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.

I had an electric rental car in the US and found it to be a big pain in the tuchus. Unless you own an electric and are accustomed to the very different refueling protocol, I'd advise against it. Driving in another country requires plenty of other adjustments.

We've actually found rental car rates for electrics to be much lower than for conventional ICEs. I think it's because of the PITA factor.

I can’t comment on the situation in the US, but I don’t recognise some of the comments on here as having relevance in the UK. Of course a type 2 charger is of little use during the day if you want a speedy top up, but it’s perfectly fine for overnight charging. That’s what I use for charging our EV overnight at home almost all the time. It’s pretty likely that the OP could find a charger at or near their overnight accommodation to do that. As Stuart says there are a host of chargers, some of them very fast, in Amesbury. York has plenty of options too.

I have hired an EV twice whilst on holiday in Mallorca and the experience there was also excellent. The only reason I won’t be doing the same when we go in early April is that I can’t find an EV to hire that will accommodate 4 adults and a toddler and all the ensuing luggage needs.

Johnew52, your enthusiasm for the vehicle you own blinds you to the hassle of renting an electric vehicle, especially for people who don't own one themselves. You talk about charging one overnight at home, something that frequently (usually) isn't available to travelers from across the pond spending their nights in hotels or B & B lodgings with no charging infrastructure.

I'm glad you like your electric car, and other owners I know (including my adult daughter) similarly love theirs. But from my own experience, renting them away from home can be nightmarish.

Obviously my being able to charge at home isn’t any use to a visitor but really it’s not difficult away from home either. I’ve done a few trips well away from home where I need to charge both on the way and at the destination and it’s really not difficult. If it is for you in California then that’s a shame but it’s not relevant for the situation in England for the OP’s plans.
On the road it’s straightforward to plan for a stop on a longer journey. I will be heading to Norfolk from home on 31st March, a journey of over 200 miles and will top up the car at one of a couple of motorway service stations a little over half way. I will have the car charged to the recommended 80% of capacity quicker than we can visit the toilet and buy and drink a coffee, which we would do anyway if driving in an ICE vehicle. In August we will be in Cornwall for 2 weeks so we will need to charge both en route (as above) and whilst I will have to go out to charge I know there are rapid chargers just a mile or two away. There may also be slow chargers at the accommodation this year but that remains to be seen.

are we talking tesla muskmobiles and their super duper can't be beat chargers or a normal car? Might make a little difference?

It doesn’t really make any difference these days Nigel. I would expect any car being hired out would be able to be pretty quickly charged. Different a few years ago but the infrastructure is moving on apace. No need to give Elon any more money.