No idea - never used the insurance service yet.

FWIW, I was watching a YouTube video on a completely different topic (the new software update on the Hyundai Ioniq 5) and noticed this statement in the comments, which is a pretty strong testament to the ubiquity of charging infrastructure in Europe. Sounds like you'll have zero issues whatsoever.

There are free level 2 chargers in the valley (some at Yosemite Lodge, some at the village I believe). Tesla superchargers in Groveland, Fish Camp, Mariposa; destination charger at Ahwahnee. My parents take their Tesla to Yosemite frequently - it's easy.

Mountain roads + nighttime temperatures in the 40s and below are not a recipe for success. Spend all that time and money getting to one of the natural wonders of the world and then have to sit at a charger for 3 hours? No thanks.

If you rent a Manager's EV Special and have access to PC, can you still select from PC aisle?

Technically, no--the Manager's Special classes (both EV and regular) are coded as "Economy," so they do not grant access to the PC aisle.

Last time I had a Manager's EV Special booked (at LGA), they waved me over to the aisle that had about a dozen Tesla Model 3s parked and told me to pick from any of them.

I have a Manager's EV Special reservation tomorrow so I can report back on exactly what they offer me then.

Do you know if you can pick from PC area with an EV reservation? (Non-manager special)?

I know the Q&A in the forum says yes, but curious to hear of actual experiences.

Just about to return my Polestar 2 to LHR after 5 days. The first one I picked up had electrical faults within 10 miles so I had to return it. They mistakenly gave me a Citroen C3 as replacement but I was like .... Manager said no it�s a mistake here is a Polestar 2 with 10 miles on it.

no complains with the car other than the wonky infotainment but that�s not hertz issue. My friend and I figured out how to reboot it.

I did help some people yesterday with a rental Polestar 2 that we�re trying to charge it. They were having a total meltdown panic at a motorway services. They said hertz didn�t tell them anything, they didn�t even know it was an EV! I showed them where the cables were for mains charging if needed and setup the shell app and showed them the onboard charging station finder via Google maps. They picked it because it was the cheapest option. I also reminded them to check their contract if it had a 300 mile per day cap on it etc

there is a massive charging station at Heston West Services off the M4 just before LHR. Gridserve DCFC 14 Stalls and 12 Tesla Super chargers. There is also a 16 stall supercharger on Bath road which is open to non Tesla

Gridserve and Shell has been extremely reliable in the UK for my trip.

OK. So I walked across the roadway to the rental car garage at CLT about 30 minutes before my scheduled pick-up time (though I had added my flight info, so they were aware of my arrival). No Carfirmation text or Ultimate Choice email or anything, and when I went out to the garage, the Gold board did not have my name on it. (My other Manager's EV Special at LGA in April was the same, IIRC.)

I waited in a short line at the Gold kiosk and the agent found my reservation and said, "You booked an EV--are you still OK with an EV?" to which I replied in the affirmative. He then pointed to a wall opposite the kiosk with President's Club promo material printed on it and told me to walk around the wall and choose from either the Polestar or the Chevy Bolt.

I walked around the wall to see two Polestar 2s, three Chevy Bolt EUVs, and one Chevy Bolt EV.

I had driven the Polestar 2 single-motor variant in California and liked it but found it a bit underpowered, so I've been curious to try the dual-motor variant (which exists out in CA), but both of the Polestars here were the single-motor variant (the single motors show 170kW on the sticker on the bottom of the door, while the duals show 300kW). Since neither would have been new to me, and since I don't have much driving planned for the couple days I'm here, I opted to try a Bolt, as I hadn't tried any Chevy EV products yet.

I've only made it as far as the McDonald's on Billy Graham Parkway, but so far, I like it. If it had just a bit more range, I'd consider one for myself, but I need more than ~200 miles of range (best case) for an ICE replacement for myself, as I do a lot of road-tripping out west where charger density is an issue. The UI is functional but nothing fancy (and has both wired and wireless CarPlay, which addresses most issues), and the handling is about on par with what you'd expect from a mid-range Chevy car (fine--I prefer GM's ride feel to Ford/Stellantis products). Haven't had a chance to test out acceleration yet, though I'm not expecting much from this little car. It's fine to get around town, though.

Biggest issue will be making sure I can return it at 70% before a morning flight and a hotel on the opposite side of the city that doesn't have a charger. Given the short range of the battery, I'll likely have to get it up to about 90% the night before in order to make sure I can make it to the airport with at least 70%, and the Bolt already has a relatively slow charge rate and getting it that full may take some time. We'll see how it goes!

