You are about to buy a Type 2 charging cable and the length options are staring at you. 5 metres. 7 metres. 10 metres. Maybe even 15.
Pick too short and you are stretching it across the driveway like a tripwire. Pick too long and you are paying for cable you will never uncoil, dragging extra weight around in your boot every day.
This is a decision you make once and live with for years. Here is how to get it right.
Why cable length matters more than you think
Your charging cable plugs into two things: a wallbox on your wall and a charge port on your car. The distance between those two points depends on where your wallbox is mounted, where you park, and where your car’s port is located.
That last one catches people out. Charge port positions vary wildly between vehicles. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has its port on the rear right quarter panel. The Tesla Model 3 has it on the rear left. The BMW iX puts it on the front right wing. The MG4 has it on the rear left. You get the idea, there ain’t a standard.
Park nose-in with a front-mounted port and you need less cable. Park nose-in with a rear-mounted port and you need the cable to run the full length of the car and then some.
This is not a theoretical problem. It is the reason people buy the wrong length and end up buying again.
The three common lengths
5 metres
A 5 metre cable works if your wallbox is mounted directly beside where you park and your charge port is on the near side of the vehicle. That is a narrow set of conditions.
In practice, 5 metres gives you about 3 metres of usable reach once you account for the height of the wallbox, the drop to ground level, and the route across to your car. If your charge port is on the far side, you are already struggling.
The appeal is price. A 5 metre cable is typically the cheapest option and the lightest to carry. If you only ever charge at home, your wallbox is right next to your car, and your port is on the near side, 5 metres is fine.
For everyone else, it is a gamble.
7 metres
Seven metres is the length that works for the widest range of everyday situations and is the sweet spot for length and maximising EV charging times.
We surveyed 200 EV owners in 2025 and asked them what cable length they use. The most common answer was 7 metres. When we asked owners with shorter cables if they wished they had gone longer, over half said yes.
With 7 metres you get enough reach to park on either side of a single-car driveway, handle a charge port on any side of the vehicle, and still have slack for routing the cable around wing mirrors or over the bonnet if needed.
At public destination chargers (the untethered ones you find at supermarkets, hotels, and car parks), 7 metres gives you enough reach to park in any adjacent bay and still connect comfortably. This matters because you do not always get the bay directly in front of the charger.
The trade-off is a modest increase in weight and cost compared to 5 metres. A typical 7 metre 32A cable weighs around 3 to 3.5 kilograms. That is roughly the weight of a bag of sugar. You will not notice it in your boot.
Type 2 to Type 2 Cable | 4-in-1 Bundle
7m cable, carry case, port cover & cloth. UKCA certified. 3-year warranty. £106.99.
“Cable is fantastic quality, really can’t believe how much better it is than the one that came with my car.” — Aaron
10 metres
Ten metres makes sense in certain situations. If you have a long driveway with the wallbox at the far end. If your only power source is inside a garage and you park outside. If you charge from a commando socket in an outbuilding.
The downside is weight. A 10 metre 32A cable weighs around 4.5 to 5 kilograms. It is noticeably heavier to carry and bulkier to coil. You also pay more, typically an extra £20 to £40 over a 7 metre cable.
Most people who buy 10 metres do so because they are not sure if 7 will reach. They are paying for peace of mind rather than need. That is fine, but if you measure the distance and it comes in under 6 metres, you are carrying extra cable for nothing.
How to measure what you need
Do this before you buy anything.
Stand at your wallbox (or where it will be installed). Run a tape measure or a length of rope to your car’s charge port. Do this with the car parked in every position you might use: nose-in, reverse, offset to one side.
Add one metre for slack. The cable needs to drape, not stretch. A taut cable puts strain on both the wallbox socket and your car’s charge port, and it is a tripping hazard.
The number you end up with is your minimum cable length. If it is under 5 metres, a 5 metre cable works. If it is between 5 and 6 metres, go 7. If it is between 6 and 9 metres, go 10.
If you do not have a wallbox yet, measure the most likely mounting position to your most likely parking spot. Add a metre. Then round up to the next standard cable length.
What about public charging?
If you only charge at home, your measurement above is all you need.
If you also use public destination chargers (the slower AC chargers at supermarkets, hotels, and workplaces that require you to bring your own cable), length matters more.
You cannot control where the charger is relative to the parking bay. Sometimes the socket is at ankle height at the back of the bay. Sometimes it is on a post between two bays.
Five metres can leave you stuck. Ten metres is overkill. Seven metres handles virtually every public AC charger in the UK comfortably.
Rapid chargers (the big DC units at motorway services) always have their own tethered cable, so your cable length is irrelevant there.
The weight and storage question
Longer cables weigh more and take up more space. Here is what you are dealing with:
A 5 metre 32A cable weighs roughly 2.5 kilograms and coils to about the size of a dinner plate. A 7 metre cable weighs around 3 to 3.5 kilograms and coils slightly larger. A 10 metre cable hits 4.5 to 5 kilograms and needs a proper bag to keep it tidy.
None of these are heavy. You are not carrying scaffolding poles. But if you value a tidy boot and minimal weight, shorter is better, as long as it reaches.
A carry case makes a bigger difference to storage than cable length does. A cable thrown loose in your boot tangles, picks up dirt, and rattles around. A cable in a padded bag stays coiled, stays clean, and slides neatly beside your shopping.
Our recommendation
Seven metres. It is not the cheapest and it is not the longest. It is the length that works for the most people in the most situations, based on what EV owners told us.
If you know with certainty that 5 metres will always reach, because you have measured it and you only charge at home, save the money and go shorter.
If you have a long run (a detached garage, an outbuilding, a long driveway), measure it and go 10 metres if you need to.
For everyone else, 7 metres handles home charging, public charging, and the inevitable day you park slightly differently to usual.
Our Type 2 to Type 2 cable is 7 metres, 32A, and comes as a 4-in-1 bundle with a padded carry case, magnetic charge port cover, and microfibre cloth. UKCA and CE certified with a 3-year warranty. We chose 7 metres because our survey of 200 EV owners told us it was the right length. And we listened.
