Ten metres is the length most people should buy

Five metres reaches if you reverse onto a driveway and the charge point is on the same side as the car's inlet. Everything else is where ten metres earns its money. Park nose in, charge at the kerb, or put the wall box near the meter rather than near the car, and the lead has to travel the length of the vehicle and back.

It is also the length that survives a change of car or a change of house. A cable is one of the few pieces of charging kit that moves with you, and ten metres covers a far wider set of parking situations than five.

Which 10m cable you need

If your car charges from a wall box or a public post, you want the Type 2 to Type 2 cable, and the 32A version if the charger is a 7 kW unit, which almost all UK home chargers are. If there is no charge point at all and you are working from a three pin socket, the Type 2 to 3 Pin cable is the one, with current you can dial down for an older circuit. If the charger already has its own lead attached and it simply will not reach, buy the extension.

Set against a 40, 60 and 80 kWh pack, here is what each of the three does overnight. Times below are computed from the pack size and the power drawn with 13 per cent allowed for charging losses. The miles column uses 3.5 miles per kWh, which holds up in winter as well as summer.

About the three phase option

The 32A three phase cable is on this page because some cars accept 11 kW or 22 kW and some workplaces have a three phase feed. On a normal single phase house it delivers the same 7.4 kW as the single phase cable, because the two extra phases have nothing to connect to. Buy it if you charge at work or at a 22 kW post regularly, not for the driveway.

How these cables are built

Type 2 to Type 2: Built to IEC 62196-2, CE marked, IP55 rated against weather and rated from -30C to +50C.

Type 2 to 3 Pin: On the three pin side the standard is IEC 62752, with CE marking, IP67 sealing and a -30C to +60C range.

Warranty is two years from the manufacturer, delivery free next working day, returns accepted for 30 days. Free next working day UK delivery on all of them, price matched against any UK retailer, and 30 days to send one back.

10m charging cable questions

Is 10m long enough for most driveways?

For the large majority, yes. Ten metres covers a car parked nose in, a charge point on the opposite side of the drive, and most on street parking directly outside the house. Measure from the charge point to the car's inlet where you actually park and add two metres of slack before deciding.

Can I get a 10m three pin charging cable?

Yes, it is one of the options on this page. It plugs into any standard 13A socket, the current is adjustable so you can run it gently on an older circuit, and it is sealed to IP67. Treat it as a backup or a holiday cable rather than the way you charge every night.

Is there any penalty for buying 10m instead of 5m?

Only weight and storage. Electrically the two behave the same, because the current is fixed by the equipment at either end and this conductor size carries it comfortably over ten metres. What you gain is the parking positions that a five metre lead cannot reach.

How do I know whether to take 16A or 32A?

Look at what the wall box is rated for. UK home units fitted in recent years are almost all 7 kW, meaning 32A, and that cable also drops back happily to a 16A supply. The 16A version is there for older 3.6 kW installations and for buyers who know their circuit is limited.

Will this cable work at public chargers?

At any untethered Type 2 AC post, yes, which is most destination and on street charging in the UK. Rapid DC chargers have their own cable permanently attached, so they need nothing from your boot.