Rental Car thread

[BimmerM3]

Torque converter? I thought these things use DSG's?

Maybe? It feels more like a clutch than a torque converter, but their website says "8-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic® and Sport mode".

[93JC]

Have a Grand Cherokee for the next couple days on a business trip to the scenic, podunk hamlet of Grande Cache, Alberta. Feeling fortunate I have the Jeep, we ended up having to detour on a forestry road because of an overturned truck on the highway.

Have to give this thing back later today; so far it has been quite nice. Leans a lot in the corners which is an unusual feeling relative to my daily driver, but it has loads of power and the drive is very well composed otherwise. I can see why people like these and they sell well.

Only big downside to the Grand Cherokee was the fuel economy. Only got 22 mpg while 95% of my driving was on the highway at 65ish mph.

[CALL_911]

Have a bright red V8 charger for this week. This thing is fast and loud but handles like a couch

Guess the past two weeks have been the ballad of the modern American motorized  caricatures with this and the Flex

[CALL_911]

This thing is fucking awesome. I love it

[dazzleman]

Have a bright red V8 charger for this week. This thing is fast and loud but handles like a couch

Guess the past two weeks have been the ballad of the modern American motorized  caricatures with this and the Flex

I wonder how they compare in driveability to the old muscle car Chargers from the early 1970s.  I know a woman who owns one - She said she went to the dealer to get an SUV and walked out with the Charger.  They're a pretty distinctive car.  I would love to drive one.

Did you ever drive a Mustang?  I had a Mustang rental a few years ago and it was pretty cool.  Fast and noisy and with a totally different feel than my fast German car.  It's like beauty - there are so many different kinds!

[CaminoRacer]

They handle WAY better than an old Charger, unless the old Charger has been upgraded with newer tires, alignment, and maybe increased spring rate & aftermarket shocks.

The newer Challengers and Chargers are tempting solely because of the exhaust note.

[Laconian]

Chargers are common occurrences on https://www.reddit.com/r/JustBootThings/ .

[BimmerM3]

Torque converter? I thought these things use DSG's?

Maybe? It feels more like a clutch than a torque converter, but their website says "8-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic® and Sport mode".

Looked into this further. The outgoing 2018 Jetta had a 6-speed DSG. The 2019 has an 8-speed auto w/ torque converter. My rental definitely had 8 gears. I don't know how they made a torque converter feel like a poorly programmed computerized clutch from a stand still, but it's not good.

[CALL_911]

I'm in Maine with my dad and have a 2018 Mazda3 as a rental. I really like it, except for its dimwitted gearbox. Also Mazdas infotainment is horrendous. Seriously prob the worst I've used.

[dazzleman]

I'm in Maine with my dad and have a 2018 Mazda3 as a rental. I really like it, except for its dimwitted gearbox. Also Mazdas infotainment is horrendous. Seriously prob the worst I've used.

Did.you drive the Mazda up there from New York?

[FoMoJo]

I'm in Maine with my dad and have a 2018 Mazda3 as a rental. I really like it, except for its dimwitted gearbox. Also Mazdas infotainment is horrendous. Seriously prob the worst I've used.

Manual or auto and whats the problem with it?

[CALL_911]

Did.you drive the Mazda up there from New York?

No sir. We flew into Portland and rented it there.

Manual or auto and whats the problem with it?

Auto. Slow to react, not terribly quick shifts

[dazzleman]

No sir. We flew into Portland and rented it there.

Auto. Slow to react, not terribly quick shifts

What are you seeing up in Maine?  Any good fast driving opportunities where you are?

[CALL_911]

What are you seeing up in Maine?  Any good fast driving opportunities where you are?

Doing several days in Acadia with my dad. He had a couple free days in his schedule, but not enough to go too far so I figured this would make a good trip. Unfortunately the weather here is horrendous this week

Actually the back roads here have been terrific and highlights the good aspects of this Mazda3

[Eye of the Tiger]

Doing several days in Acadia with my dad. He had a couple free days in his schedule, but not enough to go too far so I figured this would make a good trip. Unfortunately the weather here is horrendous this week

Actually the back roads here have been terrific and highlights the good aspects of this Mazda3

I think I-95 is up to an 80 MPH limit north of ... Bangor? But the twisty roads are more fun.

[CALL_911]

I think I-95 is up to an 80 MPH limit north of ... Bangor? But the twisty roads are more fun.

