Compare reported EV charging peaks, averages and 10

The short answer

To estimate how long an EV will sit at a DC fast charger, use the measured 10–80% time and the average power over that window. The peak figure tells you much less. In ADAC's tests, a Hyundai IONIQ 6 with the 77.4 kWh battery and rear-wheel drive went from 10% to 80% in 19 minutes at a 189.7 kW average. A Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor took 37 minutes at a 110.3 kW average. Their curve peaks were labelled 235.7 kW and 154 kW. These are single historical test sessions, and the reports do not fully document their conditions. They show what each car did on the day it was tested. They do not prove how the two cars would rank under identical conditions.

Three terms do most of the work:
• Peak power is the highest point on the charging curve. The car may hold it only briefly.
• Average power is the energy added divided by the time taken, over a stated window.
• 10–80% time is the elapsed time from 10% to 80% state of charge (SOC), which is the battery charge level the car reports.

What ADAC reported for the two cars

Item	Hyundai IONIQ 6 UNIQ-Paket 2WD	Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor
Report date	May 2023	March 2022
Drivetrain	Single rear motor, 168 kW	Dual motor AWD, 300 kW
Battery	77.4 kWh usable	78 kWh total / 75 kWh usable
10–80% time	19 min	37 min
Energy added, 10–80%	59 kWh	62 kWh
Published average, 10–80%	189.7 kW	110.3 kW
Peak label on curve	235.7 kW	154.00 kW

ADAC also published how much energy each car had taken on, and what charge level it had reached, at fixed points in the session. For a buyer, these timed checkpoints are often the most useful figures. They match how a stop actually goes: you plug in and leave when the time you have runs out.

Time on charger	IONIQ 6: kWh added / SOC reached	Polestar 2: kWh added / SOC reached
10 min	31.3 kWh / 47%	21.8 kWh / 34%
20 min	59.5 kWh / 81%	40.2 kWh / 55%
30 min	68.3 kWh / 93%	54 kWh / 71%

In these sessions, the IONIQ 6 passed 80% at about the 20-minute mark. The Polestar 2 had not reached 80% even at 30 minutes.

Why the peak misleads

A peak describes one moment on the curve. Charging time depends on the whole curve: how quickly power ramps up, how long it holds, and how early it tapers off as the battery fills. In the ADAC sessions, the IONIQ 6 averaged about 80% of its peak label across the 10–80% window (189.7 of 235.7 kW). The Polestar 2 averaged about 72% of its peak (110.3 of 154 kW). Two cars with the same peak could produce very different 10–80% times.

Time follows from energy and average power. The peak plays no part in the calculation:

hours   = kWh added ÷ average kW over the same window
minutes = hours × 60

Here is a hypothetical example that does not describe any real vehicle. Suppose a car takes on 36 kWh in 24 minutes. Its average is 36 ÷ (24 ÷ 60) = 90 kW. If the same session showed a 160 kW peak, that number still has no effect on the 24 minutes.

Applied to the ADAC figures, the IONIQ 6's 59 kWh ÷ 189.7 kW works out to about 18.7 minutes, which matches the published 19. The Polestar 2's 62 kWh ÷ 110.3 kW works out to about 33.7 minutes, not the published 37. The reports do not say whether the elapsed time and the average use exactly the same start and stop points. Keep each published figure as published rather than replacing one with a recalculated value.

Also check the energy boundary, meaning where the added energy was counted. Going from 10% to 80% is 70% of capacity. That would be about 54 kWh for the IONIQ 6 and about 52.5 kWh for the Polestar 2. ADAC reports 59 kWh and 62 kWh. The added-energy figures therefore are not simply 70% of the stated usable capacity. They may be counted at the charger side, including losses, or against a different capacity basis. The reports do not say which. Compare these energy figures to each other with caution, and do not use them to back-calculate battery size.

Sampled scores measure something else

Some outlets publish a single charging 'score' instead of a measured interval average. VMAX, relaying another publication's test, uses this kind of method. It takes power readings at 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90% SOC and weights them 1:2:3:2:1. On that basis, its IONIQ 6 RWD Ultimate row shows 180 kW at 13°C, with preconditioning not documented. That number is a weighted sample of five points on the curve. It is not energy divided by time over a continuous window. It is also a different trim tested under different conditions. It should not be set beside ADAC's 189.7 kW average as if the two were the same measurement.

What these reports can and cannot settle

Both ADAC sessions use the same 10–80% window, but a shared window does not mean shared conditions. Neither report fully documents several factors that strongly affect fast charging:
• battery and ambient temperature
• whether the battery was preconditioned (warmed for charging beforehand)
• the charger's own power limits
• the software version
• the exact energy and time boundaries
The tests were also run more than a year apart. The reports give registration dates, which do not establish model years.

For a US shopper, one limit affects the decision directly. Both cars were tested as European-market variants; UNIQ-Paket is a German equipment package. The reports do not show how they map to a specific US trim and model year. Before relying on these numbers for a listing, confirm that the car's battery capacity, drivetrain and model year match the tested variant.

Which fits your use

If you take frequent road trips and rely on DC fast charging, the tested IONIQ 6 variant charged far quicker in its session. It reached 81% at 20 minutes, against 55% for the Polestar 2. That difference adds up over every stop on a long drive. The tested Polestar 2 is a dual-motor AWD car with 300 kW, compared with the IONIQ 6's single 168 kW rear motor. If all-wheel drive or extra power matters to you, that is the trade-off against slower fast-charge stops. If you mostly charge at home and rarely use public fast chargers, the charging gap counts for less in the decision.

How to compare any two charging reports

1. Use the same SOC window for both cars, such as 10–80%.
2. Record energy added, elapsed time and average power as three separate published figures. Do not merge them.
3. Look at the original curve within that window. Do not rely only on the peak label.
4. Note whether each figure was measured, advertised by the manufacturer, or predicted. Keep manufacturer claims in their own column, and only where the original document and its conditions are available.
5. List temperature, preconditioning, charger limits, software, and the start/stop definition for each session. Mark any missing field as undocumented rather than assuming it matches the other car.
6. Do not mix measurement types. A weighted score built from sampled points does not compare directly with a measured interval average.
7. Check that the variant, battery, drivetrain and model year of the car you are considering match the car that was tested.
8. Only then decide whether a direct comparison is justified, or whether the results are background context only.