Rental Car thread

[Laconian]

Also, most rentals on Maui are Nissans now. Maybe we should short Nissan? This truck's interior is basically a time capsule from 2006

[SJ_GTI]

LOL, "the flat parts" of Utah are still ~5,000 ft.

The drive I did in the rental Elantra went from ~2,000 ft to 4,000 ft, and back again. It was a crappy old two-lane road, speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph), I had the cruise set to 109, and it did fine on the open road. Where it struggled was passing, like I said. Lots of truck traffic on that highway and not a lot of passing zones, so I had to make them count and had to drop to 3rd gear to get any oomph out of it. It was acceptable, it obviously worked okay because I'm still alive to type about it, but it wasn't ideal.

Fuel economy was really, really good though. 6.07 L/100 km, or 38.7 mpUSg.

I mean...I probably don't HAVE to drop to 3rd gear to make passes in my car...but I do it anyway because that is the most fun way to do it. 

[12,000 RPM]

LOL, "the flat parts" of Utah are still ~5,000 ft.

The drive I did in the rental Elantra went from ~2,000 ft to 4,000 ft, and back again. It was a crappy old two-lane road, speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph), I had the cruise set to 109, and it did fine on the open road. Where it struggled was passing, like I said. Lots of truck traffic on that highway and not a lot of passing zones, so I had to make them count and had to drop to 3rd gear to get any oomph out of it. It was acceptable, it obviously worked okay because I'm still alive to type about it, but it wasn't ideal.

Fuel economy was really, really good though. 6.07 L/100 km, or 38.7 mpUSg.

This is why, for mainstreamers at least, we need to turbocharge all the things

The diesel version of that Panda I had made similar HP, but obviously with a snail the size of my daughter's fist. In the Tuscan mountains we spent most of our time driving that car in, the extra power at elevation would have been nice.

[93JC]

[Laconian]

Also, most rentals on Maui are Nissans now. Maybe we should short Nissan? This truck's interior is basically a time capsule from 2006

I calculated the fuel economy: 21mpg! Much better than my G37, which would seldom go above 18.

[CaminoRacer]

I drove from London to Dover yesterday so we rented a Golf TDI from Turo. The torquey engine was quite nice and made it easy to speed up on the freeway. There were lots of 50 mph zones, so going from 50 to 70 was speedy compared to most small hatchbacks. I was surprised at how wide the car is, though. It's a small car, but it's still very wide for British roads. Driving on the right side of the car wasn't a big deal, although I never quite got used to the rearview mirror location. Which was my one complaint about the car's interior - the interior was good quality except that mirror. Seemed very cheap. Wasn't necessarily a fan of the steering wheel material either. Steering feel seemed pretty good, maybe a bit light at times. The car had start-stop, which isn't a nice as GM's. Being a diesel means a bit more racket when it starts back up, too. There was one time I was in a parking lot area, going down hill, and the DCT transmission was holding a low gear to keep it from going too quickly, then I hit the brakes which were kinda touchy, then the damn engine shut off because the wheels stopped, and the entire ordeal was like riding a bucking bronco. I'm glad no cars were behind me because they'd think I either didn't have a driver's license or had too much to drink. Overall the DCT was fine, but I think I'd prefer a normal automatic. 

MPG was excellent - 55-65 mpg is awesome. Don't know if that was Imperial gallons or US gallons, though. Overall, the diesel seems like a decent option. But I saw a few diesels spewing black smoke as we drove down the highway, which isn't cool. My current boss has a Volt and it's got a similar torquey drivetrain and you don't have to worry about the emissions.

After all of those complaints, I did like the car. I'd give it a B+

[12,000 RPM]

I don't know why, but those seemingly underpowered diesels work really well in Europe. Maybe everything is relative

[CALL_911]

Got a Holden Commodore aka Buick Regal rental in Australia. Not a bad car, but def has a few annoying qualities. I really hate the lane departure thing, the parking assist, and it has an awful start stop function.

[Laconian]

I don't know why, but those seemingly underpowered diesels work really well in Europe. Maybe everything is relative

IMO it's the roundabouts. Preserving your momentum is key. I get around fine in my MIL's 900cc Renault, which is really underpowered on paper and mildly underpowered in practice.

