I Drove 1,400 Miles on Starbucks' New Electric Vehicle Charging Route

Study after study names the lack of access to public charging infrastructure as one of the largest obstacles to battery-electric vehicle (BEV) adoption in the U.S. Volvo and Starbucks have set out to change that. A partnership between the two has built a 1,350-mile publicly available electric vehicle (EV) charging network across the Western U.S.

Newsweek was invited by the companies to be among the first to test the network from tip to tail during a 1,400-mile roadtrip last week, ahead of its official opening. Running from Denver to Seattle along highways and byways, the road trip revealed the highs of what good charging infrastructure can be, and the lows of mileage limits and deliberate route planning.

The four-person road trip, in a 2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge, both small SUVs, set off from The Maven hotel in Downtown Denver. Brisk winter temperatures were the theme of the Day 1 leg, which took us from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado along Interstate 70.

The XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge were equipped as single-motor rear-wheel drive models, enabling a 293 and 297 all-electric range, respectively. They were wearing Nokian Hakkapelitta snow tires.

Four charging stops were planned in Colorado by Volvo for the first day. First in Broomfield then Silverthorne and Glenwood Springs before ending at Hotel Maverick in Grand Junction.

Recommended state of charge percentages, the amount of battery power available, were provided by Volvo, but the atmospheric river weather conditions added a strong headwind to the trip's equation meaning we had to be conscious and add a buffer to those numbers. There were more charging stations available than what we needed to complete the trip but the point was not to stop at all of them, rather only stopping as needed.

The freshly-made ChargePoint charging stations, which charge at a maximum rate of 200 kilowatts, were clearly seen from the entrance to the first Starbucks, a pattern that would repeat itself on every stop. They are near doors to the stores, not tucked away in a dark corner or behind the store near the trash.

Charging isn't free. Activating charging via the ChargePoint app proved to be a lesson in patience and tolerance but using the ChargePoint card in my Apple Wallet, linked to a credit card, worked like a charm every time.

Each charger is equipped with a CCS and CHAdeMO style charging cord. Most vehicles on the market today, except Teslas, have a CCS style charging port.

The XC40 and C40 have charge ports on the rear driver's side body panel so backing in was a necessity. The cars were able to get plenty close and long cords added to the charging comfort.

The charging-enabled parking spots, which offer a space for handicap accessible vehicles to charge, were mostly clean, as were the parking lots. Starbucks had a heads up that we would be stopping so they were able to prepare.

ChargePoint and Volvo's in-house, real-time station monitor were able to ensure that the charging stations were operational ahead of our arrival. It's an experience that the companies intend to replicate. Volvo has taken ownership for the operation of the stations.

Only one of the stations ever got close to the maximum charging rate, with most of them hovering at the 120 kilowatt mark. Time of day, vehicle state of charge, grid performance, weather and other factors can effect how quickly an electric car battery charges.

The Starbucks stations are labeled as "Electric Vehicle Charging Preferred" via on-pavement paint marketings. Customers who aren't charging are able to use the spaces, meaning that some BEV drivers who need to charge may find themselves being "ICE'd out", a phrase used to describe when internal combustion engine vehicles take up BEV charging spaces.

Utilizing hotels with charging stations, all unaffiliated with Volvo and Starbucks, was a key to the success of this journey and something that BEV drivers should consider while they're planning their road trips. An eight to 10-hour stay at a hotel is more than enough to charge up a BEV under traditional Level 2 (240-volt) charging station conditions as long as you don't arrive empty.

After traveling nearly 300 miles on Day 1, we started Day 2 with a full charge and headed off to the local Starbucks to grab a coffee and top off before getting on the highway for the longest drive day of the week, over 500 miles.

In our over-14 hours on the road that day, we drove from Grand Junction, Colorado on I-70 to U.S. Route 191. There, the stunning hillsides of Book Cliffs provided spectacular scenery while crosswinds tried their hardest to keep us from staying on the road.

