Audiologist Appreciates Her EV’s Quiet Ride

As Carly Alicea and her husband waited for their home to be built, they lived in an apartment building with no charging stations. So they kept an eye out for public chargers. The Ontario residents recently moved into their new home and now have a charging station to call their own.

Occupation: Clinical audiologist

Driving profile: Daily commuter

Vehicle: VW ID.4, acquired in summer 2021 after driving a Hyundai Kona EV. Carly made the switch when Hyundai recently recalled the battery but was unable to replace it because of a battery shortage. Instead, the automaker o!ered to buy back the vehicle.

People are always surprised and impressed about how far my EV goes on a single charge.

Favorite vehicle feature: Carly loved the Kona because, as a small SUV, it was large enough to meet her needs. But it was the steering wheel’s braking system she really enjoyed. “I rarely used the brake pedal.”

Driving pattern: Carly drives her EV from her home in Ontario to her new job as a clinical audiologist at a hearing and speech center at Rochester’s Al Siegel Center. The pandemic has restricted her travels, but previously she took longer excursions in her EV, including a 350-mile trip to Long Island and a 200-mile trip to Albany.

How she charges her EV: Carly and her husband recently moved into a new home, where she had a charger installed. But she also uses the charging stations at the Al Siegel Center. “I plug in most days at work,” she says. When she was an apartment dweller she employed a variety of free charging options, including charging stations at public parking garages. During the trip to Long Island, she charged the EV at a rest area and at a dealership in New Jersey.

Challenges: The Kona EV became the family’s primary vehicle, which created some challenges. “My husband drives a Hyundai Ioniq, a hybrid, and we used to split the driving fairly evenly,” Carly says. But they ended up driving the Kona everywhere. When they needed to drive separately, the person driving the farthest took the EV.

What she loves about driving an EV: Relieving people’s range anxiety. When family and friends bring up their fears of the battery charge running out on the way to a destination, Carly simply shares her experience. “People are always surprised and impressed about how far my EV goes on a single charge,” she says. “I think many people still think EVs are only good for ‘around town’ driving. I talk up the fact that we take my EV on road trips.”

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