More rental car reviews

[stuartinmn]

I had a Cruze rental a while back and was favorably impressed. It was comfortable, got great mileage, had a satellite radio, and I even think it's a pretty attractive car.

[ldsbeaker]

I drove a Camaro SS (or should I say $$)for a few days as a rental.
Sweet car. It doesn't fit me so bad considering how large I am. Seeing out of it is a challenge, but you're in front of everything anyway, who needs a rear view? It goes fast snd makes the appropriate noises. Thirsty. The HUD is kinda neat, really no excuse for the cop when he asks you how fast you were going...

[wkohler]

My dad has had his share of rentals. Usually, Dodge Caravans, which are good for what we do, but sometimes he doesn't need a van. His last three have been cars. A Toyota Avalon and two Hyundai Sonata Hybrids.

The Avalon was fine but he says it really likes to wander on the road and they never figured out how to control some of the HVAC. My mom had to take it back to Enterprise to have them change the band and station on the radio from the Hip Hop station. The seats were okay, but he also uses a back support, which he never needed in the '81 Volvo that used to make all the trips.

He really likes the Hyundai though. It's ugly, but everything is now. The Chryslers are probably the best-looking of the current crop of rentals, but are quite poorly put together. He said the Sonata was rock solid on the road, quiet and felt like it was pretty substantial. All of the switchgear and interior materials seemed nicer than the pricepoint. His one major complaint is something that probably is an issue with just about all hybrids. When the electric motor is running, the AC doesn't work. He was stuck in a traffic jam outside of Denver on his last trip and it was pretty warm in the car. Other than that, he liked it.

[Adam W in MN]

Fun thread, I'll add mine.

Last Fall I had the displeasure to rent a Nissan Altima with their constantly variable transmission. The car itself was large, reasonably comfortable, and had some nice features. The CVT was torture to drive. The thing would always always go to the highest "gear" (or whatever it is in that contraption transmission) turning 1200 or so. When you went to pass someone, it wasn't just gutless, there was nothing there. Then it would "kick down" (again I'm using doublequotes, whatever the hell a CVT does when it raises the RPM) and it would lunge forward and make a bunch of engine racket. I despised driving that car.

Tammer, I also rented a Nissan Versa and was surprised how non compliant the suspension was. Felt like a track car, but without the good qualities of a track car like a lot of power, sticky tires, and any fun to drive qualities. Funny thing was I rented it because it was a hatchback to haul the snow tires with me when I went and picked up my 2008 550i. Thank god the return trip was in a good car (550i) and the Versa piece of crap was one way.

I hate to admit it, but for family vacations and driving in FL, the Dodge Caravan/Chrysler whatever it is minivans are not that bad. Decent power, tons of holes to put crap, nice amenities like the power side doors and hatch. I don't like cars with shifters growing out of the dashboard however, and the minivan twins have that strange design.

[Drew in NYC]

In light of peer-to-peer car sharing, I don't think I will ever rent from a rental agency anymore. I didn't see it mentioned, so I'll just leave this here:

https://relayrides.com/

[Tammer in Philly]

Thank god the return trip was in a good car (550i) and the Versa piece of crap was one way.

That must have been a very stark contrast. :)

[mtnman533]

Great read...

I'll add my first rental car experience from just a week ago. My parents came to visit the last two weeks I was in the UK and got a rental 2013 Volvo V60 wagon, diesel, and 6spd. It was shockingly uncomfortable in the back, and unless you had the seat in a sweet spot, the front was also seriously disappointing. After comfort tire/road noise was horrendous, hitting a smooth piece of brand new tarmac was a godsend. Bad wind noise too, the mirrors being the main cause.

It went ok, had pretty good power for a diesel, but it controlled EVERYTHING. It had fly by wire steering, acceleration, brakes, and clutch, so anything you did, if you didn't do it the way it thought you should, it did it for you. Every time I left a stop in 1st, I'd place the throttle at 1k to start moving, which was plenty to need, ease the clutch, and then lurch forward as it'd jump to 3k. The car kept thinking it'd stall, the clutch would then slip, and burn, stinking out the cab. Completely useless annoying technology design for incompetent heathens. I hated driving that car.

