Rental Car thread

[SJ_GTI]

Mazda is 100% right about infotainment. The screen is wide, and up in your line of sight. Rotary dial is the way, touch screens suck

I came to this conclusion when I switched from my S4 (no touchscreen, just a rotary dial to scroll with) to my Golf R (touchscreen, but also with a scroll knob next to the screen). The only time the touchscreen is more convenient is if I want to type in an address while not actually moving. Otherwise everything else is easier with the scroll knob (which itself is small and less convenient than the rotary dial from the Audi). I don't even use the car's nav anymore, I just use apple carplay on the few occasions I have wanted to have navigation.

[Morris Minor]

I'm out in Phoenix for the week, just for vacation. Booked a small crossover at Enterprise. They offered me multiple Jeep Cherokees, but I declined until they finally offered a Mazda CX-30. It's a great little car.

Mazda is 100% right about infotainment. The screen is wide, and up in your line of sight. Rotary dial is the way, touch screens suck

I like Enterprise - they have a good niche for when you're off-airport & need something in the neighborhood... pleasant staff etc. We often rent from them.

[Rich]

I'm not a fan of the rotary selector and am much more a fan of touchscreen.

With the rotary I need to look and see what's currently selected and then perform the correct number of turns or clicks to select what I want. With touchscreen I just poke what I want. I would like some haptic feedback on the touchscreen though, that would be nice.

[Morris Minor]

I'm not a fan of the rotary selector and am much more a fan of touchscreen.

With the rotary I need to look and see what's currently selected and then perform the correct number of turns or clicks to select what I want. With touchscreen I just poke what I want. I would like some haptic feedback on the touchscreen though, that would be nice.

Agreed absolutely. The touchscreen on this rental 4Runner is a lot less work than the CX-5's deal with navigating to the item you want with the click wheel.

[FoMoJo]

I'm not a fan of the rotary selector and am much more a fan of touchscreen.

With the rotary I need to look and see what's currently selected and then perform the correct number of turns or clicks to select what I want. With touchscreen I just poke what I want. I would like some haptic feedback on the touchscreen though, that would be nice.

Yes, touchscreens are much simpler for things like Nav or music selection, but dials and buttons are good for other controls such as temperature, etc.  A combination of touchscreen and dials and buttons are best, imo.

[Morris Minor]

Okay - I'm beginning to get the love for body-on-frame. The 4Runner sits up high (big step up into the cabin) and gives you a great view, but the best thing is the ride: 17-in rims w/ high aspect ratio tires, & the ladder frame construction preventing transmission of the  bumps & thumps and the road noise.

This is why 50-year-old full size American cars are so much more relaxing than 95% of what's on the market now.

[Madman]

The 4Runner's wheezy V6 is getting around 13 mpg on these roads. I doubt the GX's V8 so much worse that it would actually matter.

The use case for this thing is for dirt and rough roads in 2nd & 3rd world countries. Or a farm or ranch in the USA. But for the US you'd be buying 'murrican - poverty spec Tahoe or something.

Proof that all large trucks and SUVs of this nature need to be diesel.  A fuel-swilling gasoline truck makes no sense whatsoever.  Diesel gives you economy and mountains of torque, which is exactly what something like this 4Runner needs.

[AutobahnSHO]

I'm in Colorado and ended up piloting an Expedition.  

I'm thankful most of the major controls are similar to Maverick- push button, transmission dial (vs the push buttons in the Suburban we also have), mirror switches, et.... It's pretty comfy although boring but useful.

It's BIG and compared to the Suburban, the differences seem pretty minor. They both do what big SUVs do. 

[RomanChariot]

Proof that all large trucks and SUVs of this nature need to be diesel.  A fuel-swilling gasoline truck makes no sense whatsoever.  Diesel gives you economy and mountains of torque, which is exactly what something like this 4Runner needs.

As the owner of a fuel swilling gasoline truck I would love to have a diesel engine. The power and fuel economy would be great for the towing that I do. Unfortunately, their is a huge price premium for a diesel truck, both in purchase price and maintenance costs. Since I don't put a ton of miles on my truck, it just doesn't make sense to sink the extra money into upgrading to a diesel.

