I rented an electric vehicle in the USA (and regretted it)

With apologies to Greta.

On a recent trip to the USA, I decided to rent an electric vehicle (EV).ย 

It seemed a sensible decision at the time. EVs were, surprisingly, cheaper to rent than traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) cars (or perhaps not so surprisingly, given that travellers are shunning rental EVs). I’d save some money on petrol, and charging infrastructure, I figured, was developed to the point that it’d be little different from driving an ICE car.

Besides, my first time renting an EV in the States had gone pretty well. Back in January 2023 the MileLioness and I were in Orlando and rented a Polestar 2 LR. It was a really great experience for us because the car was fun to drive, our hotel had charging stations that were so cheap they were virtually free, and we never travelled far enough in a day to require charging anywhere else.

Polestar 2 LR

This time round, however, things were very different…

EV charging woes for tourists

Kia Niro EV

For my second EV experience in the USA, I rented a 2023 Kia Niro EV from Hertz, driving it from San Francisco to Napa, then down to San Jose.

A Niro might not sound very sexy, but I have few complaints about the car itself (other than Hertz has stopped even pretending to clean its cars). There’s something delightful about driving an EV, from how whisper quiet it is to how quickly it picks up when you put the pedal to the metal. What’s more, it came chock-full with techy features like GPS-linked smart cruise control that automatically detected when I entered a different speed zone and adjusted the speed accordingly. When I used that in conjunction with the lane-keep assist, the car practically drove itself on the highway.

However, I have plenty of complaints about the charging experience, especially as a tourist. At 230 miles per charge, the Niro’s range was significantly lower than what I had previously with the Polestar 2 LR (340 miles). What’s more, at pickup it was only 50% full, which meant that after just an hour or so of driving, I was already starting to look for a charging station.

That opened up a whole can of worms.ย 

Problem 1: Finding a fast charger

For the uninitiated, there’s three levels of EV charging, as illustrated below.ย 

Obviously, everyone wants a Level 3 charger, but even though those charge quickly, the wait times can be very long nonetheless because they’re in high demand.ย 

To complicate matters further, the dynamics of chargingย are not at all like refuelling an ICE car, where people don’t usually hang around the gas station for longer than they have to. Because chargers are located at places like malls, offices and residences, the tendency is for drivers to leave their cars parked and run errands in the meantime. So you could be queuing with no idea when the owner will return to relinquish the spot.

Problem 2: Downloading the charging apps

As it turns out, paying for charging is not as simple as tapping your credit card on a reader, not for most charging stations I encountered. The vast majority demanded that I download an app to even find out the rates.ย 

That would be annoying, in and of itself, but the bigger problem was that the apps weren’t even possible to downloadย unless your app store location was set to the USA (what on earth do they expect tourists to do?).

No app? No charging!

While I’m tech savvy enough to find the required app on APK Pure and sideload it, that led to yet another problem. Because of the recent spate of scams in Singapore, our banking apps now police your phone like the gestapo. If they so much as detect a sideloaded app (or developer mode, in the case of Maybank), they scream bloody murder and refuse to work until you uninstall it.

That made it really inconvenient to keep the charging apps on my phone, and in retrospect I should have brought a spare phone, just for installing these.

๐Ÿ”Œ Download the Plugshare app!

The only charging app I would heartily recommend is the Plugshare app, because it’s a lifesaver.

First, it shows you a map of all available charging outlets in your vicinity, allowing you to filter by charging speed, plug type, availability, and crowd-sourced scores. Second, you’re able to pay directly from the Plugshare app at selected charging stations, though sadly these are the exception rather than the rule in my experience.

Problem 3: Registering for an account

Assuming you can install a charging app, your next problem is registering for an account. Before you charge, most apps want you to sign up for an account (if only to get more of your personal data), and verify your phone number- and many of them will only send OTPs to USA mobile numbers.ย 

I don’t usually get a local number when I travel, because I rely mainly on data from my Eskimo plan. This meant I couldn’t use any app that needed mobile number verification.

Problem 4: Paying with an overseas card

Thought we were done? Nope. Assuming you can register for an account, the next step is to make payment, and some apps refuse to accept non-US cards.ย 

I’m fortunate enough to have a US credit card (well, technically anyway; it’s the long-discontinued UOB Virtual AMEX) so at least I didn’t have to tear what remaining hair I have out over this. But I imagine it’d be a problem for most tourists.

Problem 5: Planning your holiday around charging

A rare moment with an unoccupied Level 3 charger…at 6 a.m

When I do a road trip with a regular car, refueling is a task that fades into the background. It’s so simple and routine that I can barely remember any of my stops- and that’s the point.

I can’t say the same about an EV, where the issue of charging invariably forced itself front and centre. It wasn’t just the trial and error involved in finding a charger that (1) wasn’t being hogged (2) didn’t force me to download an app (3) wasn’t “under maintenance”, it was that once I found one, I had to sit in the car and wait while the battery slowly charged (because more often than not I could only get a Level 2 charger).

Even with a decentish 60kW charging speed, it would take close to an hour to get to 80% charge

I soon realised how silly it was that I wasย planning my trip around charging stations, and I started to ask myself: why am I wasting my precious vacation time (1) looking for a charger and (2) waiting to charge?

Sure, I’m saving some money on petrol (though some of the Level 3 chargers were surprisingly expensive), but the picture becomes less rosy once you factor in the time lost and frustration involved.

