Photo Credit: iStockFor shoppers weighing an EV, long charging times can loom large on road trips.One Polestar 2 owner argues that a different metric matters more: how much charging time is actually spent waiting around.Here's what to knowThe EV owner shared their argument to Reddit's r/ElectricVehicles community.Writing about a 1,000-mile trip in a new-to-them Polestar 2 Performance, the original poster said they plugged in nine times and spent just under five hours charging overall. But their point was that most of those hours overlapped with normal travel breaks, not added delays.Three more stops were about half an hour apiece and matched bathroom breaks, stretching, and snack runs. The biggest chunk, roughly two and a half hours, came from two longer stops connected to dinner and hotel time, with the car charging from 10% to 95%.OP's conclusion was blunt: "So in a non Tesla, meh efficiency EV, I lost less than an hour and a half of time across 1,000 miles."Many commenters said that OP's story matched the reality of road trips, where built-in stops can absorb much of the charging time and make raw "10-80%" figures less meaningful on their own.One commenter wrote, "Next time bring a dog or a child and the necessary stops will make your time lost to charging very close to zero." Another commenter joked, "I am happy when chargers are at locations with nice bathrooms," while a third added, "there is more range than the bladder can handle."Others said charger placement can be a bigger headache than charging speed. One commenter said vacation routes that worked with available chargers had added about two hours each way, while another described towing in bad weather and getting only 41 kilowatts from a 150-kilowatt charger.Where can I learn more?For a closer look at how EV charging plays out in real life, these stories explore the same road-trip tradeoffs.• Across the U.S., eight charging apps, two adapters, and unclear prices still complicate EV road trips.• Texas is set to add more than 50 new charging stations along major highway routes.• In Los Angeles, charger vandalism and copper theft have left some EV drivers scrambling.Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.