[solaarphunk]

I'm always unbelievably pissed off when I reserve a premium tier of car at SFO for a business trip, and Hertz tries to stick me with a Tesla, as if it is a premium car (horrible interior build quality), and with the assumption I have time to install apps and figure out how to use car charging infrastructure.

[jvanderbot]

The Tesla is not the kind of car I'd like to just jump into for a two day trip, but the neither the car charger or key card entry requires an app, or is particularly weird. You touch the key card to the door column to open or lock, and you plug the charger in.

But the interior build and the touchpad interface mean it'll never be a top choice. It's just awful.

[7e]

No CarPlay is a deal-breaker, as are the hours long queues to supercharge in California.

[ghaff]

Maybe I want the novelty of trying out an electric car on a business trip. But far more likely I just want a bog ordinary car that I can drive from point A to point B.

[MBCook]

It’s reasonable to have a few for that. Hertz has their premium stuff where you can rent all sorts of interesting cars.

I think they were just too early in trying to put a lot of them in the standard rotation.

[ghaff]

Maybe. The problem with a mass market rental outfit is that you end up passing out vehicles on a take it or leave it basis.

But I agree with the basic idea that specialty vehicles need to be in a separate category.

[MBCook]

My theory is it will work itself out in time. Once let’s say a quarter or maybe half the population is driving EVs, they’re not specialty vehicles anymore. There will be plenty of people willing to accept them so if you run into someone who absolutely doesn’t want one you’ll probably be able to compensate just fine. It will cease to be a specialty car.

It will be a little more like manual versus automatic used to be. Anyone can drive an automatic, but some people can only drive an automatic.

But if you don’t give EVs to people charged and there aren’t enough chargers around then even people who would otherwise take them (owners + the curious) will avoid them.

[ghaff]

Sure. At some point EVs become something that someone renting a car would be expected to know how to deal with. Of course, that could take a while though. And it may be unevenly distributed. The uptake of automatics has been much slower outside of the US and, within the US, I've actually had a service associate need to have a tech drive out my car because they couldn't drive a stick.

[nunez]

Only at hub airports

[nunez]

Conversely, I get frustrated when I ask for a long range electric car and they either only have ICE cars or they have, like, a Bolt (an EV that I love, but long range it is not).

[nradov]

Some Hertz locations will also try to stick you with a Polestar 2 EV, which are as bad or worse. I've now switched to Enterprise for most rentals.

[sshine]

I think Teslas have amazing interior.

You’re not stuck with Tesla chargers. But they’re kind of neat because you only need to authenticate once, and not on every charge.

The rest of the criticism, I believe, applies to EVs in general.

[piva00]

At the same price point Teslas have a very spartan and cheap feeling interiors compared to almost any European manufacturer.

Sitting on a Mercedes CLA is much more comfortable than any Tesla around US$ 45k. It becomes even more disparaging when you go higher on price, a Tesla Model S at US$ 73k interior looks dreadful compared to any Volvo/Audi/Mercedes/BMW at the same price.

It's not even a nice looking minimalism, it's just spartan and cheap looking/feeling.

[nunez]

Super ultra hard disagree.

Base/rental trim -A and -B Benz interiors are terrible (in the US). Hard seats, plastic everywhere, shit tier center LCDs; list goes on. Civics are better.

I agree that the Model S interior falls short of most cars in its price range, though.

[piva00]

I'm comparing from living in Europe, have no idea how these cars are in the USA.

I ride in Teslas cabs quite often here in Stockholm and they are comfortable but not at all what I'd expect from a high-end interior, the Mercedes, Lexus, Volvo, and similar cabs here look much better inside than any of the Teslas I got so far (Model S/Model Y).

[nunez]

Ah; fair play then.

The A and B trims in the US are the lowest tiers that Mercedes-Benz offers and are spartan, but tacky.

Tesla’s high-end cars don’t have high-end cabins; we agree there.

In the recent past, a Model S with FSD was $143k for the Plaid trim. This was comparable in price to a Benz S550 or a BMW 750i, both of which have incredible, incredible interiors. Super plush, real leather seats; rare wood grain everywhere; customization to no end; coffin-quiet cabins; plush air suspension; etc.

That’s before taking the dealer experience into account. I don’t have experience with Benz dealers, but my understanding of them is that they are actually worth spending time in, and they take care of you when things go wrong (loaners of equivalent trim or just below; great coffee; clean centers; etc.)

Meanwhile, both Teslas offer cabins that I’d say are beneath what you’d get from a maxed-out Honda Accord. I have two Model 3s (old and new designs) and have rented the S a few times now, and I love Teslas, for what that’s worth.

Mobile service kicks ass, but if you need to bring the thing in for service, you’re probably looking at Uber credits. Shameful for the price.

Technology was the only thing the Tesla had the upper hand in.