[CaminoRacer]

As the owner of a fuel swilling gasoline truck I would love to have a diesel engine. The power and fuel economy would be great for the towing that I do. Unfortunately, their is a huge price premium for a diesel truck, both in purchase price and maintenance costs. Since I don't put a ton of miles on my truck, it just doesn't make sense to sink the extra money into upgrading to a diesel.

Yeah, the price premium is rough. Even if the diesel engine lasts a lot longer, the initial cost difference would cover an engine rebuild or replacement for the gas truck.

[Laconian]

Maintenance on diesels is quite a bit more money too, IIRC.

[Morris Minor]

Proof that all large trucks and SUVs of this nature need to be diesel.  A fuel-swilling gasoline truck makes no sense whatsoever.  Diesel gives you economy and mountains of torque, which is exactly what something like this 4Runner needs

Four years ago we were ferried around central Vietnam in a Toyota Fortuner. It's a body on frame SUV on the HiLux platform. It was weird to be in this pretty plush interior with the driver rowing through manual gears connected to a 2.8L diesel four. Not much power but more torque than the 4Runner's V6.

[Laconian]

Four years ago we were ferried around central Vietnam in a Toyota Fortuner. It's a body on frame SUV on the HiLux platform. It was weird to be in this pretty plush interior with the driver rowing through manual gears connected to a 2.8L diesel four. Not much power but more torque than the 4Runner's V6.

My first small diesel experience was in Italy when I was 18. At that point I had just learned how to shift gears for myself. I was riding in a Chrysler minivan with a 2.4L (I think) diesel four and the man driving it kept shifting before the RPMs even hit 2k. I thought "man, this guy really doesn't know how to shift, I thought they knew how to drive here? When's this thing going to stall?!"

[Laconian]

Okay - I'm beginning to get the love for body-on-frame. The 4Runner sits up high (big step up into the cabin) and gives you a great view, but the best thing is the ride: 17-in rims w/ high aspect ratio tires, & the ladder frame construction preventing transmission of the  bumps & thumps and the road noise.

This is why 50-year-old full size American cars are so much more relaxing than 95% of what's on the market now.

Are you still in Silicon Valley? Have you been to the Computer History Museum yet?

[Morris Minor]

Are you still in Silicon Valley? Have you been to the Computer History Museum yet?

No I'm home in GA: we have the rental while Mazda is having the scratch buffed out. Thanks for the Museum tip. One I also want to see is in your neck of the woods, the Connections Museum in Seattle. Interest in that was sparked by reading the history of Bell Labs.

[Laconian]

No I'm home in GA: we have the rental while Mazda is having the scratch buffed out. Thanks for the Museum tip. One I also want to see is in your neck of the woods, the Connections Museum in Seattle. Interest in that was sparked by reading the history of Bell Labs.

Yeah, I shared a link to their YouTube channel on the forum! I want to go there, but their hours are extremely limited.

We used to have the Living Computer Museum which was glorious. Sadly it was shut down, seemingly for good, when its benefactor Paul Allen died. It was awesome being able to TTY into actual running real-life big iron from the sixties and watch the tape reels spin. You could create accounts on their old VAXes and dial in from home via Telnet.

[CALL_911]

I'm in Houston. Rented a Corolla or similar. Got a RWD Genesis G80 with the 2.5T. It's a better Mercedes than any Mercedes I've driven. Reminds me of older Lexuses in character, which is a good thing. Very well built, quiet, comfortable, and it looks fantastic. My wife wants a GV80 to replace her old RDX next year, I see no reason why not.

[Morris Minor]

I'm in Houston. Rented a Corolla or similar. Got a RWD Genesis G80 with the 2.5T. It's a better Mercedes than any Mercedes I've driven. Reminds me of older Lexuses in character, which is a good thing. Very well built, quiet, comfortable, and it looks fantastic. My wife wants a GV80 to replace her old RDX next year, I see no reason why not.

I see a lot of Geneses around here; they've done a fantastic job stepping up to fill the niche handed to them by Infiniti. My information may be out of date but I'm a little surprised they're not doing the mild hybrid thing; that setup works well for peaceful luxurious driving.

[Morris Minor]

I should be able to hand back the rental 4Runner next week. I see the attraction of body-on frame truckery; it has taught me how much, now I'm in my late 60s, I appreciate good ride quality.

