Man who bought an EV despite not intending to reveals the nine things he wished he'd known before

According to this newly minted Kia EV6 owner, there are a few things you should bear in mind before you buy a new EV, including some that aren’t that obvious.

His list comprises nine elements of electric-car ownership.

Most of the things he mentioned are quite obvious – but a few might shock you.

And there’s one we’ve known for years – even though we always ignore it.

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Let’s start with the obvious

John McCann of TechRadar wrote a list of nine things he wished he’d known before buying his Kia EV6.

Some of them are common knowledge at this point, like the fact that public chargers are generally never free.

The sort of thing you either already know, or even if you don’t, it still won’t surprise you.

Then two of the things he mentions have to do with tires.

Because one, electric vehicles have no spare tire in the trunk, and two, battery-powered vehicles tend to burn through tires quite quickly due to instant torque, which leads to something else he wrote.

McCann pointed out that all the talk about instant torque and speed is more than talk.

“The speed is real,” he wrote.

This is actually connected to the fourth thing he said.

Because he wrote that you should ‘trust the range’, as in if the car tells you it has 200 miles left, then that’s accurate, but speed can become addictive, and driving fast will affect your range dramatically.

As will cold weather, which is the fifth thing he mentioned.

He also added that EVs have two battery packs, generally, and there are different charging levels.

This, simplified and summarized, is the reason why using a Supercharger is not the same as charging your EV at home.

Two more things most people buying a new EV may not realize

The eighth thing this guy mentioned is perhaps not that automatically obvious: buying a Kia EV6 – or any other electric vehicle, for that matter – means downloading a bunch of apps.

Several automakers have dedicated apps today if you want them, but with electric cars, you kind of have to download them.

Either that or the car won’t work properly.

And then you need apps for charging stations and PlugShare, according to McCann, “It’s like Yelp for electric vehicle charging”.

Last but not least, there’s the ‘80% rule’.

This is something we’ve known for a long time because tech companies have been telling us that charging our smartphones to 100 percent is unnecessary, and 80 percent is advised instead.

Batteries generally charge very quickly to 80 percent, then slow down drastically to protect the battery’s longevity.

You don’t automatically notice with a phone because we all charge it at home or in the office.

But you do notice with a car.

Because if you charge it to 80 percent, it’s going to take the same time it takes the owner to order a cup of coffee and drink it.

If you charge it to 100 percent – that’s the time it takes the average person to finish a three-course meal.