Electric or traditional car rental?

Two of the park and ride locations in York have ultra rapid charging:

Monks Cross
Poppleton

No car parking charge but there is a limit on how long you can stay. Rather cheaper than the fully commercial operations of which there are a few dotted round the ring road.

Stressful is the optimal word. Somebody from the UK will know about the infrastructure there, but just because there are charging stations doesn’t mean they’re all working or will be available when you need them. If there are only two stations and two cars got there before you, you’re out of luck. It also depends on where you intend to drive.

In France a couple years ago I’m glad we had a hybrid vehicle because in many rural areas charging stations were not easy to come by.

You can check out charging stations along your route on Google maps.

It’s really not at all stressful these days. We have owned electric cars for over 7 years now, at first as a second car to a petrol one and now as our sole car. It was a bit patchy several years ago but really there is no issue as long as you plan a little ahead.

Look at Zapmap which will give you a pretty good idea of what’s both available and working in York and around the UK. Whenever I’ve had to use a public charger to top up on a long journey for a few years now the charge has been done faster than I can use the toilet and drink a coffee.

I’ve literally just read this story in the press today about “cold” spots on major roads.

So - careful planning needed, but lots of Brits drive electric cars.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/09/england-a-roads-electric-car-charging-cold-spots?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

I think you’ll find an EV a bit of an inconvenience. You need to get to grips with different apps and on a trip time is at a premium. Having seen the hassle friends and family have charging their vehicles away from home, I wouldn’t do it.

First question I would ask is: do you drive an electric car at home? If not, do not even consider renting an electric car. We love our electric car here, but we can always charge at home, and we know exactly how it operates, and what reduces the range. Even though we drive an EV here, we continue to rent traditional fuel cars because it is less stressful while visiting an unknown location.

What electric car is on offer CAM15?

Thank you everyone. I think I'll stick with traditional fuel for now, as much as I'd prefer to minimize gas/petrol. The added hassle of locating charging stations and figuring out the apps needed to pay for them is going to add stress, and possibly take more time. I'm also reading about idle charges an EV stations, which is just adding more stress.

For most charging stations you can pay by contactless card these days and do not need an app. An app might in some cases be useful if you are going to be here for a long time as you can get discounted rates but would not be worth it for a short visit.

Don't trust articles like the Guardian article above. They didn't even know where the A2 road went to, but at least have now corrected that, and said so.
But the other day they said that the A60 in the Lake District was a so called cold spot, and have now removed that- unlike with the A2 they don't even admit to doing that.
The A60 in the Lake District would have few chargers because there is no such road- that is a long way south in the East Midlands. I don't know if they meant the A66 or the A69.
And how to create a non existent problem- a so called 'cold spot' according to them is where there are 6 or less charging stations- that of course allows the manufacture of a false crisis. From what I see in the Lake District we have an excess of capacity over demand currently.
Far too many parking spaces here (already at a premium) are being lost to electric charging points which then get little use.

And who takes no notice of their petrol tank until it has only 10% left in it? Another false metric. Plan your journey.

A very cursory search shows that there are plenty of charging options at Amesbury.

I don't believe for one moment that there is a lack of charging opportunities in York, especially if the car only has to be returned 75% charged.

I don't know if they meant the A66 or the A69.

Having looked up a less garbled account of the report both of these are mentioned as having "cold spots". The A60 isn't. The government methodology is based on a van with a 160 mile range so identifies 16 mile or more gaps between its group of "six rapid or ultra-rapid devices". If this was reduced to considering a single device there would only be 2 of these cold spots in England, the A66 having one of them.

It would be useful to learn what percentage of public charging stations in the UK are broken-a serious problem in the US. (Chevy Bolt EV owner posting)

It’s also important to consider that a working, even free of charge Level 2 charger is not much good unless there is something you want to do there for 6 to 8 hours! In the US, libraries and county courthouse lots can be far from even a cup of coffee.