I test drove a Tesla Model Y about 3 years ago (my first EV experience), and it's what hooked me. I'm looking forward to road-tripping with it, if only for the Tesla road trip experience. I'm curious about efficiency and ride comfort (I expect one to be better, and one to be worse, but we'll see).
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Renting a Tesla Model Y for Upcoming Roadtrip
Next weekend, I'm taking my kids on a road trip from SE Michigan to the northern tip of Wisconsin to see family. It's nearly 700 miles in each direction, and generally easier and prettier if I drive through the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. Although I did this in my i4 last summer, I had a terrible time, as the lone DCFC option I had (in Escanaba) is wholly unreliable and didn't work. Even if I can get to northern Wisconsin, the single DCFC option (upper left in the Plugshare figure below) is, you guessed it, non-functional. I'd be limping between Level 2 options, which are also pretty scattered in this part of the country.
As you can see in the Plugshare figure, virtually all of the DCFC options in the UP show up as either non-functional or 'coming soon'. Sadly, the 'coming soon' locations have had that status for nearly a year and a half.
So, I'm using this as an opportunity to rent a Tesla Model Y from Hertz. Tesla has multiple Supercharger locations in the UP and northern Wisconsin, and I'll be able to travel without any worry of being stranded. Besides, for the cost of the rental (only about $350 for the week), I'm getting a very inexpensive trip AND I get to put over 1,000 miles on a Tesla and report back on my impressions as a BMW owner.
I'm actually looking forward to having a reliable charging network for this trip. Here's hoping that Tesla continues to expand their Magic Dock installations, because this part of the country desperately needs more charging infrastructure, and in the two years I've owned an EV, the CCS network has made absolutely zero progress.
![World Ecoregion Map Atlas Line]()
As you can see in the Plugshare figure, virtually all of the DCFC options in the UP show up as either non-functional or 'coming soon'. Sadly, the 'coming soon' locations have had that status for nearly a year and a half.
So, I'm using this as an opportunity to rent a Tesla Model Y from Hertz. Tesla has multiple Supercharger locations in the UP and northern Wisconsin, and I'll be able to travel without any worry of being stranded. Besides, for the cost of the rental (only about $350 for the week), I'm getting a very inexpensive trip AND I get to put over 1,000 miles on a Tesla and report back on my impressions as a BMW owner.
I'm actually looking forward to having a reliable charging network for this trip. Here's hoping that Tesla continues to expand their Magic Dock installations, because this part of the country desperately needs more charging infrastructure, and in the two years I've owned an EV, the CCS network has made absolutely zero progress.
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I considered driving my wife's car (Ford Explorer), which honestly would be a bit easier, although I wanted to experience the Tesla Superchargers, autopilot, and software on a road trip (just once).
Hopefully the EV novelty won't wear off before the DCFC infrastructure is in better shape
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