I rented a Hyundai IQ for a southern trip down in Louisiana. I had just finished visiting a friend up in Atlanta and wanted to experience New Orleans’ unique culture. So I took the train down (which was an adventure in itself, Amtrak outside the north-east corridor feels different), got the car and away I went.

It turns out renting the EV was one of the cheapest option (car rental website algorithms give a discount if you are willing to take any car available, even if its not their cheapest). When I got the EV, I starting driving it without much planning, or experience. Its the first time I’ve ever driven an EV actually.

The dashboard come with route planning so if you input your destination, it will give you charging locations. There’s a couple of problems with this, which I’m going to go into.

First, the data sources are separated. In the US, there are a bunch of apps showing their own charging networks, so the charging landscape is already fractured. Then the EV is onboard OS has a limited list of its own.

For me, I settled on EVGo, which seemed to have the best coverage on my route, but depending on which part of the US you’re in, you may have to use Electrify America, Plugshare or Chargepoint.

In the end, I ended up being very depended on a cafe’s level two charger. However, its level 2 (which takes around 8 hours to charge fully from empty), not fast charging. So I ended up sitting around for a few hours, waiting for it to top up. Not that it was a problem, the Giddy Up Folsom was very nice, a great coffee spot with a slight bohemian edge.

I was reading an article explaining that the future of EVs is not the gas station model where you charge your car in a few minutes (the tesla supercharger model). Instead, its leaving your car for a few hours while you do another errand or activity, which requires a greater number of level 2 chargers. Which themselves take alot less infrastructure (and are what are installed in homes.) The few times I attempted to use faster chargers, the stations were under maintainence or were broken. Which shows how bad the fast charging experience is right now. I understand other parts of America have better networks, but issues like this are lowering demand for EVs.

At the campsite, I charged using the campsites trickle charger. I plugged it in overnight, hoping for it to the solution to my charging dilemna. Unfortunately, the trickle charger from the normal power outlet, really was a trickle, it only charged 1% and hour!

The rental car company’s policy is that cars have to have 50% charge or they will charge for a charging fee. I ended going back to that cafe to try and charge enough that I’d make it back to the garage without being charged. I barely made it back with 51%.

Still a great trip overall. It was an interesting experience, I got to spend time outside in nature, and explore a part of the US I may never be able to experience again.