Our first-ever charge was at a well-frequented highway stop along I-5 in rural Oregon. The stop offered four Electrify America chargers, with coffee and food just a few steps from the charger. It didn’t take long for us to figure out how to charge and get back on our way. Photo used with permission.
Rebates end on September 30, 2025. The claw-back on funding for an urgent transition is regrettable. Yet the EV experience is better than ever, and even without rebates, it is cheaper than ever to own one.
Twelve years ago I purchased a used plugin hybrid electric car, a Volt with 35 miles of electric range. This March, we took one more step, we traded the Volt for a fully electric EV.
In 2024, well over a million EVs were sold in the United States and more than 17 million globally. For 2025, that number is growing. In 2024, for that year alone, EV vehicles saved over a million gallons of oil consumption every day, and all the associated emissions from extraction, transport, refining, and leaking of that fuel.
An EV can also be the cheapest car to own. Compared to both hybrids and ICE cars (internal combustion engines, or gas cars) if you can plug in at home, it’s your most cost effective bet. Some considerations around that include the purchase price and your access to home charging.
And as if it gets better than that, we love the car.
We bought the car used, a 2023 with only 10,000 miles. Buying used made the purchase 100% more affordable, it was about half what we would have paid for a new one. Many purchasers choose a lease option when purchasing new. This means used car inventory, lower prices, and lots of choices. We took our time to research models and availability, and test drove a few cars before settling on a 2023 ID.4 VW made in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In June, I took it on my first solo road trip to attend my local annual conference, 250 miles each way through rural Oregon. Oregon is big, for the east-coasters, this trip was the equivalent of driving from Lewisville, KY, to Charleston, WV, and back again with far fewer stops. Then in July, we vacationed with family at Yachats, on the Oregon Coast, a 450 mile round trip. Again, for an east coast equivalent, think New York City to West Minister, VT, and back again.
For both long-distance trips, with a battery range of up to 275 miles, we only had to stop once each way to charge. We have tried a few roadside charging services now, Electrify America, Chargepoint, and EVGO. All were located near bathrooms, snacks, and restaurants. By the time we plugged in, used the facilities and got a sandwich and a coffee, we were on our way again. Our experience with charging was a win.
My first big road-trip in the car was to attend annual conference 250 miles away (500 miles round trip) in Salem, Oregon. Here I am charging up for the trip home outside the Oregon State Capitol Building. Big gratitude for the work of the legislature as they continue to address the challenges we face due to climate change. Photo used with permission.
The car has proved very comfortable for road trips so far. In July, we drove 450 miles round trip to share a week with family in Yachats on our beloved Oregon Coast. Photo used with permission.
Tips and Impressions.
We have only had the car for four months, but these are our learnings and tips so far:
Charging.
Home Charging. We charge at home unless we are traveling. Home charging is simple and convenient. It’s the best thing ever. With increasingly long ranges, EVs are amazing for just living your life, extending to work commutes, running errands and picking up the kiddo. We never have to add time to stop at a gas station. Whoo hoo! When the battery gets down to 50% we plug it in and charge it up to 80%. This middle-charge rule helps keep the battery in good shape. But also we like to have at least 50% charge in case there is an evacuation order from a wildfire.
Locating charging stations. When traveling, or if you live in an apartment where you can’t plug in, you are likely going to need to recharge at a charging station. The car itself can locate charging stations using its navigation software. There are also apps for your smartphone that locate chargers. Our favorite app for discovering what chargers are available along our route when traveling is PlugShare.
Charging costs. Charging costs on our trips so far have been between $13.00 and $30.00 for a charge, depending on how much charge we needed and where we were. The cost for pay-as-you-go charging was about $0.56/kWh.
Plugging in. Each charging station is independent; there are no attendants. It is do-it-yourself, but easy to figure out. For some chargers you can pay with a credit card as you would at a kiosk, as the car is smart as heck and can manage the charge without an app. But each charger company also has its own app designed to help manage the experience, tracking the connection between the car, charger, and payment, and keeping you up to date on charging status while you hop to the bathroom and grab a coffee. If you charge frequently, this is an option to save money. We opted to pay-as-you-go.
Charging duration. Our car uses the CCS1 fast charging system. The time it took to get the charge we wanted in real-world time was between 15 and 32 minutes. The speed depends on how much charge you need, and how fast the charger is.
Wait Times at the Charger. We only had to wait for a charger once. Even so, I think we need more charging stations in the US. A number of the CCS charging locations, especially in smaller towns on the coast, are single units only, so one car at a time. It would be great to see more public chargers in the small town spaces.
Travel Charging. In addition to charging at freeway exits and in-town stops, we can also charge our car with a simple wall outlet plug, like plugging in a lamp. We purchased a wall adapter and on our trip to Yachats simply plugged the car into the wall where we were staying. It is slower to charge this way, but really easy. We could plug it in in the evening, then by morning have it ready to go.
Bells and Whistles
This car is fancy! Our prior car was a 2012 Volt, and I thought that was pretty fancy, too. But this car is a decade newer and a big leap forward in digital design and driving comfort. Our favorite thing is the (new for us) adaptive cruise control. Our grandson’s favorite thing is that you can customize the colors of the in-cabin lights. My color assignment is currently orange.
The engine is silent, but engineers have added sound when it is running. Ours sounds like a spaceship. This is an improvement on our electric Volt. The Volt was silent and could seem to appear as if from nowhere. This could be scary in a parking lot because people did not expect a silent car to move.
Other things
Affordability. I understand we have to start somewhere, but EVs are way too expensive. The rebates are helpful, but really, the solution is to build a reasonable-sized and reasonably-priced car. The price tag simply puts ownership out of reach. The used car market is a big help, and we were glad for that option.
Proprietary Apps. This car and EV charging services use smartphone apps and credit cards. We are by now used to Door Dash and Lyft and other pay-and-play app interface convenience services. And admittedly the apps for the EV make a lot of everything really seamless. Still, I worry about access. Credit card and app requirements can mean EV ownership is not friendly to all income levels.
Subscription fees. Can we not? Our car has no required fees to drain the joy of driving it. Some manufacturers have fees, though, so look at those before purchase. We very specifically opted away from EV manufacturers that want to charge you a fee just for using the car after you buy it.
This is just a snapshot of our continuing efforts to electrify our lives. Whatever your electrification journey looks like, I hope it is a fruitful one.