Here to report my first two experiences renting EVs. TL/DR: For city driving, we had a fine experience. For longer trips range anxiety is real. Also, the reason we did EV's is because I chose "Manager's Specials" deals. So it seems like demand isn't what the companies have hoped for.
Last weekend, we rented a Hyundai Ionic 5 in LA. The hotel we were at had 3 charging stations. The first night 2 of the 3 were being used for charging and the 3rd spot was taken by a Tesla without charging. I assume purely for the convenience of the close parking spot. Total &$@@ move that erases the good karma of driving an EV 10x over IMHO.
We were staying just around the city visiting my wife's brothers and going to a concert, so it wasn't too worrisome. But the next night we parked at the LA zoo to take a shuttle to the concert. They had a row of about 8 chargers and only 3 were taken. So, we plugged in, charged for free, and came back to 100% charged car.
The next phase of the trip was flying into Miami and driving across alligator alley. That part made me the most nervous. This time, they gave us a Polestar 2. The car was only 70% charged with a listed range of 190 miles. That made me nervous because it's a 140-mile drive to where we were going, and there is nothing (not even gas stations) for the better part of 100 miles on that road.
So we left the airport and used the ChargePoint app. It showed many open chargers of the University of Miami. I thought it might be cool to check out the U, so we headed down there. It turns out the reason so many chargers were listed as open was because the parking garages were closed.
After about 30 minutes, we found chargers in the city of Coral Gables municipal garage. I was under the impression that public chargers could take a battery from 70% to say 90% in a half hour.
But when I plugged in, it told us it would be 4 hours until full. So we hung out in a park in front of the city hall for an hour and a half. Our level had gone up about 20% in that time back to about 85%. Range was listed as 220 miles. I figured that was enough, so we hit the road. However, as soon as we hit freeway speeds the 220 estimate dropped to 200, which made me nervous again. So I held back at 10 under the speed limit for most of the drive through the Everglades. Once we got back to civilization at Naples, I went back up to the speed limit. We pulled in with 27% of the battery left (about 80 miles of range).
Fortunately, there are some Level 2 chargers close by. Unfortunately, I now know it will be a several-hour endeavor.
We have to drive back next Sunday. I'll leave with it at 100% and probably just pay the $35 fee for not having it charged to 70% or more.
www.theglobeandmail.com