[CaminoRacer]

I don't think the Golf TDI is nearly as underpowered as some of the subcompact diesels

[veeman]

My former Beetle TDI turbodiesel with manual transmission with 140 hp didn't feel underpowered to me.  Thankfully no start/stop bull crap. It actually felt like it had more oomph than my current gas 148 hp Subaru Crosstrek, especially mid range which I think the VW turbodiesel is known for.  One of my complaints about my VW, other than the really crappy Bluetooth, was it felt like the engine was too heavy for the car.  With only me as a passenger and nothing in the boot it would still feel like it was going to bottom out on small potholes and speed bumps.

[veeman]

I drove from London to Dover yesterday so we rented a Golf TDI from Turo. The torquey engine was quite nice and made it easy to speed up on the freeway. There were lots of 50 mph zones, so going from 50 to 70 was speedy compared to most small hatchbacks. I was surprised at how wide the car is, though. It's a small car, but it's still very wide for British roads. Driving on the right side of the car wasn't a big deal, although I never quite got used to the rearview mirror location. Which was my one complaint about the car's interior - the interior was good quality except that mirror. Seemed very cheap. Wasn't necessarily a fan of the steering wheel material either. Steering feel seemed pretty good, maybe a bit light at times. The car had start-stop, which isn't a nice as GM's. Being a diesel means a bit more racket when it starts back up, too. There was one time I was in a parking lot area, going down hill, and the DCT transmission was holding a low gear to keep it from going too quickly, then I hit the brakes which were kinda touchy, then the damn engine shut off because the wheels stopped, and the entire ordeal was like riding a bucking bronco. I'm glad no cars were behind me because they'd think I either didn't have a driver's license or had too much to drink. Overall the DCT was fine, but I think I'd prefer a normal automatic. 

MPG was excellent - 55-65 mpg is awesome. Don't know if that was Imperial gallons or US gallons, though. Overall, the diesel seems like a decent option. But I saw a few diesels spewing black smoke as we drove down the highway, which isn't cool. My current boss has a Volt and it's got a similar torquey drivetrain and you don't have to worry about the emissions.

After all of those complaints, I did like the car. I'd give it a B+

I know what you mean about the Golf feeling wide on London roads.  I had rented a Ford Mondeo in London a few years back and I thought I would end up curbing the thing every time I took the car out.  I wasn't expecting that. 

[Morris Minor]

2019 Kia Sportage LX AWD.
This is the poverty-spec model: manual a/c, manual-adjust cloth seats, no sunroof, no frippery. What a lovely little reasonably-priced appliance vehicle. I enjoy it more than my loaded-with-everything 2018 CR-V.

The seats are are much more comfortable. The transmission is silky. The engine is quiet, relaxed and torquey. Panel lines are tight. It is solid and well-put together. It doesn't need noise cancellation to drown out resonant boom.

Judging by the goodness of the base model - Hyundai/Kia, swinging for the fences for a long time, are now hitting it out of the park.

[veeman]

2019 Kia Sportage LX AWD.
This is the poverty-spec model: manual a/c, manual-adjust cloth seats, no sunroof, no frippery. What a lovely little reasonably-priced appliance vehicle. I enjoy it more than my loaded-with-everything 2018 CR-V.

The seats are are much more comfortable. The transmission is silky. The engine is quiet, relaxed and torquey. Panel lines are tight. It is solid and well-put together. It doesn't need noise cancellation to drown out resonant boom.

Judging by the goodness of the base model - Hyundai/Kia, swinging for the fences for a long time, are now hitting it out of the park.

I agree.  Hyundai/Kia have a lot of great models, well priced, recently coming out or about to come out.  The Hyundai Palisade 3 row SUV and Kia version coming out this summer look really good.  The Hyundai Kona has a legitimate electric version.  Genesis has some really good models.  Plus best new car warranty of any brand. 

[Morris Minor]

I changed the Sportage's clock to 24-hour time format. Leaving my mark on rental cars wherever I can.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I changed the Sportage's clock to 24-hour time format. Leaving my mark on rental cars wherever I can.

[Laconian]

I changed the Sportage's clock to 24-hour time format. Leaving my mark on rental cars wherever I can.

Change your phone name to "ANDREW WUZ HERE", pair it with the car, and leave the pairing entry in the system for the next person to see.

The perfect crime!

[FoMoJo]

I changed the Sportage's clock to 24-hour time format. Leaving my mark on rental cars wherever I can.

Do they have a metric setting for speed and distance?  That might be fun for the next guy.  "Hey, I'm doing 80 and everyone's still passing me."

[Morris Minor]

I figured people who don't understand 24-hr time format would be too stupid to be able to change it back. Those that do understand will probably leave it there.
And I don't remember seeing the metric option. But I'll file that one away for future use. Crawling along at 55 km/h in a 55 mph zone, yes I like that.

