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The Rental Car Thread

182K views 1K replies 283 participants last post by  Biff Beltsander 
#1 ·
If you travel a lot for work and/or rent a lot of cars post up what you're renting, where you are and overall impressions.

Just got back from Whitehorse, Yukon where I had a Focus hatch for a couple days. Great car, very nimble.





 
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#4 ·
Yes.


2 most recent rentals were a 2012 (last-gen) Ford Fusion 4-cyl that I really enjoyed driving and 2012 Passat. The Fusion was a dog as far acceleration was concerned but the handling and lightness of the car were great. The Passat was cavernous but the transmission programming annoyed me and the steering was unnecessarily heavy around the parking lot. Probably my favorite rental car yet, felt much more expensive then the Camry I was driving before.
 
#8 ·
I rent weekly driving anywhere from 600 - 1000 miles a week. My last rental was a '13 Altima. It was ok. Not too memorable but it was a decent highway cruiser. It was quiet and comfortable enough.

What surprised me was how quick the steering was. It changes direction very easily. Not so great on the highway but in town I liked it. Their CVTs are getting better. This one didn't sound too much like a lawn mower. The blue tooth was crap. It streamed from my iPhone just fine but for calls, the volume was much too low.

The computer says I got 34 MPG with 90% hwy driving @ a pretty constant 75 mph.

Last week I had a '13 sentra. Piece of crap IMO. It's loud, very loud. The engine is loud. The CVT in it was crap which surprises me because of how good the one in the Altima is. Perhaps mated to this engine it's not that great. My pet peeve in cars is the arm rest. It is an absolute requirement for long boring drives. The arm rest in this car was too far back which rendered it useless. Maybe I need to be taller to drive it so that my seat an go back further. I hated this car.

And what's with all the new cars and the long bottom seat cushions? In the Altima it felt like my legs were dangling from the seat. I sentra cusions were ok.

The week before that I had a Fusion. Really nice car, nice gadgets. Quiet, comfortable and everything seemed to work great. Gas mileage was only 30 for 90% hwy. In KC, I got 23 mpg on a tank.

The week before that I had a rogue. It's meh. It's not a bad car, just unremarkable.

The week before that, I had a Sonata. It's louder than the fusion. The gadgets work great. Comfortable highway cruiser. Is easy to drive in town and park.

And sometime earlier this year or late last year I had a '13 Camry. Really nice ride. Comfy appliance. Nothing bad to say and nothing good to say either. It's just a good car.

I also drove a Flex about 1000 miles recently. That was very nice. I loved all the gadgets and it's HUGE!

I also had a V6 300 and that was very nice. I really liked it.

So to summarize. I dislike or hate everything that I've driven from Nissan so far. I like the Fusion, but not enough to buy one. The sonata is nice, but I think I'd have to drive an Accord first.

I suck at writing reviews.
 
#35 ·
Last week I had a '13 sentra. Piece of crap IMO. It's loud, very loud. The engine is loud. The CVT in it was crap which surprises me because of how good the one in the Altima is. Perhaps mated to this engine it's not that great. My pet peeve in cars is the arm rest. It is an absolute requirement for long boring drives. The arm rest in this car was too far back which rendered it useless. Maybe I need to be taller to drive it so that my seat an go back further. I hated this car.
Wow, saved me a fair amount of typing. I hate getting Nissans these days. Between the Versa and the Sentra, both total crap boxes in this class. Steering, CVT, braking, interior quality, etc....just awful.

Though I haven't driven the new '13 model Sentra. Last week was yet another '12 model Sentra and I hate those things more than the previous generation Corolla's, which used to be 1a and 1b (with the Versa) on my hated rental cars list.

As company policy has us in compacts these days *sigh* I prefer getting the Cruze and Focus* over the other stuff I'm getting as of late.

*note on the focus - so long as it has a normally behaving auto transmission. I occasionally get a rental one with an absolute dog of a transmission.
 
