floor and targets a 12% reserve. To approximate faster-road use, it raises the car’s battery-to-WLTP consumption by 18%. These choices make the estimate more useful for motorway planning, but they cannot reproduce the exact weather and driving style of a future journey.
A typical rapid-charging stop is modelled around 58% of battery capacity, roughly the useful middle of a charging session rather than a slow charge to 100%. Very small top-ups can be skipped when the predicted arrival remains above the protected floor. Charging time uses the lower of the car’s capability and the selected connector’s power, with a further allowance because a battery does not hold peak power throughout the session.
- 90% assumed departure charge.
- 12% target arrival reserve and 8% hard floor.
- Motorway-adjusted consumption derived from the selected catalogue car.
- Charging time reflects both vehicle and connector limits.
How charging locations are selected
EV Guide looks near the point on the route where a charge is expected, then ranks suitable locations. It favours available CCS connectors close to the route, especially motorway service areas. It also considers the selected car’s DC charging capability, connector power, current operational status and whether a current published tariff is present.
An available-port count means the MOBI.E feed currently reports those connectors as free and ready to start charging. A connector that is charging or occupied is not counted as available; nor are inoperative, removed or unknown connectors. The remaining ports at a site are therefore not necessarily all busy. Availability is a snapshot, so the driver should check again shortly before arrival and keep a reachable alternative.
The displayed charging price is only shown when the required selected stops have usable published tariff components. It can combine energy, time and session charges from the feed. A mobility provider’s contract, taxes, discounts and final billing rules may produce a different amount, so the provider’s app and invoice remain authoritative.
Four useful routes to try with catalogue cars
Lisbon to Porto in the Volvo EX30 P5 Long Range is a useful one-charge-boundary test. Its 69 kWh nominal battery, 475 km WLTP rating and 175 kW DC peak let the planner test whether a 90% departure can preserve the protected arrival reserve without a stop. A driver facing winter rain, a roof box or sustained high speed should still plan a short backup charge.
Lisbon to Faro in the Citroën ë-C3 MAX shows how a smaller 44 kWh battery changes the same planning logic. The 320 km WLTP city car is likely to need one modest motorway top-up rather than a long session. The important result is not simply the stop count: inspect the proposed charger’s distance from the route, connector power, available ports and published tariff.
Braga to Faro in the Hyundai IONIQ 5 Premium Plus 84 kWh demonstrates the benefit of high-power charging on a long north-to-south drive. The planner combines its 570 km WLTP rating with an approximately 260 kW DC peak, then looks for a suitable stop around the calculated energy requirement. Real charging performance still depends on battery temperature, preconditioning and the charger actually delivering the expected power.
Ericeira to Bragança in the Kia EV3 Tech 81.4 kWh is a different long-distance test: a high combined range rating paired with a lower 128 kW DC peak. It shows why range and charging speed should be evaluated together. A car may need little public energy but spend longer adding each kilowatt-hour than an 800-volt model.
- Volvo EX30: test whether Lisbon–Porto fits the planner’s reserve without a stop.
- Citroën ë-C3: compare a small battery on Lisbon–Faro.
- Hyundai IONIQ 5 84 kWh: examine high-power charging on Braga–Faro.
- Kia EV3 81.4 kWh: compare long range with a more moderate DC peak on Ericeira–Bragança.
Use the result as a decision aid, not an instruction
Run the route for the exact model under consideration, then repeat it with the strongest alternative. Compare public energy, likely stop time and the location of the suggested chargers—not only the headline WLTP figure. This is particularly useful when deciding between battery versions of the same car or between a highly efficient model and a faster-charging one.
Before departure, confirm the car’s actual state of charge, review its own navigation prediction and check the selected charging site in the operator or mobility-provider app. In difficult weather, with a roof box, trailer or heavily loaded cabin, shorten the first leg and let observed consumption update the plan. Keep enough energy to reach another compatible site.
The route planner is currently focused on Portuguese reference points and the MOBI.E network. Its value is transparency: the car specification, reserve logic, charging assumptions, station status and price limitations are shown together so the driver can see why the result changes from one EV to another.