In theory, we should have been able to arrive at our charging stop, a traditional ChargePoint location in Price, Utah, with around 17 percent charge remaining. The terrain, speed and winds dropped our predicted arrival state of charge to 6 percent.

Thankfully, the last few miles were mostly downhill so we didn't feel the need to do the types of things that can enable battery energy savings, like slowing speed, turning off climate controls and taking GoPros that were used for filming off the car to make it more aerodynamic.

Parking at the 60-kilowatt ChargePoint chargers with such a low state of charge was a lesson in the charging reality many users face. The charger estimated that we would need to spend three hours charging to get to 100 percent. Volvo recommended we get to at least 55 percent to make the next Starbucks stop, in Provo.

This allowed plenty of time to explore the Prehistoric Museum at the Utah State University, Eastern. The museum, home of a Utahraptor skeleton, is the type of small-town establishment where families with small children can easily burn an hour.

Having seen it all, we used the ChargePoint app to discover that the cars were already over 60 percent (a little charging leeway is always good) and we were soon on our way toward Salt Lake City.

Because we had enough charge to make it to the Starbucks on the far side of town, we decided to skip the planned Provo, Utah, stop and head on to Ogden, Utah. There, as the moon started to rise and temperatures plummeted, a newly opened Starbucks was a refuge and charge stop. Pulling out the laptop and making good use of the free in-store Wi-Fi allowed emails to get answered while the car charged.

The next bit, up to Twin Falls, Idaho, was long and unforgiving. The speed limit was 80 miles per hour (mph) and winter weather was in full force. The built-in Google Maps app in the car advised that we would arrive at our destination at a 12 percent state of charge.

With 40 miles to go, and that figure dropping, we decided to top off at an Electrify America charging station, located off to the side of a Stinker gas station. In seven minutes, the time it took to do a cursory emails check and confirm the address of our hotel for the night, the car charged from 23 percent to 47 percent, giving us plenty of energy to make it without any question, albeit a few minutes behind schedule.

Plugging in at that night's hotel allowed for a full charge for our trip onward toward Richland, Washington, where we would spend the next night, some 400 miles away. The day's Starbucks charging stops included a rest outside Boise, Idaho and in La Grande and Hermiston, Oregon.

There were no charging stations at our hotel in Richland so we had to arrive there with 100 miles or more of charge available (the next stop was about 90 miles further down the road). That meant topping off at the stop beforehand, which again allowed for a coffee stop and email check.

Wet snow and very thick fog slowed us to 30 mph on Interstate 82 as we crossed from Washington into Oregon. For 18 miles we crawled along, ultimately saving ourselves some energy.

The next day, we had far snowier and predictably wetter weather on our way into Seattle on Interstate 90, making it over Snoqualmie Pass shortly before it was closed. Despite the inclement weather, the lack of all-wheel drive never played into our ability to feel safe on the road.

Range wasn't an issue on the fourth day, with only around 200 miles to travel, but we topped off after pulling into Starbucks headquarters where our road trip officially ended.

There were hundreds of fail point possibilities during the trip. Timing, weather, charge station operation, safety, and vehicle operation issues among them. Remarkably, none of them occurred.

This long road trip wasn't the real test of this new charging network, however. That will be days, weeks and months from now when the general public begins using the network on a regular basis, in a less controlled scenario.

By placing charging stations 100 miles apart along the route, Volvo and Starbucks have done one two things that Interstate 10 was unable to do when we drove a Kia EV6 from Disneyland to Disney World earlier this year, provide reliable intervals of charging that don't stretch the vehicle's abilities and install chargers at well-illuminated and safe locations.

Yes, the trip took longer than it would have in a gasoline-powered vehicle. But, the point is that it can be done, and without much stress. Electrified vehicles are the future, and the present, and the ease of charging while on the go at places where drivers would naturally be inclined to stop anyway will help create more confidence in the electric vehicle transition.