Renting an electric car in Italy had a learning curve. I would do it again.

• Last spring, my friends and I accidentally rented an electric car on a trip to Italy.
• Renting has had a learning curve. We loaded up at slow stations and spent hours in unplanned towns.
• These unplanned moments became a highlight of our trip and we fell in love with electric vehicle rentals.

The car was silent as panic set in among my group of friends.

I had just spent four unplanned hours charging my electric rental car in Lake Como, Italy. By the time we got back to the charging station, the car battery still wasn’t full.

Based on quick math, it would take us 12 hours to travel from Lake Como to Florence, Italy, with stops for charging. I had a budget of five hours for the trip.

Looking forward to the rest of our trip, it seemed impossible to have enough time to enjoy our destinations, catch our scheduled flights and charge our electric vehicle.

A friend started calling our rental car company, hoping we could trade in the automatic electric vehicle for a gas car.

I jumped on Google to figure out how people manage their lives with electric cars when they take so long to charge.

Then we realized our mistake – we used a charger with a low voltage. A high voltage charger would only take 30 minutes for our car battery to reach 80%.

Our panic turned to laughter. And while we were relieved that we wouldn’t be spending our entire vacation waiting for the electric vehicle to charge, we still weren’t sure if we’d regret renting an electric vehicle.

But even after the hassle, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We plan our days around charging

Last spring, I arrived at Milan Linate airport and headed with a friend to the car rental kiosk.

A worker went through all the details of our rental. He checked our details, confirmed that our car was automatic, and finally handed us a plastic credit card.

This, she explained, would be the card we would use to charge the car.

After seeing our confused faces, he clarified that we were taking an electric car. It was not our choice. Instead, it was our only option as we needed an automatic vehicle.

We figured it wouldn’t be a big deal, so we grabbed the keys to our Mokka SUV. After meeting up with the other two friends, we set off for Lake Como.

We had enough charge to take us to and around Lake Como for three days. On the fourth day, we desperately needed to recharge.

Then I made the voltage mistake, which was the first of many mistakes. Several times during the trip, we forgot to keep an eye on the battery, leading to a stressful search for the nearest charger.

We also learned that we can’t trust the car’s estimated mileage. Depending on the road, the EV battery would drain at different rates. Autobahns, for example, used up our charge much faster than driving in a small Italian town.

So even when we planned charging stops, the plans had to be changed based on our car’s needs.

TThese unplanned stops were the highlight of our two week trip

We stopped in Piacenza, an Italian city we had never heard of. Located between Lake Como and Florence, it is located at the northernmost point of Italy’s Emilia region.

Our car battery was almost dead so we thought we might as well take advantage of the forced stop and explore the city.

We sipped Aperol aperitifs, ate gelato and admired the city’s churches and architecture.

While exploring, we learned about the history of Piacenza. France conquered the city several times in the Middle Ages, so a French influence can still be seen throughout the Italian city.

If we had a petrol car we would never have stopped in Piacenza. Instead, we would have passed through the small town and spent more time in touristy Florence.

A few days later we stopped in Sasso Marconi where our group explored a local market and met friendly, older Italian men in a local cafe.

These afternoon spots in smaller towns gave us a glimpse into a version of Italy we hadn’t seen before. Since most of our time in the country had been focused on tourist destinations, the electric car forced us to explore under-the-radar Italian spots.

It also saved us money. Charging our electric vehicle was included in the rental price, so we didn’t have to budget for gas the entire trip.

It was also nice to know that my journey had a slightly smaller carbon footprint, as electric vehicles typically emit lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

Between these three advantages, I would easily rent an electric vehicle again.