Let's Talk Electric Vehicles - & Range

Hi, hello. My name is Kyla and from June of 2016 to December of 2025 I drove a 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit, and I loved it. The car was reaching 200,000 miles and I had been thinking about purchasing a new vehicle for a while. I wanted something reliable, and I had had my eyes on the Toyota Corolla Hatchbacks for a few years. I would go on the Toyota website every few months and build the one I wanted, see how much it would cost, and then decide against it.

Then in December of 2025 I Googled "Corolla Hatchback for sale" and saw it—a 2022 XSE in the color I wanted, with only 38,000 miles on it. I scheduled a test drive and took it home the following day.

The day I took it home I was a guest at a Christmas party for a golf league. Insert Shannon Golbienko, who sat down next to me and asked me if I had ever bought a car before.

            Come to find out, Shannon had just opened Revolve Motors with Genevieve Carter, an EV Sales & Service Center in Renton, WA. She asked if I had ever bought a car because she wanted my opinion on how the dealership treated me. They wanted to change the way people buy cars. We discussed what I did for work and she brought me into her dealership.

    

            Lo and behold, I started working for Revolve Motors with no prior experience with Electric Vehicles except seeing David Dobrik driving a Tesla online.

In the few months that I've worked for Revolve Motors I've come to learn a lot about Electric Vehicles. Different makes and models, components, range, charging levels, and the widespread amount of criticism they get.

  

One of the biggest concerns I've seen is the range and the time it takes to charge EVs. There are hundreds of people's comments saying they would never purchase one of these vehicles because they're "tethered to a charger" or that they "don't want to wait 3 hours" for it to charge.

Before working in this industry, I probably would have had some of those same concerns. But after learning more about EVs, I've found that the reality is often different than what many people expect.

            The statement of being tethered to a charger comes from the idea that EVs have such a short range that they're constantly having to be charged. While the average range of an Electric Vehicle is shorter than an ICE vehicle, they can still go quite the distance. Many modern EVs offer between 250 and 350 miles of range, and some go significantly farther.

            That's not such a big difference if you think about it. What's even more impressive is how quickly EV technology has improved. Modern EVs have really only become mainstream over the last 10–15 years, and they've advanced dramatically during that time.

Even now there are EVs with the same, if not more, range than many gas vehicles. My Corolla gets about 450 miles to a tank with 35 MPG. The Lucid Air Grand Touring gets up to 512 miles on a single charge. The Chevy Silverado EV gets up to 460 miles of range, rivaling many full-size gas trucks. Do you still think they're tethered to a charger?

How about the idea that you have to wait 3+ hours for your vehicle to charge?

There are 3 different types of charging for EVs: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Level 1 and Level 2 charging can both fall into the "multiple hours to charge" category, but that's because these chargers are designed for different uses. Level 1 chargers are for people who don't drive very much. They charge at a rate of roughly 3–5 miles per hour and can take a long time to fully charge a vehicle depending on battery size.

Level 2 charging is the standard for home charging for most people. These chargers can be installed at your home and charge at a rate of approximately 12–60 miles per hour depending on the vehicle and charger. With Level 2, you plug your car in before bed and wake up to a charged vehicle—these are designed for daily commuters.

Now Level 3 charging, or DC Fast Charging, is a different story. Depending on the vehicle and charging conditions, many EVs can add around 150–200 miles of range in about 20 minutes. Level 3 chargers are designed for quick charging when you need it immediately or when you're going on a road trip. Level 3 chargers are also typically located near shopping centers, so you can get your errands done while your vehicle charges.

I think a lot of these concerns about Electric Vehicles come from how we've always thought about fueling our cars. When you drive electric, there's a bit of a mindset shift. No longer are you waiting until you NEED to fuel up—you're charging when it's convenient for you.

You're taking the time to plan out your road trip and stopping where you want to, versus pulling into the nearest gas station because you have to. When you have home charging, it's like charging your phone at night. It's no longer debating, "Should I stop and get gas now or wait until the morning?"

Long story short, I wish I didn't buy my 2022 Toyota Corolla. Had I waited, I most likely would have ended up purchasing an Electric Vehicle. That doesn't mean EVs are right for everyone. It just means a lot of what I thought I knew about them turned out to be different once I took the time to learn more.

So if you're EV-curious, EV-skeptical, or fully convinced they're the worst thing to happen to transportation, come by Revolve Motors. Grab a cup of coffee and let's have a conversation. You don't have to agree with us, and we don't mind tough questions.

Let's talk EVs.