Here's something I never expected to get from owning an electric vehicle: a newfound appreciation for Walmart.
I had no particular apathy toward America's biggest brand of superstores. But when you're an EV owner and you're off the beaten path, Walmart can be a godsend. The stores have been adding Electrify America DC fast chargers to parking lots all over the country at a rate that far surpasses other retailers. When you're on the road, and you're low on juice, look for a Walmart—it may just save you from disaster. (Plus, they have bathrooms inside.)
A Walmart—the same one twice, unintentionally—was a godsend when I decided to drive my Kia EV6 from upstate New York to visit an old friend in Richmond, Virginia in November. And as with road-tripping any car, I learned what my EV6 is really made of on that 800-mile round-trip voyage.
To recap, I acquired a 2024 Kia EV6 Wind AWD back in July. Officially rated at 282 miles of range, I had been seeing over 300 miles on warm days, and I've been consistently impressed with the car's fast-charging prowess, style and everyday performance. I've been less impressed with its software and app integration, however, and I'm slightly envious that the updated Kia EV6 will have a Tesla-style NACS port from the factory and native Supercharger access.
That will surely make EV6 owners' road trips much easier. For now, this is what I've got, and I was overdue on both seeing that old friend and putting this car through its proper long-distance paces. (Also, thanks to Breakthrough Awards testing, I hadn't been driving my own car all that much in recent weeks and started to miss it.)
I'll also be brutally honest and say I don't really like the "I did an electric road trip" story. I go out of my way not to commission them here at InsideEVs. They usually go the same way: A clueless person (even brainy ones at ostensibly prestigious publications) gets an EV, often as a rental, then does minimal planning or none whatsoever and writes a very predictable piece about how America's EV charging network is "just not there yet." Sure, any EV driver will tell you that, but charging is also getting better all the time. Those stories are boring. More importantly, the vast majority of Americans really do only drive 40 miles or less every day; we over-index on the importance of long-distance driving when we buy cars.
What I'd rather do is tell you what I got right, and what I got wrong, on my own journey. I was fortunate enough to do this before the East Coast got really cold so winter-weather range losses weren't too much of an issue. (They are now; our next installment will cover that.) And the EV6 ultimately did great on its trip.
I still made some mistakes here, even doing what I do for a living. I learned a lot about my car. And there's a lot I'd do differently next time. Here's what I'd recommend you do next time you set off on an EV trip.
Tip: Plan Your Route (Yes, Really)
Between the EV6's excellent range, ability to charge from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes on a 350 kW fast-charger, the car's route-planning software and my own EV experience, I figured I would have no problems at all. That was my first mistake.
See, the top half of the Eastern Seaboard is pretty good these days when it comes to finding public fast-chargers. I figured if I went between New York City and Washington D.C., then south on to Richmond, I'd have no trouble at all finding some decent plugs. Except that I failed to account for where I live now, and that the fastest route to Virginia sent me through rural Pennsylvania first.
No offense to our pals and readers in the Keystone State, but that's not exactly the most robust part of America for fast-charging plugs. And like many EVs, my Kia will find slow and fast chargers along the way, yet it hardly takes into account where they are or what's nearby. The car also kept wanting to send me to slower chargers along the way, which would've meant an inordinate amount of time spent on the plug and not on the road. So after fiddling with the charger-finder function on my nav system, I ended up at a "fast" 30 kW charger at a closed Honda dealership at 9 p.m.
Naturally, a Honda dealer is hardly the best place to juice up when you're hungry, tired and could use a bathroom break. I quickly realized that wasn't a viable option and diverted to an EVGo station in Harrisburg, got some electrons, then grabbed a hotel for the night. I was hoping to be at least near D.C. that evening, and while the juiced-up EV6 was probably ready for more driving, I was not. I had left after a late day at work—the day Trump announced he was killing the tax credit—and I needed a break.
What I wish I had done instead was modify my route a bit to hook closer east to Philadelphia, where there were more 350-kW stations and I wouldn't have to make multiple stops or deal with uncertainty. This is what I mean by "plan your route." Even the best EV out there doesn't think the way you do, as a person who knows the lay of the land, needs to eat food from time to time and doesn't want to sit in a parked car for hours waiting to charge.
Another thing I should have done is set individual destinations—say, a fast-charger here and then another one on my way to my final stop—as route points along the way. I was wrong to think that navigating directly to Richmond would give me the best and fastest experience. That isn't always the case.
Tip 2: Trust But Verify
Here's another issue. As good as the EV6 is, the navigation system is an absolute pain in the ass. It's just not on par with a lot of other modern cars, gas or otherwise. It makes strange decisions, it sends me way off the beaten path and never seems to be all that expedient. (Let's just say that Hyundai's switch to Android Automotive and native Google Maps can't happen soon enough.)
