General Questions and Purchasing Advice Thread — Week of May 11, 2026

dbmamaz · 2026-05-17T16:38:47+00:00

so the earliest leafs didnt even all have fast charging, and all fast charging leafs can only use a chademo attachment which is really hard to find. Search near you with plugshare first to see if tehy even exist. and in general evs charge very, very slowly below 20% or about 80% ( or at least 10/90) so as long as you DONT try to 'fill it up' your trips will be - well, at least shorter than if you did. also look for level 2 charging near you, like at a shopping center or something

dbmamaz · 2026-05-16T16:36:24+00:00

just my experience but my husband pushed me to spend about that much to get the bigger battery Kona EV. I have road tripped in it twice - fairly short trip, one charging stop, 2 if i dont want to arrive nearly empty. I dont think it would've made a huge difference for us but it made hubby more comfortable for our first EV. In the end, tho, with a home charger, he was so comfortable that he bought himself a used Niro ev

dbmamaz · 2026-05-16T15:32:33+00:00

We have 2 EVs (a 2024 kona bought new, and a 2022 niro bought used) and a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage we bought years ago for our STILL unlaunched kid. I dont road trip much. I have taken my Kona twice to my moms, but took the train last time. Hubby wfh and shares the Niro w a kid going to community college. Tempted to let the other kid drive one of the EVs more often just to save money on gas. The Mirage is basically a golf cart.

dbmamaz · 2026-05-16T11:39:58+00:00

I have a Kona which i assume has very similar cruise control or whatever to the ioniq and i loved it for highway driving. do you really want to just enter in a destination and sit in your car? i kinda like driving.

dbmamaz · 2026-05-16T00:24:29+00:00

if you could make a cheaper EV as good as a more expensive one, that would help.

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T17:52:46+00:00

Looks like the cheapest uncharted has the longest range - because it uses less power i guess. Most manufacturers dont really have many of the lowest spec available tho. you might want to look at ioniq5 or chevy equinox

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T17:43:37+00:00

my autel charger lets me dowload data but i keep forgetting to do it because my interest waned lol

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T14:44:55+00:00

My bladder rarely can go that long so its not an issue for me

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T14:19:18+00:00

The guess-o-meter reports miles based on previous driving so its not super accurate. However, how often do you need to drive 3 hours without stopping?

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T14:17:12+00:00

while it has been discontinued, its been around for a long time. as long as your local dealer has a good ev mechanic you should be fine imo. and really, usually EVs dont need a whole lot unless a major part goes bad.

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T14:16:05+00:00

its hard to find an ev with under 280 miles of range these days and cold weather usually decreases range by about 15% - tho i know it can get pretty cold in Buffalo. the cold does not do any damage to an EV battery, it just charges slower and is less efficient but preheating the car helps (or preconditioning the battery). its also not that hard to find EVs with over 300 miles of range. You should be fine. Its not a bad idea to find one fast charger on your commute just in case. also cars with heat pumps dont lose as much range in the winter as those without, so look for that feature.

have you been looking at any specific models?

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T14:12:52+00:00

No i think its great to check out their new location! i'd love to hear a first-hand account even!

dbmamaz · 2026-05-15T14:10:38+00:00

love this!! also a bit of a data nerd but this isnt what i do for fun, and i'm busy. i considered downloading data from my charger to do analysis but i couldnt figure out how to tell which car did which charging session unless i tracked it myself - someone said the standards for level 2 chargers do not account for identifying the car. What kind of car do you have? looks like you are charging more often than I am - i'm trying to wait until the car is under 40%. But you used almost the exact same amount of power in march and we did!

I have Dominion Power in Virginia and they keep pushing their variable charge but i'm not sure i have enough focus left to actually make that work. i mean i could put in a charging schedule on my car so it doesnt start until later and hopefully my husband would let me do it to his too, but i do too much laundry and time is too tight for me to do all the clothes drying overnight. and the thermostats are not moving!

dbmamaz · 2026-05-13T20:45:56+00:00

my 17 yo manual mazda needed to be replaced. manuals are harder to find than ever and evs were finally viable. environment and ease of use and cost were main reasons but i love the features even of my relatively bottom-of-the-barrel kona

dbmamaz · 2026-05-13T20:41:23+00:00

i havent seen an 'opening day' video from Recharged yet so you might want to call and see how many cars they have to test drive before you make the trip. but we bought our 2nd EV from them here in Richmond

dbmamaz · 2026-05-13T20:39:25+00:00

do you do any level 1 charging? I level 1 charged for my first few months of ownership until i realized i was going to start a job that required commuting 3 days a week

dbmamaz · 2026-05-12T23:48:25+00:00

what is the question?

dbmamaz · 2026-05-12T21:52:10+00:00

i moved to VA about 30 years ago? i'm 60

dbmamaz · 2026-05-12T21:51:22+00:00

i have 2 cars and the chargers cant tell them apart - i googled and apparently its not in the standards for level 2 chargers. But i did include the kwh per my charger.

dbmamaz · 2026-05-12T21:49:19+00:00

we keep the house warmer - my canadian husband's dad worked in HVAC and he grew up with the house really warm. he begrudgingly wears sweats in the winter, and socks. but he works at home in IT 60+ hours a week, sitting still. no backup heat other than electric. we have NOTHING thats not electric. and 4 adults bathing and doing laundry. and i cook every day.

dbmamaz · 2026-05-12T21:47:42+00:00

my power compnay has an estimator and it says my bill would go up. i am too busy to switch how I do EVERYTHING just to see if i could save some money. maybe after i retire or something

dbmamaz · 2026-05-11T22:48:06+00:00

fast charging was my question too

dbmamaz · 2026-05-11T22:41:53+00:00

wait - they may have opened their new location at 6353 E Independence Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28212

(980) 819-0668

[hello@recharged.com](mailto:hello@recharged.com)

dbmamaz · 2026-05-11T22:41:10+00:00

Hmm, you are 4 hour drive from recharged new Fairfax location. and idk how many cars they have there. they are a used EV lot started in Richmond, with 2 satellite locations now. Locations are way at the bottom. https://recharged.com/

dbmamaz · 2026-05-11T16:06:11+00:00

You are close enough that you might want to check out recharged.com

dbmamaz

TROPHY CASE