Overall I would not recommend the V60, small interior, disappointing and largely uncomfortable seats, reasonable power but only when the car decided to let you use it, and nany-state annoying tech that stopped it being controllable.

[Mike W.]

In light of peer-to-peer car sharing, I don't think I will ever rent from a rental agency anymore. I didn't see it mentioned, so I'll just leave this here:

https://relayrides.com/

There were a couple of interesting things there, but I'm not doing 4500 miles in 16 days in a 10 year old car that isn't mine. Including 110F in the desert. Really, I wouldn't trust many of those shown for me.

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

We rented an F30 328i for 7 days, and completed over 2000miles in the sucker before returning it. Drove up the No.1 Interstate from LA to SF, across through Yosemite, down to Vegas, through the Grand Canyon, Phoenix and Tucson. Countless miles at 90mph on cruise control, did a bit of rally driving in Nth Arizona, smoked up a storm at Laguna Seca, collected a tumbleweed at 110mph and got it completely airborne over some train tracks in Tucson. Didn't miss a beat.

Only criticisms were the dead spot in the steering at center (took a bit of an effort to initially turn the wheels past centre, especially after a long stretch of twisties. Power steering cooler perhaps?), and the front door grab handle trims had an edge on them that would catch on your hand if you weren't careful. Other than that, it was an excellent car, especially given the treatment we put it through.

[Adam W in MN]

got it completely airborne over some train tracks in Tucson.

I needed a reminder not to buy any perceived good deals from fleet sales!

[m-racer]

I rent enough cars (mostly small suv's) that I don't remember them. Most are fairly benign. I do remember the one I rented a couple of weeks ago. During love bug season in FL, I do not drive my own personal cars. I rented the large Nissan SUV for my wife and I asked for a full size car. My choice was the silver Impala or the black Impala. I spent two weeks with that car and I must say if that is the hope for GM, they are in deep shit. Awful steering, never could find a comfortable seating position, and the doors and boot sound like recyceled tin cans when you close them. Just terrible. Of course it had so many love bugs imbedded into the paint by the time I turned it in, that it was impossible to tell what color it was to begin with.

[Tammer in Philly]

got it completely airborne over some train tracks in Tucson.

I needed a reminder not to buy any perceived good deals from fleet sales! :heehee:

Don't marry a hooker.

[Adam W in MN]

Don't marry a hooker.

You should get added to the mye28 quoteables with that! Very sound advice.

[davintosh]

I ended up renting a Hyundai Santa Fe today after the X5 broke down. Not a terrible car, but not wonderful either. Feels pretty solid going down the road, but the engine is pretty anemic, especially with the slushbox (sounds like herd of angry squirrels under the hood under heavy acceleration.) The ride isn't overly stiff, and it seems to corner pretty decently without much body roll.

It's nicely equipped; Bluetooth, & CD player in the dash along with the radio, and a basic OBC in the center of the dash cluster to give odo/trip meter info along with fuel usage/range info. I had to laugh because one page of info in the cluster allows you to adjust a bunch of settings, but it scolded me when I tried messing with things while I was driving. The controls on the wheel aren't terribly intuitive; I suppose I'd get used to them after more time behind the wheel, but I don't really want to either. The HVAC is pretty adequate, when it's working; about 45 minutes into our first two hours in it, the AC quit blowing cold. Shutting it off for ~10 minutes got it working again. Not sure what that's all about, but I expect we'll be revisiting that issue.

One thing I just don't get about Enterprise rentals is why they give you two keys, but have them bound together with a clamped steel cable. What's up with that? If a customer were to lose or misplace them, there's no backup; you're stuck.

[Mike W.]

One thing I just don't get about Enterprise rentals is why they give you two keys, but have them bound together with a clamped steel cable. What's up with that? If a customer were to lose or misplace them, there's no backup; you're stuck.

Budget does that too. If I'm at home a wirecutter is handy, if I'm on the road a toenail clipper gets pressed into duty. That leaves one for me and one for my wife as a spare plus I can walk without a baseball sized bulge in my pocket. I know, Mae West would be disappointed.

