A 600-mile road trip (and data) proves EV charging doesn’t suck anymore
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- The Audi e-tron completed a 600-mile Montreal round trip with three ~20-minute fast-charging stops timed to meal breaks; the only hiccup was a broken card reader at a Circuit Électrique station near Montreal.
- US DC fast chargers more than doubled from approximately 32,000 in July 2023 to over 64,000 today, driven partly by Tesla opening its Supercharger network to non-Tesla drivers after a year-plus rollout delay.
- Paren's reliability index climbed nearly 10 points — from 85 to the mid-90s — tracking metrics like successful charging sessions and station downtime, with non-Tesla networks closing the gap to Tesla's once-dominant reliability.
- The Audi e-tron's 2023 Maine round trip of roughly 350 miles required three customer service calls, a charger that broke mid-session, and a network app reporting working plugs that didn't actually function.
- AAA's 2024 survey found just over half of prospective EV buyers cited public charging infrastructure as a key concern — a worry the near-flawless 2026 trip directly contradicts.
- A Better Route Planner (ABRP), now owned by Rivian, routed the driver to a six-stall, 300-kilowatt Rivian charger near Lebanon, New Hampshire that delivered over 140 kilowatts via plain credit card tap, no app required.
Why it matters: For the majority of prospective EV buyers AAA says charging worries deter, the doubling of US DC fast chargers since 2023 and the ~10-point reliability jump on Paren's index directly erode the 'charging sucks' reputation — though gaps and broken units still persist.
