Car rental - electric, fuel, or hybrid

But neither does it sound like a very good idea to take off in a fully electric car for the very first time ever when I am in another country

That is very very true,

Read Nigel's post in this topic ( scroll down a bit)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/electric-car-in-france

Electric rentals cars and Vespas/motorcycles are things you should not try for the 1st time while on vacation.

1. You will not find a shortage of gasoline stations in Spain. Fully electric vehicles are less than 10% in the Spanish market. Hybrid is the dominant segment (including plug in hybrid), with more than half of the vehicles, and that is why many rentals are hybrids, but hybrids use gasoline as well. Rental car companies want cars in their fleet that are easy to resell in the used car market. If you want automatic vehicles, those are really the only choices nowadays: Hybrid or BEV. If you want gasoline vehicles, a manual transmission will certainly mean gasoline fueled car.

TTM,
I had something of a similar research project for a slightly earlier trip and a couple of random
inputs:

• the airport seems a better place to start driving from as opposed to Chamartin, especially
  if you are heading north or northwest; you can avoid driving in the city to start. Yes, you have
  to go back into Madrid to catch your train after you drop the car off at the airport, but that
  should be pretty straightforward.

• you may have suggested this yourself at some point, but somehow I found out about Kemwel,
  which is a branch/subsidiary of AutoEurope. A random booking does show they offer regular
  gas-powered cars, but not knowing your dates, perhaps you're looking at a busy time?

Also, for the booking I made, for some reason, Kemwel offered a zero-deductible rate that
was less than any of their other rates. I have no reason why, but it seemed like a good deal.
You might want to be on the lookout for that option as well.

Ok, this all makes sense and reassures me.

Joe, I do think it’s not the right time to start with new mechanical things - I rent frequently but I always have to run through the basics. So as long as I can find a car not electric, that’s better. I do love hybrid cars, but they really WERE a lot more expensive (although I know I save money on fuel costs).

shoeflyer, I will take a look at Kemwel. Now that you say that, I have read the name here but have never researched or used them. Thanks for that and input on rental location.

Thanks for the reassurance, Roberto and BasqueCountryGuide! At least twice in my renting life, I have received (as the only choice) NOT what I requested. So it can happen - good to know I won’t need to panic. Ha!

You might want to take a look at SIXT. I rent from them in Spain and they'e always been great. I had a diesel for three weeks last March.

In my recent road trips I've done in a few countries in Europe I've always tended to rent hybrid vehicles, including in Spain. I just find the fuel efficiency much better and it's not a potential liability like a fully electric vehicle especially if you're driving in more rural parts that don't really have any charging stations. Electric vehicles also handle a bit different due to their acceleration.

They're actually quite a number of options now in Europe for hybrids, maybe more than in the US I would guess, we have a lot of Asian brands. I recently rented a lynk & co 08 here in Sweden and I really liked it.

TTM, for what it's worth, I'm renting electric cars while I'm in Iceland and Norway, mostly because they were just about the only options I had, and they are much less expensive than gas cars. I didn't even see any hybrid options. I suppose I could have searched further, but I'm fine with renting an electric car.

With regards to getting familiar with it, my sister has a Tesla, and I'm getting together with her before I go, so she's going to take me out for a ride and basically show me the basics. That might be something you might do if you have a friend or know of anyone that has an electric car, or even possibly rent one just for a day. I would think the savings would be considerable even if you did have to pay for a one-day rental.

ETA: I forgot to add this. I found it a few weeks ago when I was doing some trip planning and thought it was helpful. https://www.hertz.com/us/en/blog/electric-vehicles/how-to-drive-an-electric-car

Read Nigel's post in this topic

Joe, Nigel's report was about renting a plug-in hybrid, and it also sounded like it was mostly just tech issues with the app and the agency he used that gave him a car with very little charge to it. It wasn't the actual driving. From everything I read, it sounds like it's easier than a regular car to drive. Now, I don't know about Spain, but I do know that Scandinavia embraces electric cars and has lots of charging stations to use. Obviously, others' mileage may vary. 😊

On my current trip I reserved an automatic intermediate SUV, Seat Arona or similar. Upon arrival in Málaga we’re were given a Renault Symbioz, hybrid. While I don’t care for the vehicle’s underpowered gas engine, I’ve been impressed with the hybrid part. I’ve only filled up twice in just over two weeks for a total of 3/4 of a tank and it’s been getting about 45-48mpg..

