Purchasing our 2022 Kia EV6 was a mix of thrilling excitement and nervous uncertainty. On the 40 mile drive home, I juggled the joy of the new car smell with the stress of figuring out the radio, all while trying to stay in my lane.

Every few minutes, I nervously checked the battery level, half-expecting to end up stranded on the side of the highway. It took me a few months to stop looking at the battery level and begin to fully enjoy the ride.

My early experiences taught me valuable lessons that can help you overcome apprehensions about driving an electric vehicle. In this guide, I'll show you how to let go of the stress and build confidence in making your EV a dependable daily driver.

Kia EV6 Electric Car — **At a Glance**: Understanding Your New Electric Vehicle

**Ya Gotta Charge Your EV**
**Navigating Public Chargers**
**Efficiently in Motion**
**Then There is the Weather**
**Driving Daily - Driving Confidently**

5 Steps to Loving Your New Electric Vehicle

You can’t leave your new ride sitting in the garage like a showroom Maserati—it’s meant to be driven, and that means learning how to charge it. Charging will take place at home and at public locations.

Learning to utilize the public charger network will expand your driving radius. Dive in and get comfortable with both home and public electric vehicle charging.

Having the juice to go means keeping as much of that juice as possible. Driving efficiently extends your range and reduces both the time and cost of recharging.

High winds and cold temperatures will impact your EV’s battery performance. While physics is unavoidable, learning how to compensate for weather conditions will improve your driving experience.

Confidence comes with consistent use. Build yours by gradually extending your driving range—start with familiar destinations like work, the grocery, and friends’ houses. Then, push the distance by visiting a nearby town and set a goal to complete a 200-mile EV road trip.

Soon enough, you’ll be an electric vehicle road warrior, confidently driving anywhere you please.

“Fill Er Up, Please!” Charging Your Electric Vehicle

Highly satisfied, I left the Kia of Columbia dealership with approximately 80% battery charge, drove the 40 minutes home, and immediately began fretting over how to replenish the 16% charge used.

My car estimated 170 miles of range remaining, but my nervous nelly told me I had only 50 miles left. I needed to figure out how to recharge—fast!

Charge your electric car at home or public charging stations

Many new cars come with a 110-volt charger, commonly known as a Level 1 charger, that plugs into a standard wall outlet.

This system worked well back in 2012 when I borrowed a Nissan Leaf, which had a maximum stated range of 100 miles and could fully recharge overnight.

Today’s electric vehicles offer driving ranges between 250 and 350 miles, requiring faster charging than a Level 1 charger to quickly get back on the road.

A Level 2 charger is mounted on my garage wall and charges my Kia EV6 overnight. I frequently use Level 2 chargers at restaurants, hotels, museums, and public parking facilities.

Level 3 chargers are found in the wild; I rely on these public chargers when traveling away from home. Depending on the kilowatt output, they can recharge my Kia EV6 in 15 to 30 minutes.

Understanding the capabilities of electric vehicle chargers is essential for both daily driving and long-distance travel.

Navigating the Public Charger Network

Electric car road trips rely on the public charger network.

Think of the different charging providers as gas stations that may be located in a big box store parking lot.

Electric vehicle charging account RFID cards

Taking the time to locate public EV chargers in the areas where you regularly drive will enhance your experience.

Before I first drove to St. Louis, Missouri, I used the PlugShare app to research public EV charging stations and selected the Electrify America charger in St. Charles, Missouri, making sure to register my account before leaving home.

Maybe you’re not quite ready to plan and enjoy a full EV road trip, but when you visit friends or family in another city - or end up running more errands than expected - you’ll still need to recharge before heading home.

Start by signing up with one public EV charging provider to get comfortable with the process. Then, register for the public EV charging networks you'll need for your commute.

Using them a few times will help you build confidence in charging your electric vehicle and start to expand your driving radius.

Efficiency is in the Accelerator. And the Terrain. And You.

Exhilarating acceleration is one of the perks of driving an electric vehicle—but too much of a good thing reduces efficiency, leading to decreased battery range. And don’t forget the downside of peeling out at a red light: tickets.

Learning to smoothly press the accelerator, glide up hills, utilize your car’s regeneration feature as you coast down the other side, and efficiently adjust for traffic conditions will improve your vehicle’s range.

But if you need a mood boost and want to prove your car is superior to your neighbor’s noisy V8 Mustang, then go ahead and stomp on the “gas”.

The ascent over 8,268 foot Douglas Pass, along the Dinosaur Diamond Highway, required extra juice. The drive down regenerated a decent amount to help even out the energy exchange.

Like most things in life, our behaviors influence the outcome. Go ahead and get the fast acceleration out of your system then start to train yourself to smoothly press the pedal.

There is definitely a direct correlation between faster and less range. If ya gotta have speed, then accept you will not go as far - and that is fine.