#11 ·
Currently rolling in a somewhat new Chrysler 200 Convertible. Total POS. It has the new 6 speed AT but still has no idea what gear it should be in. My 4AT slush Matrix XR AWD had better manners than this thing.

Hit the gas, wait a full two seconds, it downshifts and makes a lot of noise while not going anywhere fast. If you put it in "shift yourself" mode and try to get power to get onto the highway, the minute you pop it to 4th it slugs and you lose your momentum. The brakes are weak and fade at the simplest of 70/80-30 mph exit ramp decelerations.

So so gas mileage, horrible headlights, a climate system that cannot keep a temperature to save it's life, and a trunk that takes a body builder to open. Chalk that up with the fact that it handles like a 1990's Cadillac with a water suspension and there is nothing about this car that makes it better than my GLI. I should have taken the Taurus or 300 instead.

 
#18 ·
Currently rolling in a somewhat new Chrysler 200 Convertible. Total POS. It has the new 6 speed AT but still has no idea what gear it should be in. My 4AT slush Matrix XR AWD had better manners than this thing.

Hit the gas, wait a full two seconds, it downshifts and makes a lot of noise while not going anywhere fast. If you put it in "shift yourself" mode and try to get power to get onto the highway, the minute you pop it to 4th it slugs and you lose your momentum. The brakes are weak and fade at the simplest of 70/80-30 mph exit ramp decelerations.

So so gas mileage, horrible headlights, a climate system that cannot keep a temperature to save it's life, and a trunk that takes a body builder to open. Chalk that up with the fact that it handles like a 1990's Cadillac with a water suspension and there is nothing about this car that makes it better than my GLI. I should have taken the Taurus or 300 instead.

I had one of those in Miami a couple weeks ago.

While it admittedly paled in comparison to my friends' Maserati Granturismo that I drove on the same trip, it was a decent enough car in "shift it yourself" mode.

The trunk *was* maddening though. Otherwise it was fine for lazy cruising on pretty coastal roads in nice weather, which is what people are buying a Chrysler 200 for.
 
#12 · (Edited)
My last three rentals.

This Avis car had 20km on it when we picked it up at YVR.

Did about 150km of Sea To Sky Highway in it. It was a pretty terrible car to drive. No steering feel, no power.

This Hertz rental had over 90,000km on it when we picked it up at BGY.

Did 350km of highway in it at 130kph. It was another bad car.

And this Hertz car that we picked up at RMI had about 50,000km on it.

Did the 350km back in it. And it was even worse than the Punto. Nearly emptied the tank over the trip and the seat made my ass hurt.

Still, the two cars above together cost us about 66€.
 
#13 ·


Renault Clio on a trip to Romania. Never driven a slower car. 1.2 with 55-65 horsepower. A slight incline on the highway would cause the car to slow down 10kmph quickly. The AC sucked but it had a good stereo for such a cheap car. The car bounced and rolled. Deff did not enjoy anything about its handling. Shame since there were some awesome roads where I went.
 
#14 ·
(Most recent to least recent, both a few years ago)

2004 Ford Explorer Limited

Monotone white. Driven from Richmond, VA to Augusta, GA. Pretty comfortable inside and while driving offroad. Also decent at sliding on ice. Was powerful enough for what it is. I thought the exterior and interior were boring. Looked like this one:



2004 Chevrolet Cavalier sedan

Once again white, automatic. Did not feel boring at all, but a Z24 would have made a difference in performance. The rear was boring, but I liked the bowtie rear lock. The performance was pretty decent. All the controls were easy to learn within a short time of operating the car. I have no idea why it had a FL license plate on it. Driven from Bear, DE to Augusta, GA. An unscanned photo of it I happened to already have on photobucket:

 
#15 ·
Recently rented a VERY stripped down Versa. Roll up windows, auto trans, no cruise control, and AC.
Worst driving experience of my life. And I just had it for 100 miles.
 