[AutobahnSHO]

I see a lot of Geneses around here; they've done a fantastic job stepping up to fill the niche handed to them by Infiniti. My information may be out of date but I'm a little surprised they're not doing the mild hybrid thing; that setup works well for peaceful luxurious driving.

They seem nice, but wife has a co-worker who had to have transmission replaced at 500 miles...

[veeman]

In Amsterdam and had a Lync and Co 01 for a few days.  Never heard of this brand before.  It's a Chinese-Swedish brand co-owned by Geely and Volvo. It's a smallish SUV and the one I got is a hybrid. I like it. The car has its own wifi hotspot which is very cool. 

I really like the Amsterdam/Netherlands driving and biking culture. Even in Amsterdam, people drive chill. Slow speed limits. You pump the fuel first and then pay for it later. Every road except on the highways seems to have an accompanying bike lane. Everyone bikes but interestingly I don't see any fancy bikes.  They all seem to be < $1000 to my untrained eye. Also no one wears a bike helmet.

I got a finger wag by an old Dutch guy on a bike because I attempted to cross the street before the pedestrian green walk sign was lit.  They take their crosswalk signs seriously here man.

[Eye of the Tiger]

In Amsterdam and had a Lync and Co 01 for a few days.  Never heard of this brand before.  It's a Chinese-Swedish brand co-owned by Geely and Volvo. It's a smallish SUV and the one I got is a hybrid. I like it. The car has its own wifi hotspot which is very cool. 

I really like the Amsterdam/Netherlands driving and biking culture. Even in Amsterdam, people drive chill. Slow speed limits. You pump the fuel first and then pay for it later. Every road except on the highways seems to have an accompanying bike lane. Everyone bikes but interestingly I don't see any fancy bikes.  They all seem to be < $1000 to my untrained eye. Also no one wears a bike helmet.

I got a finger wag by an old Dutch guy on a bike because I attempted to cross the street before the pedestrian green walk sign was lit.  They take their crosswalk signs seriously here man.

Sounds like a place I could live.

[Morris Minor]

People in the Netherlands are tall: I'm 5' 11" and felt like a short-arse.

[Laconian]

Dutch people nip bullshit in the bud. They are a live and let live people, so long as you're not a nuisance to others. The second you become one you will get a verbal barb from someone.

I got chewed out by a taxi driver because I got a ride to a hotel that was better served by the train. He lectured me that I was contributing to traffic needlessly. LOL

The commuter bikes in Amsterdam are crappy because the theft rate is really high. A lot of folks have nicer weekend bikes hung on pegs in their houses and apartments.

[afty]

My previous boss was Dutch. He was pretty blunt. I liked working for him, but I think he pissed some people off.

[veeman]

Lots of EVs in Amsterdam.  I used Uber quite a lot as well and many of the cars people use for Uber are EVs.  Even with the govt push for EV, I don't see the Netherlands able to achieve their govt goal of 100% new passenger cars being EV in 2030 however.  This article predicts 26%.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629623000282

[Laconian]

Got a two month car Sixt rental booked for Europe. I thought I would opt for a diesel car since we're going to be driving quite a bit, but the "diesel preference" cost around six euros a day. I crunched the numbers and found I would have to drive a LOT more to break even over that premium. Kind of crazy!

[Laconian]

Lots of EVs in Amsterdam.  I used Uber quite a lot as well and many of the cars people use for Uber are EVs.  Even with the govt push for EV, I don't see the Netherlands able to achieve their govt goal of 100% new passenger cars being EV in 2030 however.  This article predicts 26%.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629623000282

Have you noticed how quiet Amsterdam is? Given how populated it is, it's a surprisingly low stress city to walk around in. NYC is so much more aggravating by comparison.

It's all in how they handle the cars...

[CaminoRacer]

Got a two month car Sixt rental booked for Europe. I thought I would opt for a diesel car since we're going to be driving quite a bit, but the "diesel preference" cost around six euros a day. I crunched the numbers and found I would have to drive a LOT more to break even over that premium. Kind of crazy!

I liked the diesel Golf I rented in London but I don't think I'd pay more for it. The torque was just nice on the highway

[Laconian]

I liked the diesel Golf I rented in London but I don't think I'd pay more for it. The torque was just nice on the highway

Yeah diesel is good for cruising and the fuel economy would be nice given how expensive it is to fill up in France. But not six euros a day nice.