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Norwegian Electric Vehicle Rental

TL:DR It's easy. You should do it.

Just recently returned from a 10 day trip to Norway where we rented an electric car. I have zero experience with EV's at home but given the more expensive upfront cost of a gasoline rental and the cost of gas (about 21NOK a liter) it seemed like an overall savings so I made the choice to do it. Our trip was a loop from Trondheim to Kristiansund-ish, Lom via Geiranger, then to Roros and back to Trondheim.

I had some concern about charging being a hassle but it really wasn't. I found it easiest to charge after dinner and use the charging time for an after dinner walk. We used one charging stop as a lunch break and charged overnight at a hotel once. I think the longest wait we had for a charger was about 15 minutes at one of the more rural locations. Most fill-ups at the large commercial chargers took about 30-40 minutes depending on how much juice I was putting in. I don't think I ever saw the car reach the advertised charging speeds (the 150kw charger seemed as fast as the 600kw.)

I came across the Elton app prior to leaving and later found that it was the app recommended by Hertz. It's super easy to use, both as a way to plan charging along your route and as a form of payment. We linked our ApplePay account. The stations we used liked Mastercard but not AmEx. Electricity was between 5-7NOK per kWH. All totaled we drove about 1300km and spent about $173 on "gas."

The only billing surprise we had was that you are charged "retail" price for tolls and ferry crossings, not the EV rate. Oh well.

All in all it was a pleasant experience and I would absolutely do it again.

Posted by
13035 posts

I just finished my Norway trip report and said that as well—I definitely agree! Having an EV was a wonderful experience. The EV was so easy to drive, and we had no experience driving an EV before. We never had to wait for a charge, and we found chargers all over the place. The apps were very easy to use as well. Plus, several of our hotels had charging stations, so we were able to use those and charge them overnight. They were slower, but it didn't matter since they were there for a long time.

Did you pay for the tolls and ferry crossings yourself? We didn't because our rental car had an Easy Pass and so it went directly to Hertz. That was one very nice feature and I was glad we didn't have to take the time to pay those.

I mostly used either the Tesla or Bilkraft apps. With Bilkraft, I could start the charge on my phone and end it while we were sitting in a cafe. It was a very nice feature.

Regardless, the EV was a delight to use, and it made me think very strongly about getting an EV when I am ready to get a new car. It will either be an EV or a plug-in hybrid.

Posted by
37194 posts

sorry, not up with modern abbreviations - what does TL:DR mean at the beginning?

Posted by
4 posts

MNannie, I would recommend it with an asterisk. We got in in the late afternoon and had to leave mid-morning so we only got a brief glimpse but it seemed worth going back to and exploring more.

Mardee, We also had the AutoPass and just paid Hertz for the charges. The prices I paid all seemed reasonable so it was worth the convenience.

Nigel, Too Long; Didn't Read :)

Posted by
559 posts

Thanks for sharing your EV story! Norway has really led the way with EV adoption, and it seems like one of the easiest places to rent an EV. I have one myself and have gotten so used to it that I really dislike renting or driving a gas-powered car now. I’ve also noticed that when we travel in Europe, chargers seem to be everywhere. It’s been interesting to see how much more seamlessly EVs fit into everyday travel there.

Posted by
37194 posts

Nigel, Too Long; Didn't Read :)

ok... thanks for the warning. I did read - only 3 short paragraphs...

I don't really understand the warning to be honest - but thanks anyway