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

Don't even get me started on the Kia POS we're driving now. My god. At least it gets twice the mileage of the F30, and admittedly has much better boot space. The center console makes a great minibar, too.

[davintosh]

Budget does that too. If I'm at home a wirecutter is handy, if I'm on the road a toenail clipper gets pressed into duty. That leaves one for me and one for my wife as a spare plus I can walk without a baseball sized bulge in my pocket. I know, Mae West would be disappointed.

I thought about that; I have cutters in my tool bag. Did they ding you for cutting it?

[Mike W.]

Budget does that too. If I'm at home a wirecutter is handy, if I'm on the road a toenail clipper gets pressed into duty. That leaves one for me and one for my wife as a spare plus I can walk without a baseball sized bulge in my pocket. I know, Mae West would be disappointed.

I thought about that; I have cutters in my tool bag. Did they ding you for cutting it?

Nope, I put it on a single split ring when I checked in but they didn't say a word. Not sure if they noticed, but not a word.

[stuartinmn]

One thing I just don't get about Enterprise rentals is why they give you two keys, but have them bound together with a clamped steel cable. What's up with that? If a customer were to lose or misplace them, there's no backup; you're stuck.

I asked the guy at the Enterprise store about that once, he told me they did it so they wouldn't lose the extra key. Seems to me it's a good way to lose all them.

[wkohler]

I bet they make more money that way. Key replacement cost is $250 PER key.

[PhillyM5]

I rented a M5 last month and drove the Pacific coast highway. I really enjoyed the power and responsiveness of the car. I took the time to program the "M" modes and made the M1 a more relax setting and the M2 a more race ready mode. I loved the convenience of being able to switch between the two at the press of a button. The seats in the car were very comfortable for the long drive. I did hit a few spots on the highway where i was able to open her up a little and I was impressed at how effortless it was to hit high speeds.

Here are a few pics:

[Mike W.]

I rented a M5 last month and drove the Pacific coast highway. I really enjoyed the power and responsiveness of the car. I took the time to program the "M" modes and made the M1 a more relax setting and the M2 a more race ready mode. I loved the convenience of being able to switch between the two at the press of a button. The seats in the car were very comfortable for the long drive. I did hit a few spots on the highway where i was able to open her up a little and I was impressed at how effortless it was to hit high speeds.

An M5 for a rental car. We clearly are not in the same income tax bracket.

[PhillyM5]

An M5 for a rental car. We clearly are not in the same income tax bracket.

I know that I am in that special one percent tax bracket.

I am just a man who loves to drive. Once a year, usually in April around my birthday I do some type of driving. I have done Skip Barber, BMW Performance driving, Richard Petty driving experience, exotic racing Las Vegas just to name a few. The BMW Performance driving can cost a few thousand dollars so to rent a 2014 M5 for about 300 a day is not bad all thing considered. Oh...it helps to know the manger at hertz who loves driving and is a Porsche nut. I am considering renting the Cadillac CTS-V or the Nissan GT-R this summer. Here is a link of the vehicles available at hertz for renting

http://hertzdreamcars.com/vehicles

[davintosh]

A couple of things to add to the review of the Hyundai Santa Fe rental... I officially hate the high waistline. Driving with the windows down makes me want to put my elbow out, and it's too high for that to be comfortable.

Since we picked it up, it's had an "ECO" light lit on the dash cluster, which presumably means "Economy". I figured getting it out of ECO might make it a little more drivable, but nope. I finally figured out how to switch it off, and the transmission's shift points are still goofy as all get-out.

[tig]

I was in Dallas last week and Avis gave me a 4Runner. Last time I drove a 4Runner was in 1987 or something.

This is not the 4Runner I remember. Big, clunky, and uncomfortable. Transmission hated 70mph. Constantly wanting to downshift on even the slightest grade (this was in Dallas!). The Bluetooth bonding was horrific; can only be done using voice and it never actually worked right. However, the worst thing was the turning radius. I'd never take one off these things off-road for fear of getting stuck due to the mammoth turning radius. Oh, Toyota, how you've fallen.