#16 ·


Rented one of these in Puerto Rico last October, 2012 with around 20k on the odo. It had clearly been abused in the time before I got my hands on it. The automatic transmission would grind in every gear except 2nd and the suspension was completely destroyed. The speed bumps in San Juan are legendary for their height and breadth and this car felt like it was launched off every damn one of them. Good AC though.



Rented one of these last September after some inconsiderate **** hit my car while parking. It felt like an under-powered boat compared to my car. The interior was a depressing place to sit, let alone drive. Massive trunk. You could stick at least 3 dead hookers in there. More if you're willing to butcher them first.
 
#17 ·


Got this as a rental last month while I was out in Boston for work.....

- 2013 model with 45k on the clock :eek:
- Base
- Hertz Garmin :what:

I owned a 2012 model but not the poverty edition and I have to say even as that ... it's a great car. It got 30MPG easy while I was driving on the MA Turnpike ... 1 tank of gas for the whole week, it was a nice little car. This is a great appliance to scoot from point A to point B.

I would own one again and if the new Mazda 6 wagon comes diesel stateside .. I'll own it again I think.
 
#19 ·
Have rented a couple 2012 Focus sedans. Quite like the Focus. Nice car. Rented a beat Fiesta and did not much care for it. Not sure if I hate it or the Yaris more (which I also rented last year and ex used to have one as well) Fiesta interior is super cheap. Gas mileage was good though. Hate the radio on both cars though -- too much electro/button wizzardry going on.
 
#20 ·
I had a 2013 Kia Sorento for two weeks while in Texas. It had about 3,500 miles on it when I picked it up. I ended up putting just over 1,000 miles on it and was very happy! :thumbup:



With 4 people & 6 bags, I averaged about 28 MPG's w/ cruise control always set at 80mph. (95% highway driving).

*Super comfy seats with great support for long rides
*Excellent acceleration with plenty of pep when you punch the gas pedal (w/ 4 adults in it, you could easily "peel" out from a stop. Even if I was driving at like 25mph's and punched the gas pedal, the wheels would still "chirp." HaHa) :laugh:
*Ice cold a/c
*Tons of head room
*HORRIBLE i-Pod integration though. You could only change songs directly through the i-Pod. :thumbdown:
 
#21 ·
My last trip where a rental was needed was in 2011. I went to the Virgin Islands with my parents. Our rental was a 2008 or 2009 Fusion with a four-cylinder. Engine buzzed like hell. It had plenty of room and was comfortable. But holy crap, that car was beat to hell. I'm sure we're all used to rental cars being total beasts of burden, as people have a tendency to think that anything that doesn't belong to them should be treated like a used Kleenex. 95% of the cars in the Virgin Islands have damage. The roads are narrow and windy. Shoulders are rare. People there drive like they're in a movie car chase. Combine those two and you get a two-year old Fusion in the condition of a twelve-year old Fusion after completing the Dakar Rally.
 
#24 ·
2012 Malibu- Trip to Detroit with 3 friends for the NAIAS. Like most rentals, it had been abused. Various stains, dents, curbed wheels etc. However I feel the car did very well and was overall comfortable for all four of us. Trunk was massive.




 
#25 ·
Worst: Dodge Caliber. It literally made me sick when I had to drive it.

Best (surprisingly): First gen Nissan Versa sedan. Excellent steering feel and lots of room. It makes me want to drive a Renault Clio quite a bit though...

Meh: 2010 Ford Fusion. It got me to and from, with absolutely no frills at all.
 
