Vehicle-to-load turns the car into a very large battery with household sockets. It is the specification owners most often say they underestimated, and it is absent from most cars — including some expensive ones. Ranked below by output.
| Rank# | Car | V2L output | Usable capacity | Observed real-world range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 84 kWh RWD Hyundai | 4 kWEV Database — Hyundai IONIQ 5 84 kWh RWD (MY24) · 2026-09 | 80.0 kWh | 450 km |
| 2 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 Long Range RWD Hyundai | 4 kWEV Database — Hyundai IONIQ 6 Long Range 2WD (MY23-25) · 2026-09 | 74.0 kWh | 495 km |
| 3 | Kia EV6 84 kWh RWD Kia | 4 kWEV Database — Kia EV6 RWD (2024-2026) · 2026-09 | 80.0 kWh | 451 km |
| 4 | Kia EV9 99.8 kWh AWD Kia | 4 kWEV Database — Kia EV9 99.8 kWh AWD · 2026-09 | 96.0 kWh | 435 km |
| 5 | BYD Seal AWD Excellence BYD | 3 kWEV Database — BYD SEAL 82.5 kWh AWD Excellence (MY26) · 2026-09 | 82.5 kWh | 445 km |
| 6 | Volvo EX30 Single Motor Extended Range Volvo | 3 kWEV Database — Volvo EX30 Single Motor ER (MY24-26) · 2026-09 | 65.0 kWh | 365 km |
| 7 | Toyota bZ4X AWD 73.1 kWh Toyota | 2 kWEV Database — Toyota bZ4X AWD 73.1 kWh (MY25) · 2026-09 | 69.0 kWh | 375 km |
Ranked from the 7 cars in our database that have a sourced figure for this. A car with no published figure is left out rather than ranked as a zero. Figures are US units; every model page carries the metric equivalent and the source.Figures are metric; every model page carries the imperial equivalent and the source.
What the numbers mean in practice
Output in kilowatts tells you what you can run at once. A domestic fridge draws well under 200 W, a laptop under 100 W, a kettle around 2-3 kW and a circular saw 1.5-2 kW at load. So 3.6 kW runs a fridge, lighting and a laptop through a power cut with room to spare, or a site’s worth of hand tools. 1.5 kW covers the fridge and the laptop but not the kettle.
Capacity tells you for how long. A 77 kWh pack holding a 200 W load runs it for days rather than hours — the constraint is almost never the battery, it is the output limit and whether the car lets you run it down to zero.
V2L is not V2H or V2G
These get mixed up constantly and they are not the same feature.
V2L is what this table lists: AC sockets on the car, or an adapter at the charge port, that you plug appliances into directly. It needs nothing installed at your house.
V2H feeds your house’s circuits and needs a compatible bidirectional wallbox and, usually, an electrician and a permit. V2G exports to the grid and needs all of that plus an energy tariff that supports it.
Several manufacturers have announced V2H or V2G on platforms in this database without shipping it on the cars as sold. Where that is the case we leave the field blank rather than list an announcement as a feature — an announced capability is not a capability.
Frequently asked questions
Does using V2L damage the battery?
It is a discharge cycle like any other, and a very gentle one — a few hundred watts from a 77 kWh pack is a trickle. Occasional use is not something to worry about; running the pack to empty regularly is, as it would be for any reason.
Will it run my house in a power cut?
Not your house’s wiring — that is V2H. But you can run appliances from extension leads plugged into the car, which for a fridge, lighting, a router and phone charging is the practical difference between an inconvenience and a crisis.
Why do so few cars have it?
It needs an inverter and the safety systems around it, which is cost and weight for a feature most buyers do not ask about at the showroom. The Korean and Chinese manufacturers have been much more willing to fit it than the European and American ones.