Love's Travel Stop in Ripley, N.Y., was the only charging station we encountered that had a protective canopy. Photo: Bill Rapai for AxiosMy 1,900-mile road trip last week in an electric vehicle proved it's easily doable, but the charging experience is still not as seamless and convenient as pumping gas.Why it matters: Driving an EV is delightful. Charging an EV is what gives people anxiety. Until that problem is solved, EV sales in the U.S. will remain lackluster.Driving the news: My husband and I drove from Michigan to New Hampshire and back in a Toyota bZ on loan from the automaker's media test fleet.AdvertisementAdvertisementI wanted to see for myself how the world's largest automaker had upped its EV game after disappointing customers with its first model in 2022, the bZ4X. (It's way better, with a bigger battery and longer driving range.)The bZ is one of four new Toyota EVs hitting the market this year.The big picture: This was our fourth long road trip in an EV, and they keep getting easier.There are a lot more fast chargers available now compared to my first Michigan-to-Florida trek in 2023, and reliability has improved.And getting access to Tesla's Supercharger network has been a game-changer for non-Tesla owners. (Tesla drivers, of course, have enjoyed easy charging from the start.)Catch up quick: We recharged 12 times over the 1,900-mile journey, usually for about 25-30 minutes — long enough to use the bathroom and grab a snack or coffee.AdvertisementAdvertisementI figure the stops added about two hours of driving time to the journey, compared to bathroom breaks and refueling stops in a gas car.🤦 (It would have been less if we didn't have to double back in Massachusetts when I realized I had set my purse down next to a charger and forgot it!)My husband Bill's take as we cruised the New York State Thruway: "I've concluded that charging is not that inconvenient. Yeah, you'd like to be on the road faster, but this gives you a chance to check your email or texts and to stretch your legs. It really doesn't take that long."Map: Danielle Alberti/AxiosFollow the money: Public charging is more expensive than charging at home — usually around 60 cents per kWh, compared to 20 cents per kWh for residential power in Michigan. (Some states are higher.)AdvertisementAdvertisementOf course, gas is expensive, too — the national average is just below $4 a gallon.The intrigue: An unexpected factor, however, was the heat wave that spread from the Midwest to the East Coast over the July 4th holiday.Running the car's air conditioner cut anywhere from 20 to 40 miles off our estimated driving range.The bZ FWD Plus has an EPA-estimated driving range of 314 miles, but our tester averaged about 276 miles.By comparison, a 2026 Toyota RAV4 gas-electric hybrid gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway. Under ideal conditions, it could go 580 miles between fill-ups.What we found: While some charging sessions were pretty seamless, there's still too much friction in the process.AdvertisementAdvertisementCase in point: Most non-Teslas need a NACS adapter to plug in at a Tesla Supercharger, for example, and the cables are too short for many other EV brands, depending on where the charging receptacle is located.We didn't want to be jerks by parking the Toyota sideways across multiple spaces, so we learned to look for plugs situated perpendicular to the bank of Superchargers.The bZ already has a built-in NACS port, but we needed a CCS1 adapter to charge at other networks, like Electrify America.Another annoyance: You have to download multiple apps and set up payment accounts for many separate charging networks.You can always swipe a credit card, but we found it sometimes takes a few tries and you can't always get a receipt.AdvertisementAdvertisementWhat we're watching: Some automakers are trying to streamline public charging by integrating more networks into their vehicle app.That way, you only have to use one app and set up one payment method, no matter which network you're using.In Toyota's case, it has easy plug-and-charge arrangements with two of the six charging networks we used on our trip — Tesla and Ionna (the charging network owned by eight automakers).Plug in and then swipe on the Toyota app to begin charging. The receipt goes directly to your Toyota wallet.💭 My thought bubble: If every charging session could be as smooth and seamless as that, more people would be lining up to buy EVs.The bottom line: EV charging is improving, but it's still got miles to go until it's truly convenient.AI is moving fast. Axios AI+ keeps you ahead. Sign up free at Axios.com.
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