Fun electric cars for your next holiday rental
Holidays are special times, a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind and the time to bank some lasting memories with loved ones. But there’s one element of holiday life that’s much less exciting – rental cars.
Most drivers are familiar with the often-painful procedure of picking up a car at the airport. After trekking through arrivals, laden with luggage, there’s the lengthy wait before wading through piles of paperwork and payment pitfalls, only for the rental company to toss you the keys to a bland, entry-level runabout with just enough power to propel itself along. It’s a part of the holiday agreement, even petrolheads would happily swerve but, luckily, change is on the horizon.
One company hoping to up the ante in the holiday rental market is Moke International. While the name might ring a bell for those who lust after the chic appeal of 1960s life on the C?te d’Azur, the company has reimagined the loveable, Mini-based runabout for the modern age, subtly redesigning it and installing an all-electric powertrain. While its dinky 10.5kWh battery is a fraction of the size of the heavy, cumbersome items in most roadgoing EVs, it’s more than enough to transport four passengers from the beach to a long lunch and back.
“People have always wanted to express themselves through the cars they drive; but in an industry that’s fast going electric, what’s on offer is all currently fairly generic,” says Robin Kennedy, chief commercial officer of Moke International. “That’s why we acquired the rights to the Moke brand and brought it back to life in a more sustainable format. If you’re looking for an antidote to the muddled-up world we now inhabit, I think driving a car like the Moke is a chance to be a bit different, and just have a good time.”
Arriving this summer and already available to order, the new, all-electric Moke starts at ￡35,995, with 44bhp from its 10.5kWh battery pack, which can be charged in four hours using a domestic three-pin plug – handy when you’re beach-based and far from a public charge point. With a 54-mile range (WLTP), it’s nippy enough to drive, with 0-30mph taking 4.5 seconds, on the way to its 50mph (limited) top speed. It’s no performance car but it’s more than enough when buzzing between beaches, particularly with the canvas roof removed and no doors accentuating the sense of speed and bringing a new dimension to top-down driving.
Already reporting on strong demand from hotels and resorts, such as the Four Seasons and the legendary Surf Club in Miami among others, Moke is leading the charge when it comes to fun, silent and more sustainable holiday driving. Getting behind the wheel in the grounds and countryside surrounding the quintessentially British Beaverbrook hotel, which sports a brace of bright orange Mokes that guests can take out, the little runabout makes perfect sense on a sunny day in the Surrey Hills. Its near-silent powertrain is well-suited to breezing around a resort while its functional and friendly styling draws a smile from everyone you pass.
“Historically, these kinds of hotel groups would have carried on buying ‘golf buggies’ but they now seem to be looking for something more emotive, that can be used as a low-speed vehicle solution around a resort but also made available to select guests to drive on the highway as part of their holiday experience, if they want to head out for dinner, try out a different surf beach,” says Kennedy.
Spotting one abroad on the Spanish island of Formentera a few weeks later, the dust-covered electric Moke drew a crowd in the car park of a popular local lunch spot, its four occupants suitably dressed in flowing linen and swimming trunks. “This is kind of your third car for your second home,” says Kennedy, who reports that one owner has even gone as far as to design their yacht with enough space to stow a Moke – an indication of the dream demographic. Less airport renter looking for something fun, and more global 0.01 per cent looking for a new toy to add to their collection.
But Moke isn’t alone in the race to rev up the holiday car market. In the USA, Meyers Manx – the small California automaker that practically invented the dune buggy in 1964 – is back on the scene, producing faithfully remastered versions of the original and also the Resorter, a zero-emissions Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) that was revealed last year, priced from $52,870.
Designed for bombing around a resort or exclusive coastal neighbourhoods, the Resorter promises dual electric motors with enough torque to tow trailers, climb steep hills and go off-road. With four seats, a removable roof and a fold-down windshield, just like a classic Meyers Manx buggy, the Resorter bucks the trend for touchscreens, much like the Moke, and keeps things simple with a speedometer and switches.
In Europe, Fiat announced it was bringing back the Topolino name in July 2023 with a cute quadricycle based on the already available Citro?n Ami. With up to 47 miles of range and a top speed of 28mph, the Topolino can be specced as a closed car with doors and a hard-top or as a doorless, soft-top, suitably named the Topolino Dolce Vita. Channelling the charm of cars like the Fiat 500 Jolly, the Topolino has a few mod-con options, such as a rear-mounted luggage bag, a USB fan, a Bluetooth speaker, a thermal water bottle and two seat covers that convert into beach towels. Aside from those optional extras, expect the Topolino to come in around the Ami’s ￡7,695 starting figure.
For those looking to book something a little more authentic, rental company Hertz has teamed up with Garage Italia to create a fleet of electrified Fiat 500 Jolly “Spiaggina” cars that can be rented through Hertz’s Selezione Italia range. Based on the original Fiat 500, the remastered and electrified Jollys feature a new 5-inch touchscreen and automatic transmission, alongside woven natural rope interiors as a homage to the original.
“In Italy, we are proud of our traditions, of our distinctive culture that embodies authentic design, fashion, food and art but, most of all, hospitality – all embedded in Selezione Italia,” said Hertz Italy general manager Massimiliano Archiapatti at the time of the model’s launch. “Selezione Italia is much more than a rental offer, it’s a philosophy; it’s the way we honour the relationship with our guests.”
Similarly, independent, Mallorca-based company Playero is reviving the lesser-known 1960s Seat Playero – a closely related cousin to the Fiat 500 Jolly, albeit based on the 600 and badged as a Seat. Teaming up with UK-based brand The Rochambeau Club, Playero has this year created a one-of-one car called the Plagiste 600, finished in dark green wicker chairs, complete with fold-out paella table, an in-built beach shower and even a dashboard cigarette dispenser. “Anyone can own a Lamborghini or a Mercedes G-Wagen,” says co-creator Joseph Bullmore. “But a beach buggy tells a different story. It’s a thing of authenticity, of function, of rugged simplicity, of an old-fashioned, lost ease. [The Plagiste 600 is] our ode to some platonic ideal of the beach buggy, a heightened version of those classic vehicles of the past, that turns the playfulness up to eleven.”
The one-off car is priced at 60,000 Euros and goes on sale soon.
As global hotel and hospitality businesses continue to battle for the affection of holidaymakers, the trend for novel and more sustainable ways to buzz will only intensify, bringing more models to the fore. “There’s been explosive growth in holiday home ownership and resort communities,” insists Kennedy, with car rental and low-speed vehicles, particularly in coastal locations, becoming increasingly popular.” With the age of fun and more environmentally friendly, all-electric holiday rentals already upon us, keep an eye on the “complimentary upgrade” next time you travel – it might well be something you least expect.