Learn your electric vehicle’s regeneration features to put wasted energy back into your traction battery. I pride myself on only using my brakes when my stopping speed approaches 5 mph. Let off the throttle and coast to that red light, taking advantage of the electric vehicle regeneration feature to increase driving efficiency.

I have set my Kia EV6 regeneration setting to automatic; this allows the car to determine the best setting for reclaiming maximum energy. Some cars offer true one-pedal driving; while odd at first, one-pedal driving moves you forward when pressing on the throttle and slows you down when letting up the pressure, rapidly bringing you to a complete stop.

Smooth uphill acceleration and releasing pressure on the descent will prevent excessive power usage and slightly regenerate your traction battery. The idea is to utilize the vehicle’s extra weight to keep forward momentum while minimizing battery drain.

Life is a highway, and in the case of driving an electric vehicle it runs better on cruise control.

Tap Er Easy There - Let’s talk about driving comfort. I have read alarmist articles saying you need to forgo AC and heat, or you will lose battery range.

I call BS. I refuse to be uncomfortable driving my car. I keep the temperature pleasant, and I utilize my heated seats to enhance my environment.

Honestly, I have not found the driving range appreciably reduced when I am at ease, so I choose comfort over nonsense.

EV Driving: Weather Influences

Play it smart, play it safe by adjusting your driving to the weather.

While it may be a funny story over drinks, you do not want the trauma of an expensive tow bill by running out of juice before your next charging opportunity.

Weather should determine how you drive. While we always want it to be a perfect 70-degree EV driving day, practicing smart driving by adjusting to the environment will help ensure that you arrive safely.

Keep in mind that high headwinds will drag you down and a strong tailwind will increase battery efficiency. Just because your car is heavier than your ‘73 Volkswagen Bug, you should remember that the ditch is just 10 feet away, so keep both hands on the wheel and adjust your speed accordingly - oh, and stay away from tornados.

Colder weather will definitely sap battery juice. Keep this reduced range in mind while driving to ensure you have enough kilowatts to reach the next charging opportunity.

I drove 74 miles at 70 mph on a 5-degree day and used 55% of the battery. I only made it home by driving 45 mph and arrived with 7% battery remaining. The embarrassment of calling a tow truck to get me home would be awful.

How about a lightning storm? Yeah, sounds exciting - just not my kind of exciting; rest assured, your car is designed to keep you safe. Read more to learn about lightening and an EV.

Adjusting to the weather or don’t adjust and accept that your range will be affected is an important attitude when driving your EV. Plan to charge more often to prevent an emergency charging situation.

Confidently Driving Your Electric Vehicle

As your EV driving experience grows you will know your range and capabilities for various drive lengths. Start short or be bold and take on longer distances, the important thing is to be comfortable with your driving.

2022 Kia EV6 by the Mackinac Strait, Michigan

When I started driving my EV, I constantly looked at the battery gauge. It did not matter if I drove 3 miles to the grocery store or 35 miles to Columbia, Missouri.

I would like to say quickly, but in reality, eventually, I learned that the drive to Columbia used 24% battery round trip, so charging to 80% overnight left me with 56% after arriving home. Once I trusted this, I started to relax and realized that this car allows me to perform as well as Cheryl’s hybrid.

I wanted to extend my driving radius and looked around the surrounding communities to learn who had public EV charging stations. I discovered towns about 60 miles away providing ChargePoint public EV chargers, so I signed up for this charge provider.

To test this greater distance, Cheryl and I ate out too much by driving to these towns and grabbing lunch. Charge the car and head back home. It did not take long to make this a 120-mile round trip instead of 60 miles, charge, then 60 miles home.

Stretching our comfort level, we began to drive to St. Louis, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri, with a charge stop before heading home. At first, we stopped about 30 miles from home and charged a second time. With experience, I now know that I can drive to one of the cities, make all of my stops, then charge once to get back home.

It took us 7 months to go on our first 250-mile EV road trip. With a bit of planning, we created a smooth trip and returned ready to leave on a long cross-country EV road trip.

The best advice I can give is to drive your EV as you want, go where you want, and do the trips you want. With some planning, you can make an electric car your primary daily driver.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love My Electric Car

You made an awesome decision purchasing your electric vehicle. While all makes have different capabilities, each model will get you where you want to go.

Determine how you will charge your vehicle: at home, at work, or at public chargers. Do you know what public EV charging network you will need when you go out of town or across town?

Practice and learn to drive smoothly and efficiently to improve miles per charge and reduce the number of charges you need on a drive.

Watch the weather and learn to work with the temperature to realistically select the next charging location.

Increase your drive distance and watch the percent of battery left, not the guesstimate of remaining miles. This will become clear as you drive.

Most importantly, have fun. The freedom to select your ride and to road trip your way is what America is all about. Embrace the challenge, and you will rapidly find driving electric meets all of your needs.

Alright, let's shift into regen and coast down Electric Avenue: SightSeeEV.com is a participant of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase using one of these Amazon.com links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.

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I Purchased an Electric Car, Now What?