Rental Car thread

[veeman]

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...

I loved Amsterdam.  I didn't find it a particularly low stress place to walk around in though. There's not a clear demarcation between bike lanes and pedestrian side walks in many areas and I constantly was on the look out to not get hit by a bicyclist.  Also I didn't like how close the trams were to the pedestrian side walks.  The girth of the tram would overhang onto the boundary of the sidewalk.

[veeman]

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.

Is there a way to specify you want a hybrid?  I wonder what the surcharge on a hybrid would be.

I've found the price point difference when renting a car in Europe to be splurging for an automatic transmission. I always choose to do that now because I'd rather be concentrating on the unfamiliar roads, traffic signage, and driving customs than on getting the gear shifts right.

I've found the European car rental places to be weirdly strict about external damage. Before giving you the car they will point out and document every single body scratch including on the wheels and then look for additional body scratches when the car is returned to potentially charge you. For this reason I always get the rental agency supplemental insurance offered.  When renting a car in the U.S., I never do that as my own auto insurance will cover rental cars and American car rental agencies don't care about small scratches on the wheels of returned cars. 

[Morris Minor]

I've got a five week driving tour of New Zealand coming up at the end of next month. This will give us lots of opportunity to brush up on our driving-on-the-left skills.

[Laconian]

Is there a way to specify you want a hybrid?  I wonder what the surcharge on a hybrid would be.

I've found the price point difference when renting a car in Europe to be splurging for an automatic transmission. I always choose to do that now because I'd rather be concentrating on the unfamiliar roads, traffic signage, and driving customs than on getting the gear shifts right.

I've found the European car rental places to be weirdly strict about external damage. Before giving you the car they will point out and document every single body scratch including on the wheels and then look for additional body scratches when the car is returned to potentially charge you. For this reason I always get the rental agency supplemental insurance offered.  When renting a car in the U.S., I never do that as my own auto insurance will cover rental cars and American car rental agencies don't care about small scratches on the wheels of returned cars. 

I looked at the scratch and dent insurance but the deductible was 1200 euros. My Visa card insurance might be enough for me: https://www.visa.com.tt/pay-with-visa/find-a-card/benefits/auto-rental-insurance.html

No way to check a hybrid box, though I'm not sure if a hybrid would be a huge help since we're going to be doing a lot of highway miles. My plan is to ask the person behind the counter what my options are and hoping for at least a diesel.

[Laconian]

I've got a five week driving tour of New Zealand coming up at the end of next month. This will give us lots of opportunity to brush up on our driving-on-the-left skills.

Is it like riding a bike?

[AutobahnSHO]

Having the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car helps.

Everyone I knew in Germany that visited UK in their own car got into some kind of trouble or another.

[Morris Minor]

Is it like riding a bike?

It is. In the first few days there's a strong tendency to drift over too close to the left verge though, so you have to fight that. Last year, on a practically empty M6 in Lancashire, I found myself on the rumble strip a couple of times.

[Laconian]

Quelle chance! My rental car in France for the next two months is a very handsome blue Audi A4 wagon. The price per day is around 33 euros after taxes and fees. Pas mal!

We are going to drive a lot during this trip and the car will be fantastic for the job. The engine is a modest 150hp four cylinder that gets 5.5L/100km, around 42mpg. Gas is expensive here so the efficiency is very welcome.

The car drives beautifully. I really enjoy how composed and quiet it is on the freeway. When I go through roundabouts I can really feel the balance and agility, too. The cruise control stalk is a major WTF though. I cannot figure that thing out. There are way too many hidden states in their design. And some traffic camera warnings would be welcome, too.

France has changed so much recently! It used to be that all the cars for sale or rent had diesel engines, but now diesel engines have almost entirely vanished. The price of diesel is about the same as the price of gasoline per liter, basically ending a longstanding subsidy on gazole cars, and the government is giving generous tax breaks to hybrids.

I'm not a fan of the diesel stink so this change is fine by me!

[AutobahnSHO]

Nice

[Eye of the Tiger]

Das German wagens drive so well on ze Autobahn. But I hate working on them.