Maybe your EV is better at this, like the Chevy Equinox EV, Honda Prologue or Volvo XC40 that all come equipped with Google Maps already. Maybe it's a Tesla, in which case it'll always route you to good chargers. If not, I do recommend getting a second opinion on route planning. I downloaded A Better Route Planner (ABRP) while I was on the road, which let me put in my car's specs and destination to find what it thinks is the most optimal route. I also ran my trip through Google Maps on my phone, because that app is also good for finding EV chargers.
Lo and behold, when I set out the next morning from Harrisburg, ABRP did in fact find me a faster route and a faster charger than my EV6's navigation system did. I set that as my destination and arrived at my friend's house an hour sooner than the car originally projected.
Different EVs also have different risk tolerances, you might say. I have found the Kia to be pretty conservative with its estimates. It really doesn't want you to run out of range, so it will really err on the side of diverting you to a charger even if you can stretch your range more than what's projected. Use your best judgment, have a good idea of where your fast-charging options will be along the way and remember to engage battery preconditioning if it doesn't happen automatically.
I took all this advice and hit up the Electrify America station at a Walmart near Frederick, Maryland. I charged to 80% and it took care of a lot of my car's computerized range anxiety. And I got to use the restrooms there.
Tip 3: Use Eco Mode, If You Have It
On this trip, I also came to love the EV6's Eco Mode. I never thought much about this driving mode (the others are Normal, Sport and Snow.) Switching to it bumps my range estimate up just a little bit, but it never felt very meaningful. And on gas-powered cars, Eco Mode is often useless, just cutting back a bit of throttle response for no major gain.
I was wrong again there, too. On the Hyundai Motor Group's E-GMP cars, Eco Mode minimizes the use of the front electric motor (if it has one), dials down the overall power output and drives up the overall efficiency. Granted, this does sacrifice some power, but I still had enough of it to pass easily on the highway.
Yet the longer I kept Eco Mode on, the more I saw my overall efficiency counting up—along with my range estimate as well. Even with slightly colder weather and all those highway speeds, I went from 2.8 miles per kWh to 3.6 miles per kWh in Eco Mode—and ended up at my friend's place with 23% charge instead of the originally projected 13%. I'd have to do some more controlled testing to find out whether that improvement is repeatable, but it's clear that Eco Mode has an effect.
It further substantiates my theory that while the E-GMP cars could definitely use better software, their powertrains are among the best around—better than Tesla, on par with maybe Porsche and not as good as Lucid. That's some great company to be in.
Not every EV has an Eco Mode function. Yours might; check your owner's manual and play with it on your next road trip. It could make a bigger difference than you think.
After a few days in Richmond, my way home was even easier. I hit up that same Walmart as before, charged to 80% from 13% in a mere 17 minutes, took a slightly better route home, and used Eco Mode to arrive back at my house earlier than expected on Sunday with 69 miles of range left. Not bad at all.
Some Numbers
Assuming minimal traffic and no incidents, you can drive from my upstate New York town to Richmond in a little over seven hours. Including stops for gas, food and restrooms, let's say that's about eight hours. On my trip home—where I put all these lessons together and fast-charged twice for less than 20 minutes each time—I did the drive in eight hours and 42 minutes.
Really not bad. And a nice counter to the "EV road trips take forever!" criticism. Not if your car charges quickly enough and you know what you're doing.
In total, I would have spent a combined $58.40 at those two Walmart EA stations. But both were completely free because the EV6 comes with up to 1,000 kWh in free charging (I now have 863 kWh to go.) I spent $58.88 at three different EVGo stations across the whole trip, and that I did pay for; that'd be roughly equivalent to two tanks of gas on my Mazda 3. And I'm nearly certain I would've had to fill up more than twice on that trip.
In other words—and thanks in large part to the Kia's Electrify America deal—I actually saved money on "fuel" with this trip compared to a gas car, even if the drive was slightly longer. Not bad at all. Neither was the fact that I just didn't have the road-trip fatigue that comes with a car full of engine noises and vibrations.
If you read this and think that EVs just aren't worth it for these moments, well, I feel you. I really do. I don't want us here at InsideEVs to sugarcoat the experience of owning a car that doesn't run on gas; for many people, this extra planning requires time and energy they simply do not have. And I respect that.
But it is getting better all of the time. We're long past the days when EV drivers had to carry extension cords in their trunks for emergency wall charging. I know that it will get even better and faster the next time I go see my friend—especially once Kia deigns to sell me a Tesla Supercharger adapter.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
