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Jim K.

Kia Niro EX

Brattleboro, VT

“I don’t worry about stalling out, and the torque is always available. It handles well and is easy to control.” 

What’s your #1 tip or piece of advice for new or prospective EV owners?

Take you time. Try not to burn your tires off in the first month. Do not try and run the battery down to 0 and have to walk. 20% – 10% is fine. 

Read on to learn about Jim’s EV story – including buying, driving, owning, & charging his EV!

buying an ev

What main factors & considerations went into your decision to buy an EV?

I wanted to reduce my 800 gallons of oil usage annually. It was split 45/55 between space/water heating and transportation. Buying an electric cut my oil usage down to about 370 gallon a year. I have 3.2 Kw of solar electric and even with the car, I still get 78% of my electricity from the PV system, which is 7 years old and its cost has been fully recovered.

 

What factors sold you on buying an EV? Why did you pick the specific make & model of EV that you did?

I looked at the Leaf, the Nero, and Kona. I did not look at Tesla. I picked the Kia Nero, because it was efficient design, with a heat pump for better performance in the winter.

driving & owning an ev

What is your favorite aspect of the EV driving experience?

I don’t worry about stalling out, and the torque is always available. It handles well and is easy to control.

In a few sentences, summarize your favorite EV memory or anecdote.

I have slept in the car, which has a mode where the heat/ac can run all night.

What surprised you about owning an EV?

It is more fun than I expected. 

What is the main downside or challenge of driving or owning an EV compared to an ICE vehicle? What tricks have you developed to adapt to that challenge?

I like to understand how things work and these cars have a lot of technology. Most charging is done at home, which is easier than a gas car. In the summer, I can drive to Boston and back without charging. I have driven to Quebec and New Brunswick. Charging infrastructure is better in Canada. I drove to Florida and did not get stuck, but some of the fast chargers did not work, but some of it may have been me. Coming back, everything worked better and i had a better understand of what was a realistic range. I stayed in a couple of motels which had chargers, so that the battery was fully charged in the morning

 

Charging an EV

Where do you charge your EV? Do you have an at-home charger?

I have a Flo charger, and I installed it myself. I was a builder, so I have some electrical experience 

 

What are a few of your favorite charging resources you use?

I have Apple carplay, which has “A Better Route Planner”, Charge Point, and Plug Share. They have chargers listed and can navigate to them. These applications were just added a couple of months ago, and they help a lot. Charging infrastructure is getting better all the time. 

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