What about a Tesla?

Nah.

My charging experience would probably have been quite different had I rented a Tesla instead, thanks to their wide network of Superchargers (which at the moment don’t work with non-Tesla vehicles).

But having driven a Tesla several times in Singapore, I can’t say I like it very much. It drives so differently from a regular car that you need time to adjustย (e.g. taking your foot off the accelerator leads to sudden braking, instead of cruising to a stop like with an ICE car), there’s no dashboard to refer to, and I really hate this trend towards touchscreen everything. I mean, would it kill you to add a few physical buttons so I can adjust the air con without taking my eyes off the road?

The way I see it, driving a Tesla involves too much of a learning curve. If you already drive one in Singapore and are used to all its idiosyncrasies (seriously, how many screen taps does it take to turn the wipers on?!), by all means go ahead. Otherwise, those used to driving ICE cars will find the Polestar 2 and other EVsย to be an easier transition.

Conclusion

No EV charging at In-N-Out? Preposterous!

After my recent EV experience in the USA, I probably wouldn’t be willing to rent another EV for a holiday until recharging is as simple as refueling an ICE car: drive up to a station, make payment (without the need for an app), and leave with a full tank in no more than 5-10 minutes.

Keep in mind, all this was in an English-medium country. I can’t even imagine how complicated it’d be if I were visiting a country where all the apps and infrastructureย were in a language I don’t speak, or which use some local payment solution I don’t have. It just adds unnecessary stress to your holiday, and I’d much rather my memories be of sightseeing and dining, not frantically searching for a charging point.

If there’s any consolation, most of the issues I encountered will probably be resolved over the next 5-10 years as battery tech improves, more charging stations get built, and operators finally realise that maybe tourists also need to charge their cars too.ย Until then, however, I’ll be sticking to ICE cars, preferably a hybrid if possible.

What’s your overseas EV rental experience been like?

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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Ken

Yup. Same experience 12 months ago. Hunting for charging points is no fun, especially at midnight with a car full of people and bags. Never again.

Alvin

Rented a BMW iX in Germany. Many charging stations available countrywide and easy to pay with card. However driving fast on Autobahn eats up battery so fast that youโ€™ll find yourself at a charger with just 1.5hrs of driving. So no more EV on driving holidays.

Delivergrab

I swear by Iโ€™ll nvr drive another EV especially for hols as I had the same experience in Australia. We are replacing a very efficient system for an extremely inefficient one. You forgot to add that the battery once left park at night during winter depletes 3-5% a night. That adds to the anxiety

John

Rented a Tesla in New Zealand last week
I must say it was a wonderful experience
The range of 410km (temperate depending) is sufficient for me to drive 4-5hr nonstop
The network of Tesla Supercharger & DC ChargeNet is also sufficient but I must say the drivers needs to plan before the trip and do some calculator
Why Milelion use Niro? I thought he would have been better of with a better electric car or upgrade from Hertz

Anonymous

You need to rethink charging like using a mobile phone. We charge as and when we find a charger, not all the way from 0-80%. Find a charger, plug it in, do your thing, it adds a few miles, and along the way just do it where there is a charger.
You cannot use a EV like a normal car. You have to use it like a mobile phone. Which is the reason why brands like Xiaomi also can do EV.

accc

The easiest to rent really is the Tesla and the learning curve is very short (i’m much older than you and less tech savvy). The app itself is a blessing. You would have had the best experience being in its home turf of California so bit strange why to rent a Kia. Forget what you’ve ‘tried’ with Tesla in SG, lower your expectations it’s not the same experience. And yes, i’ve found other EVs a real pain in other countries.

Kevin

i believe you can disable the one pedal driving for tesla cars so it will not brake when you lift your foot off accelerator …
should make it easier for ICE car drivers to transition to tesla car i guess

Tony

I have not heard this is such a problem in China although such cars are normally not used over long distance. Furthest I went on an EV Car is between TongAn to Nanan in Fujian Province. That was about 100 km. The technology for EV cars are still evolving. There will be more focus also on its safety aspects as Lithium batteries are more sensitive. Give another 5 to 10 years, the next generation EV Cars will even be better.

Bruno

Rented a BMW iX in Norway before.
Was a great experience. Tesla 250kwh superchargers can be used by everyone there. Range was never an issue. EV gives also a big discount on the toll roads there.

Jxx

never drove a EV but I would have easily predicted all these problems.

you are on a holiday, why would you want the additional stress and planning/headache that comes with an EV?

Jacen

Rented a Tesla in Jeju, terrible experience. Couldn’t use the superchargers and was limited to chargers linked to the rental company. This charger spoil, that charger spoil. Every night the battery drained 10%. And don’t get me started on the language issue.

Yeah no more EV for me while overseas. Way too many issues.

Mook

I just came back from a trip in Australia, rented a Tesla and drove over 4100km without any issue. I drove 500km per day, stopping for charging once or twice a day and at night when i reached my destination. I rented my car from Sixt and it came with free charging on chargefox network in Australia so i only need to tap a RFID to use the charger. Almost all charger are 140kwh outside of Perth and only need 20mins to reach 80% so just enough time for a toilet break and stretch your muscles. Rental companies need to… Read more »

Last edited 1 month ago by Mook
Zaos

Simply do not use an EV it your intention is to do road trip distances. Simply awful.
And yes, am an owner.