[NomisR]

I figured people who don't understand 24-hr time format would be too stupid to be able to change it back. Those that do understand will probably leave it there.
And I don't remember seeing the metric option. But I'll file that one away for future use. Crawling along at 55 km/h in a 55 mph zone, yes I like that.

i'll have to do both.. or all 3...

[Eye of the Tiger]

If you rent a Nissan, you can customize several maintenance reminders to go off at the mileage of your choosing. Set them all for the minimum so the warning lights and messages on for the next guy. If you rent a Ford, you can set the oil life percentage all the way down to 10%, I think. Do that so the oil change warning comes up way too soon. I also like to tune the stereo to zero bass and maximum treble, and leave tuned to AM radio.

[Laconian]

If you rent a Nissan, you can customize several maintenance reminders to go off at the mileage of your choosing. Set them all for the minimum so the warning lights and messages on for the next guy. If you rent a Ford, you can set the oil life percentage all the way down to 10%, I think. Do that so the oil change warning comes up way too soon. I also like to tune the stereo to zero bass and maximum treble, and leave tuned to AM radio.

Leave a gift of a disgusting ASMR CD-R in each car you rent.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Leave a gift of a disgusting ASMR CD-R in each car you rent.

I have to make these now.

[NomisR]

I'm gonna have fun in Japan when I rent a car..

[giant_mtb]

I figured people who don't understand 24-hr time format would be too stupid to be able to change it back. Those that do understand will probably leave it there.
And I don't remember seeing the metric option. But I'll file that one away for future use. Crawling along at 55 km/h in a 55 mph zone, yes I like that.

99% of the vehicles I detail that have the clock on 24 hour time are ex-military.

[Xer0]

I was recently in Greece for a week and decided to rent a car to see some of the historic sights on the mainland and went with the cheapest option I could get - a 75hp Hyundai I20 hatch.  This thing was bare bones man; power windows on only the driver side, no bluetooth/backup cam, no power locks, and what felt like a single speaker for the audio.  It was also painfully slow to a level I had never experienced before, I constantly had to downshift into 3rd just to maintain speed up the Greek mountains.  The transmission for its part was okay, the throws were long and so was the clutch travel, but you couldn't stall this thing if you wanted to.  Like seriously, there were times when I was getting used to it where I could have sworn the engine died on me but then just kicked back in.  I think the car also had some kind of hill hold assist since the brakes stayed engaged on some hills until I hit the clutch.  No idea how to activate the system but I felt it a few times.

Besides the lack of features and how painfully slow it was, and it was actually very loud the few times I got on broken pavement, it was a decent little hatch and actually kinda fun to toss around.  I would never consider buying it, but I didn't hate it.

[Laconian]

I have fond memories of the super barebones diesel C3 hatch I flogged around the Peloponnese. So goddamn slow but it still got us to interesting places.

[NomisR]

When I was in Okinawa, I rented a Toyota Voxy GPS van/wagon thing.  The thing was super boxy and upright but also roomy while a bit smaller than the minivans that we get.  While it was super underpowered, it drove as well as it could.  It's a challenge driving RHD simply because my mind needed to get used to it.  I was constantly hitting the wiper switch when I'm doing lane changes.  The cars I see in Japan though, Kevin would be in heavy surrounded by all those tiny cars.

[mzziaz]

Rented a Peugeot 208 for three weeks:



Got it brand new from the rental place (Centauro) with only 6 kms on the clock

+
Nice, well built interior (much better than the Bolt)
I like the Peugeot dash set up with a really small steering wheel
Infotainment has nothing except Android Auto/Apple Carplay = perfect
Really well packaged car. Even the rear seats has adequate room for most
Pretty agile, especially in city driving.
Not much engine vibration, especially for a three cylinder car.

-
82hp 1.2 = Really fucking slow
Only 5 speed m/t (!)
Too soft suspension.
I don't like the exterior. The new 208 is much better.
Engine sounded a bit thrashy at low speeds. Some ticking at times even on a brand new motor.



I kind of liked the car. With a better drivetrain and a sport suspension, I wouldn't mind owning one.. The upcoming electric version will be interesting.

[CaminoRacer]

5 speed manual might make the most sense in a car with low HP, actually. If you need to keep the revs up a bit on the highway to keep up with traffic, having 2 overdrive gears might be worthless. If the 5 speed weighs a bit less, costs a bit less, and performs just as well, then why not?