Edit: Drove from McDonald's to a free Level 2 charger at a community college a few minutes away and took the opportunity to floor it. It has far more pep than I expected! Certainly plenty sufficient for normal driving.

The energy/charging details are a little sparse. I can't even figure out how to get it to show the battery percentage. It only seems to show range left in miles.

No built-in nav that I can find. IIRC, I read somewhere that nav works but you can only use OnStar. If so, that's a bit annoying. CarPlay is good enough for most use cases, though, but I prefer an EV that has integrated nav and can show estimated state of charge upon arrival at a destination and automatically plan charging stops (the Polestar and Tesla can both do this).

Agreed. Fortunately, the Highway 140 route doesn't involve as much elevation change as Highway 120 if you're only going to Yosemite Valley rather than the rest of the park. But the Highway 120 route or any trip going to or through Tuolumne Meadows or Glacier Point is asking for trouble.

Highway 120 (currently not possible for entry to Yosemite) has that steep Priest Grade road, especially the shortcut route. You will have to rely on a charging station with available spots and the charger not broken down somewhere between Groveland and Yosemite whether it's Tesla, Electrify America, or Chargepoint. Relying on EA because you don't have a Tesla is a big gamble IMHO and you might end up running out of juice. If you have a lot of uphill elevation change, you will drain that EV battery very, very quickly and need that recharge soon thereafter. Regen does not even come close to recovering the extra energy lost from the steep uphill drive on Priest Grade. Then there is the issue of wasting time at Groveland. Groveland is a very nice town but that's just a crappy excuse to waste 30 minutes of your life instead of getting into the park. I would be scared with a non-Tesla EV like a Polestar but even Tesla isn't so great. When I drive an ICE, I don't waste 30 minutes in Groveland sitting at the supercharger. I get gas for an ICE sedan in Oakdale or Mariposa for five minutes on the way into the park and that's all I need.

Thank you for the data point. Good caveat emptor for anyone renting.

And that is the reason that I have been reluctant to rent any EV other than a Tesla. I had a choice once of Bolt's and Kona's, etc, but none of them had a nav system and I didn't trust being able to find a place to charge, at least other than a level 2 where it would take 24 hours to charge one of these.

I've had a few Tesla rentals.

My #1 tip is to order a set of key cards from Tesla for $30 (for 2). You can also buy a 3/Y fob and use it. Hertz has the card in some really annoying case instead of just giving you the card. Now I put the Hertz key on the starting location and leave it there, while using my key (which easily pairs to the Tesla) for door access. So I don't have to "start" the car with the key.

My last rental I reserved a Long Range model 3 and was given the non-LR. They have told me in the past I only need to return to the same level as they gave me so I was surprised to see a $35 charging fee. I get free charging at work but the car didn't have the adapter (which was quite annoying) so I didn't top it up. In fact I paid like $10 at a supercharger to get it back to where it started. I did a car-drop on the way out as I rent from a store, so will see what they say when I pickup my next car today. Another rental, I got it at like 30, then when I returned and then immediately rented it again (30 days), they noted the charge level I brought it back at of 95% and told me that was the new requirement.

It's sad that Hertz or Tesla can't seem to figure out how to make the experience better. Using the app for door unlocking, starting the car, starting car cooling, etc etc, is such a nice part of the Tesla experience. You'd think Tesla would want to WOW renters so they buy one. Hertz also needs to up their game on how they handle charging - it seems like no one knows and is sort of arbitrary. Then again its Hertz, what's new.

Yep, some great points and is exactly why I'm back to just renting regular cars now unless I can use the Tesla's extra performance for my work and the cost works out. Ownership of one is great, but rentals still have a lot to be desired.

I'd add what I think is a grossly overlooked caveat: if you aren't going to drive more than 150 miles, there's no reason whatsoever NOT to take an EV.

Maybe the charging fee (which in my experience has never been charged, but YMMV) is a turn off, but I know I rent cars ALL THE TIME where all I do is drive myself around a relatively small local area, to and from work and meetings and what not. Probably 10 times a year I rent a car from SFO, bee-bop around the south bay for 3-4 days working, and take it back to SFO. There's virtually no way I've ever put more than ~150 miles on any of these cars.

Maybe I'm some substantial outlier here, but I think that these sorts of "sub 150 miles total" trips are super common. There may well be some selection bias here by flyertalkers who care a lot more about what they're driving than your average HertzJoe... and a ton of business travellers don't care about the $35 fee anyway... it just goes on the expense report as fuel and the company picks it up, which is a lot cheaper than the horrific overcharging for gasoline you used to get.

I'm more than happy to take a Polestar from Hertz for probably 3/4 of my rentals, and I never think about whether/how/where I need to charge it.