For the places we’ve visited I would not have wanted a completely EV. On the highways the vehicle operates on mainly gas, but in the mountains the electric worked outstandingly

Considering the EU mandated timeline for EVs, we've been puzzled by the relative paucity of charging infrastructure, particularly in villages, nearby to smaller more affordable hotels, and in residential areas where many airbnbs are located. So far we've stuck with hiring petrol cars (manuals all, no problem for either of us) but would certainly consider a hybrid if the maths were to lean in our favour (price of petrol vs rate of hire).

I would look at it from the perspective that the electric vehicles are cheap to rent and the other gas or hybrid vehicles are priced normally. Obviously the electric vehicles are less expensive to rent because nobody wants to deal with the intrinsic issues, namely range anxiety and finding a charging facility.

Obviously the electric vehicles are less expensive to rent because nobody wants to deal with the intrinsic issues, namely range anxiety and finding a charging facility.

I think location matters a lot as well, Joe. I know nothing about charging stations in Spain, but I do know in Iceland and Norway there are a lot of charging stations all over the place. I've seen maps of them and I've already plotted out my route with the stations, so I'm not too worried about that.

Good article on EV rental cars in Europe (Italy in this case)

https://blog.ricksteves.com/cameron/2022/11/ev-europe-road-trip

The more you know 🌈

Thanks to everyone. I am feeling a lot more secure. That said, I have been out of town for a couple of days - so this weekend, I am going to start all over fresh.

jamieelsabio, I’ll be renting for about 2 1/2 weeks and the prospect of neither worrying about finding a place to charge nor having to stop and fill the tank often is very appealing. So I’m going to re-think (and re-price) the hybrid. You’ve been where I’m going.
Carlos, I appreciate the insight. Last year I drove a hybrid in New Zealand on the north island and wished for it on the South Island. Ha!

nobody wants to deal with the intrinsic issues, namely range anxiety and finding a charging facility.

joefarnacle, insert my name for “nobody” and you pretty much hit the nail on the head.

GPB, if they handed me a manual and said “this is all we have”, I could do it (like happened to me on the Isle of Skye). I guess you never totally lose the ability. But again, it’s one extra thinking process I would rather skip when in a new situation.

Mardee, I admire you. I support the EV initiative, but I don’t feel like this vacation is the right time for ME to experiment if I don’t have to. We have exactly 1 place to charge cars in my town, if you don’t plug in at home. And truthfully, I don’t even know anyone who owns an EV. But it’s less the driving process than the charging process and potential availability. As long as you have Plans A, B, & C…..

ekscrunchy - I will double check Sixt! I’m not sure they came up in my initial fast search.

Sent you a PM.

TTM, I totally get that, and to be honest, I don't know that I would do it in Spain, either. Like I said, Scandinavia is really made for electric cars, and they have the stations all over, but there's a lot of places that don't. Minnesota is pretty good about that too. In fact, I think my next car will be a plug-in hybrid.

I will keep you posted, though, and let you know how my first attempt at driving in an electric car went, lol!! If you don't hear back from me, you can assume the worst. 😂

I drive a hybrid and would choose one while traveling every time if available. An EV, not so much. It’s not only the availability of charging stations, but also having to make the stops enroute to charge. I don’t want to spend my time that way. I will consider a EV when they have more range.

If you managed with a manual in Scotland it should be a piece of cake in Spain. When I drive on the left I choose an automatic. Otherwise I’m fine with a manual.