We are planning a 16 day trip to Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia (fights into and out of Vienna). Mostly in the cities, but do plan some wine visits in the Tokaj area. We will rent a car at Vienna airport and return it back to Vienna city. One option that is coming up is an electric BMW iX at a surprisingly reasonable rate. We were wondering how practical it would be to rent an EV ifor trave in the area.
Thanks!
Kevin
Figure at least $30 a night to park it. Sorry, $30 a day, cause you won't use it in the cities. I have no idea what the cost to charge it would be, but electricity here is close to twice the cost of my electricity in Texas. I have seen recharging stations, one I can think of, and I have seen one parking garage advertising it has a charging station. I suspect, maybe the rental agency has a map of charging stations?
As someone who bought a 2021 Chevy Bolt EV in New Jersey, I would suggest that learning about tree-hugging EV usage is not appropriate for a distant vacation in a country where you can't really read the language. In any case, unknown charging situations (I saw in Iceland that you need your own cord!) and need (?) to register with a website to use a "branded" charging station mean this is a big distraction from your real reason for the travel. As noted, a car is a boat anchor inside most cities of Europe. Small rural towns, that's something different.
This may be helpful: https://villanyautosok.hu/traveling-to-hungary-with-an-electric-car/
But if you're not used to an EV, this is not the time to try it out. Stick with a standard ICE.
Rather than renting a car for the entire trip, I would rent as needed. For example, there is no need for a vehicle in Budapest. Take a train from Vienna to Budapest, and if you want to explore other parts of Hungary, then you can consider a car rental.
Some important items to note:
1 . If everyone in your party is a wine drinker, you may want to explore tour options as Hungary has a 0.0% tolerance. Not even a sip is allowed.
2. You'll need a vignette for Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary.
3. Check your rental company to make sure you can drive from one country to another: https://www.autoeurope.ca/driving-information/austria/#:~:text=Rentals%20originating%20in%20Austria%20are,%2C%20Moldova%2C%20Montenegro%2C%20Poland%2C
I drive a Tesla. Love it. I was in Central Europe in 2022 on a RS tour and looked around for how many EV´s or charging stations. I didn’t see a lot, but that doesn’t mean a lot since we were on a bus and in pedestrian areas.
I would google Tesla charging stations and see if there are stations along your route. You may be able to use an adapter if it works in the EV. I would also google this car model and see where charging stations are on your route.. I’m not sure what is used in Europe. Also google if you can use a Tesla adapter. Another thing I learned renting a non Tesla once, check the app that the car rental company suggest you use that can highlight a route and also get you set up to charge.
I was curious about charging in Europe and saw this website that maybe helpful. https://shellrecharge.com/en-gb/public-charging
Here is another article that explains why I didn’t see chargers in Central Europe. https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/09/18/access-to-ev-charging-stations-in-europe-is-a-significant-concern-how-do-countries-compare#:~:text=Publicly%20accessible%20charging%20points%20in%20the%20EU&text=In%202022%2C%20the%20number%20of%20public%20charging%20points%20in%20the,more%20than%20150%20per%20cent.
My opinion is, and I love EV’s, is that renting one may cause additional complexity in your travels in this region.
. One option that is coming up is an electric BMW iX at a surprisingly reasonable rate.
Getting a BMW at a 'surprisingly reasonable rate', should tell you something. There is limited demand.
That leads to the question-'why is there limited demand?'
