Rental car advice would you choose an EV or an ICE?

[QuarterMillionMan]

Especially being an EV is $141 vs ICE is $160, I never thought an EV is cheaper than an ICE vehicle but I'm old school so I may pay the $160 for the ICE vehicle not knowing how to recharge an EV or even how to drive the EV. What would you choose and any pointers for me should I choose the EV. This would be in Las Vegas and I'd stay under 100 miles total so I may not even need to recharge. Would I have to return the EV fully charged much like returning an ICE w/a full tank of gasoline. What other nuances w/an EV might I need to know about?

[kork13]

If the place you're staying has an ability to charge an EV, no reason not to go with the cheaper option.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

EV unless you are driving somewhere not city and going far where charging could be a problem. Camping trip to national park ugh.

[bjl584]

If wherever you are going has the infrastructure to charge the EV, then go for it.

[Like2Plan]

I think you should be the trailblazer in this group and rent the EV.
I have been tempted to try one, but I don't know about the practical stuff. Like, do you have to bring it back with a full charge? (How do you do that if you have been driving it for several hours to get it back on time?) What do they charge you if you don't bring it back on a full charge? There is probably an AP to find places to charge. But, I would think to be practical you would need one at the place where you are staying?

[MonkeyMama]

I'd choose the EV, but I have been driving EV for 5+ years. I can not stand driving ICE cars.

In reality, would depend on the infrastructure where we are driving. For just 100 miles, it's a no brainer. The Chevy Bolt has a 250 mile range.
You would likely not have to return fully charged because that is not practical. Fast charging is also not practical in this case. (The fast charging is only fast for the first 80%). Level 2 chargers, you can look up on Plug Share. Can probably just charge (for free) while you are parked at casinos/hotels. The Bolt charges at about 25 miles per hour on Level 2.

I don't know what else the companies rent. Tesla is probably is a lot simpler re: finding chargers. (I've had friends rent Teslas for road trips).
I am just pulling up Plug Share for the strip. It's the J-1772 you'd probably be looking for, for slower charging. The problem is some of these other cars use different plugs and so on, but I presume the rental companies stick to the J-1772. As I expected, it looks like most of these are free. You can also look at the Chargepoint App (most of these strip chargers are probably Chargepoint.) I like to use PlugShare to look for free chargers. But even if you pay, will likely be much cheaper than gas.

If you will be sitting at a casino or staying at a hotel 4 hours, that's all you need to get the car fully charged. You could just top it off on your last day or night.

Edited to add: Some of these Level 2 chargers have room for 2 cars. If 2 cars charge at once, the speed will drop down by half. Always choose a charger standing alone if you can. A charger with only one plug or one place to park. If you just charge overnight at your hotel, it's no big deal, but if you want to top off your charge in 4 hours, something to keep in mind.

[MonkeyMama]

P.S. We just drove my hybrid to LA and back. We didn't have any solid plans to charge on this trip. But it takes 4 hours to fully charge. We ended up charging for free twice. Once when eating lunch with friends (2 hours), and another night we went to a pub and stayed for a couple of hours. These were just the two places we ended up at that happened to have free chargers. We made other stops where we didn't bother because the battery was mostly charged. 4 hours of charge would require very little planning.

[ua_guy]

We rented our first EV from PSP/Palm Springs back in October, a Volvo C40 Recharge model. We drove the wheels off of it and learned how to charge, where, how fast (there's a bit to know, but it's not hard). It was absolutely fantastic.

We loved it so much, we bought an EV just before December this year. The husband had been wanting a new car, and the goal wasn't to save money, the earth, or anything else. Both of us really enjoyed the EV experience.

SO, I say rent an EV for the fun and experience. One-pedal driving is a hoot, if your rental has that feature. Throttle to go, and letting off the throttle applies regenerative braking. Feels like driving a go-kart or golf cart.

When we rented, it was required that we return it above 80% charge OR, they'd charge us a $20 fee I think it was.

[ua_guy]

Charging goes like this:

-You need to know the plug type that your EV accepts (CCS/CHAdeMO, J1772, or NACS--still mostly Tesla)
-You need to know the maximum charge rate of the car (expressed in kWH). For example, if the Bolt can charge at 150kWH, then,
-You need to know the maximum charge rate of the charger, (expressed in kWH). This is "up to", same as the car, the car and charger will negotiate a healthy charge rate based on several factors. Charge rate and remaining capacity of the battery will figure into how much time you need to charge back to a specified percentage capacity (usually 80%).

Find a charger with the proper plug type, at the speed you need, and go.

Download the PlugShare app on your phone, this will tell you the location of chargers and all information you need to know, including availability. Every EV I've driven also has a Nav system that can tell you where to charge, and will also calculate destination, range, and if you will need to charge along the way. It will also tell you where you can charge, and how to get there. However, at 100 miles total usage for your trip, you shouldn't have to charge.

[MonkeyMama]

We loved it so much, we bought an EV just before December this year. The husband had been wanting a new car, and the goal wasn't to save money, the earth, or anything else. Both of us really enjoyed the EV experience.

I felt like adding that the risk is that you will want to buy an EV. I guess it's true. Seriously, one week with my plug-in hybrid and we were done with gas cars.
It is a legitimate reason not to rent an EV, if you don't want to be in the market for a car.

