How much battery to arrive with

Our setting: 20% at every arrival

We plan with 20%. That leaves room for a cold morning, a detour or a charger that turns out to be busy or broken, without adding stops the trip doesn’t need.

Set it lower and each leg stretches further between chargers. Set it higher and you get more buffer, with longer or more frequent charging stops.

Two settings: the target and the floor

GYST’s Settings have two numbers for this. Target Arrival Charge is the level GYST aims for when you reach each charger and your destination. Absolute Minimum is the floor: GYST won’t plan an arrival below it.

The target can’t go below the minimum. With both at 20%, every arrival in the plan aims for 20%.

What it did on a real plan

On October 28 we planned Toronto to Montréal in a 2024 Ioniq 5 leaving at 100%, with both settings at 20%. GYST planned 546 km with one stop: a ChargePoint charger at the Petro-Canada in Brockville, 335 km in.

The car reaches Brockville with 24% and leaves 13 minutes later with 66%. That covers the last 211 km, and the plan reaches Montréal with 20%, right on the target.

GYST didn’t fill the battery at Brockville. It added what the last leg needed to arrive at the target, so the stop stayed short.

Starting charge moves the stop too. Leaving at 80% instead, our October 6 plan for the same drive stopped at Napanee for 26 minutes.

Smart Charging: shorter stops

Smart Charging, which we leave on, tells GYST to plan for charging speed over range. Most EVs charge fastest when the battery is low and slow down as it fills, so arriving low and leaving before the slow part usually means less time at the charger.

With it off, GYST plans for range instead.

Arrive at a charger you can count on

Arriving with 20% is easier when the charger works and you can pay for it. In Network Preferences, turn on the networks where you have a membership so the plan uses your pricing, rank your preferred networks and list any you want to avoid. Avoided networks are left out of the plan but still show on the map.

When to raise the target

• In winter. Cold cuts range, so a leg that works in summer can come up short.
• On long stretches with few fast chargers.
• When you tow or carry a roof box.
• On your first trips in a new car, until you know how its range holds up.

The catch

Arrival levels are estimates. Speed, temperature, wind and hills all change them, and GYST doesn’t read your car’s battery live. At a charger, enter your real battery level and GYST rechecks the next leg.

Plan with your own number

GYST is free to plan with on iPhone. Pick your exact vehicle, enter where you are going and GYST builds the route with compatible charging stops, charging time and an estimated cost for the whole trip.

Questions about arrival charge

Stop times, costs and charger details are estimates and change with your car, starting charge, weather and traffic. Always check your plan and charger status before you leave.