Damn seriously? I didn't know 80 mph limits existed on the east coast. Yeah we took route 1 and similarly small roads to get to Bar Harbor.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Damn seriously? I didn't know 80 mph limits existed on the east coast. Yeah we took route 1 and similarly small roads to get to Bar Harbor.

You know what, it might be 75.

[dazzleman]

Doing several days in Acadia with my dad. He had a couple free days in his schedule, but not enough to go too far so I figured this would make a good trip. Unfortunately the weather here is horrendous this week

Actually the back roads here have been terrific and highlights the good aspects of this Mazda3

Have a great time, man!   

[68_427]

I wonder how they compare in driveability to the old muscle car Chargers from the early 1970s.  I know a woman who owns one - She said she went to the dealer to get an SUV and walked out with the Charger.  They're a pretty distinctive car.  I would love to drive one.

Did you ever drive a Mustang?  I had a Mustang rental a few years ago and it was pretty cool.  Fast and noisy and with a totally different feel than my fast German car.  It's like beauty - there are so many different kinds!

Dave go drive a Charger Scat Pack.  You'll love it and hopefully buy it.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Dave go drive a Charger Scat Pack.  You'll love it and hopefully buy it.

Except that it's called the Scat Pack ...

[Laconian]

For scat packers only!

[FoMoJo]

Dave go drive a Charger Scat Pack.  You'll love it and hopefully buy it.

Why not a Hellcat?

[68_427]

Why not a Hellcat?

You can buy a brand new Scat Pack for under $40k. 

[CALL_911]

Dave go drive a Charger Scat Pack.  You'll love it and hopefully buy it.

I was looking at those last month (after renting a Charger RT) and they're an abs steal

[CALL_911]

Day 3 with the Mazda3. I take back my complaints about the gearbox- it must have been it's programming. It has been much better. Shifts aren't ZF8 fast but they're good enough. Car is seriously fun to drive, has great steering and v controlled body motions. Drives like something a lot more expensive.

Infotainment is total trash, and I find more flaws with it the more I use it  This 2018 I'm driving doesn't have Carplay either. It's bad to the point where I'd think about looking elsewhere. But I'd probably buy this thing anyway. I'd totally buy one of these and imagine the new one is only better.

[12,000 RPM]

I'm honestly surprised you like it so much, I was really disappointed with my ~2016 rental. Transmission was good, body motions were well controlled.... but the steering and overall balance felt exactly the same as the Golf TSI I had, but with what felt like half the HP

My frame of reference at the time was my admittedly modded Civic.... which had phenomenal stock (hydraulic) steering and a much zippier (basically stock) engine. But that thing was loud and ancient and a worse DD

[Laconian]

Day 3 with the Mazda3. I take back my complaints about the gearbox- it must have been it's programming. It has been much better. Shifts aren't ZF8 fast but they're good enough. Car is seriously fun to drive, has great steering and v controlled body motions. Drives like something a lot more expensive.

Infotainment is total trash, and I find more flaws with it the more I use it  This 2018 I'm driving doesn't have Carplay either. It's bad to the point where I'd think about looking elsewhere. But I'd probably buy this thing anyway. I'd totally buy one of these and imagine the new one is only better.

I wonder if you have some kind of base trim spec infotainment unit or something? Do you have GPS on your car? I regard my MX-5's to be pretty darn good, more attractive and performant Subaru's, and extremely navigable with the i-Drive joystick thingy. Maybe you're spoiled by luxury marque infotainment, which I don't have much experience with. Wimmer's digital dash looks like it's from another planet.

My dad's 2018 Mazda3 has CarPlay. Your impressions of how it drives echo mine. Everything about the car feels very confident and buttoned-down, a bit like a budget BMW. My dad legitimately enjoys driving cars but he's too goddamn cheap to buy anything fun or fast. The 3 is a sports car hiding in an economy car Trojan horse. He bought it for its practical virtues, but now he won't stop raving about how fun it is to drive it on twisty roads. At last, he finally has a car he enjoys. I'm proud of you, Dad!

[2o6]

You can add CarPlay to the old head units, too.

[Laconian]

You can add CarPlay to the old head units, too.

https://mazdatweaks.com/

You can do it with a thumb drive. The hardware can be left intact, if you're OK with the potential for battery drain - the regular USB ports don't provide much power.

[AutobahnSHO]

https://mazdatweaks.com/

You can do it with a thumb drive. The hardware can be left intact, if you're OK with the potential for battery drain - the regular USB ports don't provide much power.

That's just begging for someone to build a cable that attaches to the headunit, spliced to a cigarette lighter wire for charging...