[disneysteve]

Charging goes like this:

-You need to know the plug type that your EV accepts (CCS/CHAdeMO, J1772, or NACS--still mostly Tesla)
-You need to know the maximum charge rate of the car (expressed in kWH). For example, if the Bolt can charge at 150kWH, then,
-You need to know the maximum charge rate of the charger, (expressed in kWH). This is "up to", same as the car, the car and charger will negotiate a healthy charge rate based on several factors. Charge rate and remaining capacity of the battery will figure into how much time you need to charge back to a specified percentage capacity (usually 80%).

Find a charger with the proper plug type, at the speed you need, and go.

Download the PlugShare app on your phone, this will tell you the location of chargers and all information you need to know, including availability. Every EV I've driven also has a Nav system that can tell you where to charge, and will also calculate destination, range, and if you will need to charge along the way. It will also tell you where you can charge, and how to get there. However, at 100 miles total usage for your trip, you shouldn't have to charge.

Wow. Could they possibly make driving any more complicated? No wonder many people are reluctant to buy an EV. I can take any ICE car made in the US, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Korea, etc., to any gas station in the US, Canada, or Mexico, fill up at any pump in 2 minutes, and be on my way. I'm not at all opposed to EVs but if they truly want to do away with ICE vehicles the industry needs to work together to standardize everything. Can you imagine if every ICE car used a different type of pump that filled at a different rate and you had to constantly search around to find stations that offered the pump you needed when you were running low?

As for the original question, renting an EV for a couple of days on a trip where you don't plan to do much driving sounds kind of cool. Clearly there is a learning curve involved but if you don't mind figuring it all out and you have the spare time on your trip to do so, it's a great way to give it a whirl.

[bjl584]

Charging goes like this:

-You need to know the plug type that your EV accepts (CCS/CHAdeMO, J1772, or NACS--still mostly Tesla)
-You need to know the maximum charge rate of the car (expressed in kWH). For example, if the Bolt can charge at 150kWH, then,
-You need to know the maximum charge rate of the charger, (expressed in kWH). This is "up to", same as the car, the car and charger will negotiate a healthy charge rate based on several factors. Charge rate and remaining capacity of the battery will figure into how much time you need to charge back to a specified percentage capacity (usually 80%).

Find a charger with the proper plug type, at the speed you need, and go.

Download the PlugShare app on your phone, this will tell you the location of chargers and all information you need to know, including availability. Every EV I've driven also has a Nav system that can tell you where to charge, and will also calculate destination, range, and if you will need to charge along the way. It will also tell you where you can charge, and how to get there. However, at 100 miles total usage for your trip, you shouldn't have to charge.

That makes my brain hurt.
Hopefully the industry standardizes this mess or the government pushes them to do so.
The government is pushing EV, are they also pushing the charging side of the equation?

[ua_guy]

Wow. Could they possibly make driving any more complicated? No wonder many people are reluctant to buy an EV. I can take any ICE car made in the US, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Korea, etc., to any gas station in the US, Canada, or Mexico, fill up at any pump in 2 minutes, and be on my way. I'm not at all opposed to EVs but if they truly want to do away with ICE vehicles the industry needs to work together to standardize everything. Can you imagine if every ICE car used a different type of pump that filled at a different rate and you had to constantly search around to find stations that offered the pump you needed when you were running low?

As for the original question, renting an EV for a couple of days on a trip where you don't plan to do much driving sounds kind of cool. Clearly there is a learning curve involved but if you don't mind figuring it all out and you have the spare time on your trip to do so, it's a great way to give it a whirl.

Most of it is currently simplified with an adapter. The industry is moving towards the NACS standard which is what Tesla uses. NACS chargers are a good design as they don't rely on large transformers like the other types of chargers, they are able to operate off a common leg of 3-phase power. NACS also has the fastest charging rates. Most cars are moving towards NACS as of 2024/2025 either through an adapter or with a NACS charging port. This was the result of Tesla receiving federal funding, and the government requiring Mr. Musk open his chargers to other makes besides Tesla. So yes, the Federal government is manipulating where it can for private manufacturers to agree on a standard, as well as committing to public infrastructure improvements, on top of tax credits for purchasing an EV (and producing/sourcing domestically).

But, finding a fast charger is not very difficult. Most EV owners charge at home because that is the cheapest option besides some "free" options. Free options either tend to be charging included with the purchase of the vehicle (for example, we get free fast charging through Electrify America), or city/municipal stations, which are typically slow chargers and don't provide much benefit overall.

EV's are still truly in their infancy, but, if you know what you're doing, it's already pretty awesome.

Remember the VW diesel gate debacle? Well, part of that settlement money in the US went into creating Electrify America and its network of stations. A little ironic, don't you think?

[kork13]

I felt like adding that the risk is that you will want to buy an EV. I guess it's true. Seriously, one week with my plug-in hybrid and we were done with gas cars.
It is a legitimate reason not to rent an EV, if you don't want to be in the market for a car.

I think I've already fallen victim to this, more or less. DW's brother was a somewhat early adopter with Tesla (one of the first 3's off the line), and we've both driven it a few times when we visit when them. DW is absolutely gaga for the things. I appreciate that it's a very nice car, though I'm actually more interested in a plug-in hybrid ... I think having the flexibility to use gas when needed is preferable, because we enjoy doing long road trips.

With me getting assigned overseas, we're selling my car this summer, and deciding on either selling or storing her SUV. I expect that when we return to the States in a few years, we'll end up with at least one EV, or at least a plug-in hybrid.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I'll just catch Uber in Las Vegas, forgetabouit.