Let’s see, what could go wrong...
Travel to a different city for vacation (most airports are usually not in the best parts of town BTW), get your EV Rental and drive off. Not familiar with the area, not knowing where to go for chargers, turn the wrong way in certain neighborhoods, watch out!
Or, was that the plan all along???
I rented a Hertz Tesla at the airport in White Plains NY. It was by FAR the least expensive vehicle to rent.
I was concerned about “range anxiety” so prior to my trip I visited the Tesla website and reviewed all the Tesla-specific supercharger stations along my route.
When I got to about 45%, I decided to go for a charge, and used the Tesla in-car nav system to show my nearby chargers. I selected a convenient location along my route and the car popped up a message “conditioning battery for fast charge.” huh. Who knew. I knew I had some time and pulled into the parking lot where the in-car nav system showed 5 chargers available. Sure enough there were 5 chargers available and working. About 5 others had cars charging. Obviously the Tesla charger network is ‘smart’ this way.
I charged my car from 45% to 80% in 7 minutes and was on my way. Tesla recommends NOT charging your battery above 80% on a regular basis, although you can override this easily.
Points to ponder: Chargers were in a ‘nice’ area. All working. Assured availability per the Tesla app. Fast enough charge. Do the math - IF I had been really low on power, my stop would have been about 25 minutes. NOT as quick as a refill at a gas station. BUT faster than stopping at a typical for-the-public level 2 charging station.
I think Tesla has done it right in that THEY invested in a charging network, AND apps to use it easily.
Would I have rented an EV for a drive into New York City from Winchester? No WAY. I was headed up kinda West Point direction.