#27 ·
truck was in the body shop so i got a chevy cobalt 4dr what a uncomfortable toilet but on the good side ebrake worked great and really got the car sideways i then upgraded to a 2012 ram 1500 comfortable truck with decent power and would do one hell of a brake stand. i like to beat the piss out of rental cars
 
#28 ·
I end up traveling a few times a quarter, and a lot of the time I don't have enough time to drive, so I have to fly and rent. I always try to rent something that either interests me, or failing that, at least something I haven't driven before. I give the Hertz agents fits because they just aren't used to the type of renter who cares about what car he is getting instead of the size class. They just look at you weird when you choose a Spark over their beloved, ubiquitous Altima. :D

The latest for me was a few weeks ago -- a 2012 Elantra out of SNA. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. The Elantra had a decent interior, nice stereo w/Sirius, and the auto actually downshifted for me when I slowed in bends. That was neat. Fuel economy was great @ 34 mpg average over 2 tanks, and it even had a decent place for my scanner. :thumbup:

Other notable rentals of the last few years:
- 2006 Caliber: Horrible dynamics, horrible transmission, horrible fuel economy. The complete package.

- 2007 MX-5: Even as an automatic, it made me decide to buy one.

- 2007 350Z Vert: Disappointing, even taking into account the rental and auto status. I thought it would be more fun to drive, but it was kind of a pig.

- 2008 M45: Neat HIDs, everything else was meh at best.

- 2008 Legacy GT sedan: I really liked that car -- rare to get that model as a rental, too, usually they were all Outback wagons.

- 2009 Corolla: Not as bad as you'd think.

- 2009 Mazda 6: I wasn't too impressed, but I wasn't disappointed either.

- 2010 Prius: Also not as bad as you'd think. Great rental. Averaged 53 mpg in 3 tanks over 6 days. Held a lot of equipment. Back-up sound made me homicidal, but you get over it.

- 2010 Silverado 1500: What do you want? It's a truck. It does truck stuff. If you're near Corona, CA and you find an air dam, Hertz @ BUR would probably like it back.

- 2011 Altima: There is nothing you could possibly like about this car.

- 2012 Wrangler: Horrible in town and on the highway, but once you get out into the forest, what a fun rig! I will probably buy one at some point in the future as a result.

- 2012 Sonata: Surprisingly comfortable and well-appointed. Great fuel economy

- 2012 Altima: Man, Hertz must have gotten a great volume deal on these. They could, however, be the worst car ever made. This one was obviously wrecked and misaligned on top of it. I had it for 6 hours -- after my meeting was over, I drove to SNA and traded it for an Elantra.
 
#31 ·
- 2007 350Z Vert: Disappointing, even taking into account the rental and auto status. I thought it would be more fun to drive, but it was kind of a pig.
I drove a 350Z once, and it was nice but I was thinking how it felt like more of a pig than my 280Z. It's too bad Nissan can't make a Z car as light as the 240Z anymore. :(
 
#29 ·
Went with customer to Alabama vs. Texas A&M game in Tuscaloosa. Rented from Budget in Atlanta and got a manual Camaro SS. Not a car I would buy but the best rental I have ever had. Hard not to make every acceleration a quick one. Can definiely see the reason people buy them.

When they offered it to me I was expecting an automatic and the V-6.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Lots of boring stuff, but I really enjoyed the Prius (averaged upper 40s in Atlanta). But my all-time favorite was the 2010 Grand Marquis Ultimate Edition. Brand new, but such a throwback. Not very fast, but sounded like it and would do 50 MPH in 1st and over 90 (never found out the top end) in 2nd gear.

Hilarious related Edmunds review:
http://www.edmunds.com/mercury/grand-marquis/2010/road-test.html

I didn't drift mine, but it did plenty of one-leggers while I had it.


 
#32 ·
Recently rented a 2013 Taurus Limited. First of all, the car is huge. Seats were definitely made to accommodate large people, but the heated/cooled feature was a nice touch. Touchscreen radio and climate controls were irritating at first, but I got used to them rather quickly. Backup camera was a very helpful feature.

The car was comfortable, had plenty of power, a pleasantly quick steering ratio, and handled fairly well. All in, a good car, one that would make me want to get in the showroom to take a look at an SHO.
 
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