How often are you stopping at a gas station to fill up your current gasoline vehicle? Imagine if you woke up every morning with a full tank — now how often would you need to stop for gas? Once a month? Once a quarter? Almost never? Range anxiety is still the biggest misconception of EVs — but we’re here to drive the truth home.
Starting each day with a ‘full tank’
For many drivers who are thinking about making the shift to an electric vehicle (EV), range anxiety — the fear of running out of battery power before they can recharge — is a big sticking point. But experts and EV owners say that fear is based more on myth than reality.
One reason most EV owners don’t experience range anxiety is the convenience of home charging, which lets drivers start each day with a “full tank” (i.e. a fully charged battery.) In the U.S. about 83% of EV charging takes place at home, according to the International Energy Agency. For anyone with a garage or dedicated parking spot, plugging in is as simple as charging a phone. With a Level 2 home charger, most EVs can be fully charged overnight.
“When you drive electric you wake up every day with your vehicle charged and ready to go,” said Elaine Borseth, immediate past president of the Electrical Vehicle Association (EVA), a national group that educates and advocates for the rapid adoption of EVs. “You don’t have to go to a gas station to fill up and stand there with all the fumes. You don’t have to go in for oil changes or smog checks. When it comes to convenience, it’s a no-brainer.”
Modern EVs can also go farther on a single charge, with many averaging 250 to 300 miles or more. For example, the 2025 Niro EV subcompact crossover has an EPA-estimated range of up to 253 miles. The seven-passenger 2025 EV9’s EPA-estimated range is 304 miles and the 2025 EV6’s estimated range is 319 miles. The average American drives fewer than 40 miles per day, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“When people really examine their driving habits, they realize they’re not even going to use up one charge in a week,” Borseth said. “There’s just no reason for range anxiety any longer.”
Kia AmericaThe 2025 Niro EV has an EPA-estimated range of up to 253 miles.Changes in the EV landscape
Today’s EVs can go further, charge faster and help drivers manage energy more efficiently than ever before. Combine that with a dramatically expanded public charging network and the convenience of home charging, and the reasons behind range anxiety all but evaporate.
“Range anxiety was a more valid concern 10 years ago — the charging infrastructure wasn’t as robust and EVs with significant range weren’t something everyday consumers could afford,” said Kate Kruk, partner and director of engagement at Lynkwell, a clean energy technology company based in New York. “But nowadays the narrative has changed, the vehicles have changed and the infrastructure has changed. Range anxiety is a thing of the past.”
Kruk, who drives a 2023 Kia EV6, said she takes her car everywhere, including on trips across New York state and the East Coast, and has never had a problem running out of battery life before she can recharge.
“I’m a busy woman with work, a family and plenty of extracurriculars and I don’t have to worry about whether I have enough range to get where I need to go,” said Kruk. “I love my EV6.”
In fact, range anxiety is a bigger concern in people who don’t yet own an EV, according to a recent study by Recurrent, an EV battery data and analytics platform. Once consumers buy an EV and adapt to it, range anxiety drops significantly. Nearly 60% of EV owners say they never experience it at all, the study found.
Courtesy of Kate KrukKate Kruk with her 2023 Kia EV6.Electric performance that thrives in traffic
EVs also have a built-in advantage that helps extend range: they perform better in stop-and-go traffic than on the open road.
Unlike gas-powered cars that burn fuel inefficiently at low speeds or while idling, EVs use regenerative braking to recapture energy each time the car slows down. This process sends power back into the battery, helping stretch available range.
Kia electric vehicles have multi-level regenerative braking systems that give drivers the ability to adjust how aggressively the car recaptures energy. Drivers can select a high setting and an “i-PEDAL” mode that allows for one-pedal driving—where lifting off the accelerator slows the car significantly, often without touching the brake pedal.
One-pedal driving can make urban and stop-and-go driving feel more intuitive and can also help city drivers gain back several miles of range during their commutes.
Kia AmericaOwners of the Kia EV9 (pictured) along with the Kia EV6 and Niro EV can access over 21,500 Tesla Superchargers.A growing network of chargers
When EV drivers do need to charge away from home, the expansion of national charging networks and the growing presence of DC fast chargers at grocery stores, highway stops and shopping centers have made it easier and more accessible.
There are now more than 192,000 publicly available charging ports in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, with roughly 1,000 more being added each week. Apps like PlugShare and A Better Route Planner help point drivers to the nearest available chargers.
This year, Kia EV owners will gain access to over 21,500 Tesla Superchargers, nearly doubling the number of accessible DC fast chargers to over 40,000 nationwide. The 2025 EV6 and 2026 EV9 come equipped with standard NACS ports, while Kia’s other EVs can plug in using an NACS adapter.
The speed of public charging has also been a game changer. For instance, on a DC fast charger, the 2025 EV9 can go from 10 to 80% in 24 minutes and the 2025 EV6 can charge from 10 to 80% in 20 minutes. On road trips that kind of turnaround works perfectly.
“When I need to charge after hours of driving, (my EV6) prompts me and gives me ideas about where to go,” said Kruk. “The faster charging capability allows me to get back on the highway in just about the time it takes to use the facilities, stretch my legs, grab a snack and get back to it.”
Kia has also baked in smart features to reduce battery wear and simplify charging habits. Drivers can set limits to keep their daily charges between 20% and 80%, which helps maintain battery health over the long term.
Getting up to speed on the modern-day reality of actual EV usage and charging habits proves to be the antidote to overcoming the ever-fading yet persistent myth of range anxiety.
To learn more about the range and capabilities of Kia electric vehicles, visit kia.com/us/en/ev.
The editorial departments of Southern California News Group and The San Diego Union-Tribune had no role in this article’s preparation.
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