[Morris Minor]

We had a 2021 Renault Clio (128 HP 1.3L) last year and did not feel deprived. It held its own on the motorway & country lanes and who cares anyway when you're sitting in city traffic.
(The only thing I missed was a backup camera - amazed that they're apparently not mandated.)

Hope you have a great time!

[veeman]

Americans are drunk on high horsepower cars. I've never had any difficulty merging onto a fast moving highway from a full stop in the "underpowered" cars I've owned (base model Hyundai Veloster, base model Subaru Crosstrek, diesel VW Beetle, 4 cylinder Toyota Camry, 4 cylinder Mazda 6, and Mazda Protege). 

The only car I've driven a lot which I felt was too slow was my parents '84 Chevy Celebrity good for 90 hp with a 3 speed automatic. The car had difficulty maintaining speed on highways when going uphill. 

[Laconian]

Same.. The only car I've driven that was really hurting for power was a POS Chevy Spark with a 3cyl engine. It couldn't maintain autoroute speeds up hills. You could feel it wheeze. That sucks.

Also my first car, a '90 Toyota Camry, was dog slow too.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I used to be fine with 44hp in the Suzuki SJ410. Top speed, about 63. These days, I would instantly get run over by a Tesla.
Cars are heavier and more powerful than ever.

[Laconian]

Uff.

SIXT sent me a damage invoice for the car that I am still renting.

And it looks like the mileage allowance I got is significantly less than what I was promised when I booked online.

JFC

[CaminoRacer]

How would they know it's damaged if you're still renting it?

[Laconian]

It's obviously a clerical error.

[CaminoRacer]

very competent of them

[Morris Minor]

We have a Ford Everest. Diesel Asia-Pacific market SUV. 

[FoMoJo]

We have a Ford Everest. Diesel Asia-Pacific market SUV.

Sounds quite truckish.

[Morris Minor]

It's brand new. Underneath it's a truck on the Ford T6 platform shared with the US-market Ranger. It's got a nice 2L bi-turbo diesel, a 10-speed transmission selectable 4WD and lo-hi ratios. It uses DEF. Tons of torque. It is truckish, with a ride that goes with the territory - you can see the Watts linkage on the axle in one of the shots. I'm very impressed with Ford's SYNC infotainment - nice iPad touchscreen in the middle and works absolutely seamlessly with my iPhone.

[Morris Minor]

Now I'm on the South Island in a never-been-plugged-in Kia Sorento PHEV.  Lots of dead weight for a little 1600cc engine to lug around. Not as well made as the Ford. 

[veeman]

Rented 3 minivans in a row last week on a family vacation. One in Los Angeles (hybrid Sienna), one in Maui Hawaii (Pacifica), and one in Kauai Hawaii (Pacifica). Wanted to get an Odyssey (to check out the three main brands) but they didn't have any on the lot. With 5 people (myself, wife, two kids, and mother in law) wanted 3 rows and especially with luggage, felt the minivan was the way to go. 

Hybrid Sienna - Averaged 30 mpg which to me is amazing for a vehicle shaped like a large refrigerator on wheels. Other than that, I expected to like this car more. It was fine but engine was really loud and coarse when accelerating rapidly. Pain to move the 2nd row forward to get to the third row (had a base model where it was manual).

Chrysler Pacifica - Drove like a 4 cylinder Camry (which I had owned in the past). This is a good thing. Perfectly competent A to B transportation. No problem driving up 10 thousand feet on the side of a volcano with a decent load of passengers.

When we got back, drove home from the airport in our Infiniti QX60. Yeah the Infiniti is a softer quieter ride than the minivans I had rented and the interior is nicer but that's to be expected. 

I'd rent the minivans again over a 3 row SUV if total passengers exceeded 4.

[afty]

I had a hybrid Sienna as a rental a couple years back and was amazed at the mileage. I was seeing 35 mpg in mixed driving. Also the radar cruise and lane keeping was pretty good.

Last week I had an Equinox rental. It was fine. Not great, not terrible, just fine.

[AutobahnSHO]

I'd rent the minivans again

They maximize interior space and drivability on-road over any pretentiousness. And sacrifice any off-roadability of course.

I'm not surprised the hybrid Sienna would sound noisy- that 4banger has to work HARD! (and that's a common complaint of the hybrid Maverick as well)