I Went From an EV to an ICE Vehicle and Immediately Forgot How To Drive

Aside from how it’s fuelled, driving an EV really shouldn’t be any different than driving a conventional car…or so I thought. With a loaner ICE vehicle while my Tesla Model Y is in the shop I found that the difference is real and, in my case, comical. Here’s why.

Going From an EV to an ICE Vehicle Broke My Brain

Picking up the rental vehicle was painless. Driving away was painful.

The car rental rep met me at the collision repair shop with a Volkswagen Tiguan. We walked around the vehicle, initialled some documents, and he handed me the keys and walked away. I sat in the car, turned the key (remember those) and nothing. I tried it again. No go.

I then put the vehicle in park and it starts rolling forward. I step on the brake. Puzzled, I release the brake and it rolls again, now uncomfortably close to the vehicle in front of me.

Panicked, I wave at the car rental rep who was getting in his vehicle. I honk to try and get his attention. Still nothing.

Finally, one of the shop workers came outside. I waved to him and pointed to the car rental rep who was now pulling away. The shop worker was able to get the rental rep’s attention who then parked and walked over. With what I can only imagine is a puzzled look behind his mask, I rolled down the window and exclaimed that I was stuck.

“What do you mean stuck sir? You are parked.”

Car Rental Rep thinking I am mental

“The car won’t start and when I put it in park I roll forward!”

“Ah,” he says with what I can only imagine is a smirk on his face. “This is an ICE vehicle. You need to hold the brake when you turn the key.”

I reply saying that I was holding the brake and turn the key to prove him wrong. The engine fires and the embarment sinks in.

“Yes, it is an ICE vehicle sir” he says again in a polite yet condescending tone. I thank him and slink away.

Apparently, It’s Not Like Riding A Bike

It’s weird this happened to me given that you need to press the brake in an EV to shift gears so you think forgetting how to start a car with a key wouldn’t be a thing, but there you go. I have done a lot of embarrassing things in my life. This was one of them. ?

Curious, any other EV owners out there have an embarrassing story like this? Let me know in the comments below!

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