Hey! That's actually a pretty rad idea! However since I'll probably have a suite of office equipment and presentation materials in-tow, I'll probably be better off with my own wheels this time. I'll totally do that next time I go there and can pack light! Good tip. I love taking mass transit whenever it makes sense.
Curious: what does budget charge for every % below 70??
Don't rent an EV in Maui. That's my experience. Very bad.
But somewhere that actually has charging infrastructure (and especially has fast Tesla charging infrastructure) and where you aren't doing a lot of distance driving? Probably fine. 70% charge isn't that hard to mange (especially if you're coming downhill). Not your car so no concerns about juicing it to 100%. Bonus points if you can charge where you are staying.
Or just accept the fee which is often less than the price difference + cost of gas. I wish the rental agencies put their cutoff at more like 60% (especially since the rental lots at DIA seem to have plenty of chargers), but they are trying to squeeze extra money out of it.
IMHO, just make a second gas rental reservation as a backup in case they offer you some low-range POS EV. . Either at Budget or at another rental place (enterprise and national are right next to the budget lot at DIA and Hertz is still walkable).
Thanks for the intel! Evidently (at least according to their website), Budget's electric fleet consists of Model 3's and Bolts. Either of which have plenty of range. Hotel I'm staying at has chargers so I should be good to go. I'm guessing if I take it easy and chill out on the way back to the airport, I should be able to get there with 70%+ after topping off overnight. Worst case, give it a few minutes on a charger near the airport to get it within the window.
I went ahead and booked it after the price on all the other categories shot up over the last few hours. Was waiting for a meeting this AM to get final confirmation and BEFORE the meeting, I had my pick of the litter. Luxury, Premium Special, etc., all for less than subcompact. But then by the time my meeting was over the prices doubled. Doh! Anyway, made the choice of going with the EV that much easier. Haha. By far the cheapest category this time and should honestly be ideal for running around the Denver metro. I really won't be going all that far.
Most of the red plate rental EVs I've seen on the road are Bolts FWIW.
If they give you either a Model 3 or a Bolt, and you charge at your hotel, you'll no question be returning it with >70% driving from Golden to DIA
I don't think they have leafs in their fleet. 30 miles in any ev in their fleet on flat land will not take up 30%. Use plugshare to find a charger (a close by level 2 to hotel/airbnb will work) to goto 100% and don't sweat it.
edit: didn't realize there was a next page where this was already discussed
If the hotel you’re staying at is a Hilton, call directly to confirm they actually do have a charger. They seem to be notorious for claiming to have EV chargers that don’t exist when you get there.
Welp. Just got done with my EV rental. Chillin at DIA so time for a report. Budget gave me a brand new AWD Hyundai Ioniq5.
First off, the range/charging was a COMPLETE non-issue. They gave it to me topped off and the hotel had chargers (tho WTF is up with ICE SUVs parking in those spots?!).
The range on this vehicle was legit. Was displaying about 300 miles with a full charge. I made it back to the airport with 92%. I seriously could have driven to Golden and back and probably still had around 80% without touching a charger. Bonus: Not having to go to a gas station before returning the car!
I have to hand it to Hyundai. They are in top form with the power train. It's fantastic! Denver rush hour traffic suuuuuucked as per usual but with its i-pedal, I got awwwwwful used to 1-pedal driving. Seriously. If anybody lives in a big city with crappy traffic, having an EV is sublime. I have never felt so relaxed with the stop and go of it all. Great experience.
Cons? No USB-C or wireless Android Auto. At least in this lower trim. Along with some other typical Hyundai GUI foibles. Also, the frunk is all but worthless. Teeny tiny compartment that was clearly an afterthought.
That all said, I looked them up used and they're crazy cheap for 2023s! Same for the Mercedes EQB the rental company also had on the lot. Both can be found for around 30K barely used. That's like 1/2 price.
