I just download from the camera using the cable. Do you find it better using the reader?
I like using a card reader because it is easier than finding a place for a body on my desk (or generally on a hotel desk by the time my stuff is all strewn about). And I don't worry about the body's port, or knocking the body to the floor, etc.
The last time I downloaded from my camera was probably ten years ago. The 60D!
Whether the readers I use are faster than just connecting to the body, I have no idea. The readers are very fast with my tower and my laptop.
EDIT: AND I use the card for backup until I've backed up from my tower or laptop to an external HDD. So I stash the card that has the RAW files and immediately insert another card to format and use for more images. Once I'm backed up, though, the stashed card goes into the "Scratch" pile. (Older IT center hands will remember "Scratch" was the term for a tape that no longer needs to be saved, and is ready to be written over with new data. I was a systems operator and data librarian in an IBM Enterprise environment for too many years. Pulling cable under the floor-tiles was how we broke up the routine!)