Ok, I'm sold. I seriously want an EV now. Haha. The game has changed. Good range and cheap used prices (FINALLY) makes it well worth it IMO. Especially for city duty. Next time I come to Denver, I will either rent an EV or take the light rail.
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Both are on the 2025 (all trims I think) but it's definitely a miss on the earlier models. My wife has a 2023 Tucson which has both but for some reason my 2023 I5 doesn't, go figure... The wireless charging pad works well but is quite slow, definitely not a replacement for a dedicated USB-C, and there are fairly cheap adaptors for wireless AA but that's a lot of faffing around for something that should come stock.
The rest of your experience mirrors mine. iPedal in traffic is the one thing that helped me get over the loss of my manual transmission. That and the stupid amount of power this damn thing can deliver. Sports mode regen 0 is definitely a hoot...
"Your wife being mad is temporary, but pow turns do not get unmade" - mallwalker the wise
I had two friends take out my EV (MY Performance) for a test drive and both ended up buying one. They had been skeptical. It's more of a city/250mi radius vehicle for us, but holy crap is it fun to drive. 0-60 in 3.5sec often puts me at close to 100 on highway onramps and braking when I'm approaching the merge. Can only imagine what those sub 2sec models are like.
I've been wrenching a bunch lately on our two ICE vehicles which really got me thinking about just how many parts/systems go away with EVs. Not to mention close to zero maintenance. We're at 1yr/12k in our EV and don't have a single maintenance item until year 2 (cabin filter) and then brake fluid in year 4. Looking forward to when you can buy an EV truck that can actually do truck stuff and go 100% EV.
Of course! Been a great car ever since I got it all sorted out. Still enjoy the hell out of bopping around town. ESPECIALLY since I swapped tires to Pilot Sports. The longer I live with it, the more I understand its purpose. Sadly something the general buying public didn't appreciate when it was out. Unlike many a fun hatch from its era, THIS one's not falling apart from the inside out. Really is such a delightful little car. I can see why you liked yours so much! RIP.
I agree. They look great IMO. My rental had that interesting chameleon-y kind of teal that looks different depending on how you're looking at it.
One thing that surprised me a bit was how good the ride quality was. I rode Uber in a brand spanking new Tesla Model Y last month, and the Ioniq had a noticeably more pleasant suspension. Very impressive vehicle. I can see why our resident owners here like theirs so much. It has my stamp of approval. My only "beef" is how they market it as an SUV when it's CLEARLY a hatchback, but I guess that doesn't poll as well with marketing departments these days, so they just call everything an "SUV." Lame. Wish they'd own it. It's a solid hatch and a damn good one at that! Haha.
Yeah, it absolutely hauls ass. Getting onto I-70 out of the airport it launched. Evidently the dual motor variant does 0-60 in around 4.4-4.5, but what people forget about is the 60+ times. For a brief moment, I tried 70-90 and felt damn near instantaneous. Of course, that'll shave off some range for sure so I put it in eco mode for most of it (which still had plenty of go!), and played with the different regen modes until I ended up liking single pedal the most after getting used to it. Reminds me a bit of driving an electric golf cart in that way.
Holy balls these things depreciated HARD! 2022 MB EQS 450+ for $35K: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...icle/719844975
Down from this...
Am also finding Ioniq5s for $25-35K all day long for 23/24 models! MB EQB's are also crazy cheap for 23's too. What's going on with the EV market? Last time I was shopping around everything was expensive.
I've been reading that the car makers all decided to target the high end with luxury EVs with long ranges and have found out that market isn't as big as they hoped. Now they're all hosed because there's much more demand for Chevy Bolts / Bolt equivalents and no one's making them...Chevy was even going to kill the Bolt until one of their bean counters got them to reconsider.
Here's a 2020 Mini Cooper EV for $17k, I'm kind of tempted: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...icle/723470217
I think the low resale can be attributed to concerns about battery longevity and all of the computers and electronics. It's a little bit like buying a used laptop or cell phone.
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