Car Hire in Oz

[Rich_AR]

I'll be in Oz for 3 weeks in Dec and I'd like to hire something reasonable to drive. We're heading down the coast from Sydney towards Eden etc.

Usual suspects (Avis, Hertz etc) seem to point me towards the Holdon SV6, midrange "performance" choice.. Are these essentually a V6 Vectra in drag?

Other than the Holdon, is there anything I should look at? BMW's or Merc's are few and far between in terms of rentals.

Cheers!

[Hasbeen]

More a Vauxhall HSV with an engine & trim downgrade.

[HenryJM]

It used to be possible to hire Mercs from Hertz but I'm not sure you still can. Motoring in Australia isn't great, cars are very expensive, speed limits are strictly enforced and roads aren't that interesting.

It's a big country, lots of good things there but they are far apart, if you aren't a regular visitor you are going to see more and get a much better feel for it flying between decent places than driving.

[Google [bot]]

WeirdNeville said:

It won't feel fast

I don't know about that, you've got 280bhp and probably mid-6 secs to 62/100. Plenty enough for a hefty bill and a hysteric column in the 'paper.

[Google [bot]]

WeirdNeville said:

Google [bot] said:

I don't know about that, you've got 280bhp and probably mid-6 secs to 62/100. Plenty enough for a hefty bill and a hysteric column in the 'paper.

Yeah, that's not bad although Mid 6's to 100 seems a little ambitious for a 1.7 tonne car. I was trying to look up performance stats but can't find any - has the aussie press stopped printing them to stop hooning and drag races?!

Possibly, as they don't seem to be published (not sure if legislation or to avoid sensationalist media) I pulled that figure out of my arse with guidance from unofficial claims.

[Jader1973]

Google [bot] said:

WeirdNeville said:

Google [bot] said:

I don't know about that, you've got 280bhp and probably mid-6 secs to 62/100. Plenty enough for a hefty bill and a hysteric column in the 'paper.

Yeah, that's not bad although Mid 6's to 100 seems a little ambitious for a 1.7 tonne car. I was trying to look up performance stats but can't find any - has the aussie press stopped printing them to stop hooning and drag races?!

Possibly, as they don't seem to be published (not sure if legislation or to avoid sensationalist media) I pulled that figure out of my arse with guidance from unofficial claims.

My understanding is that there is a gentleman's agreement around 0 to 100 km/h figures not being published by manufacturers. I know we measure them, and have targets for them however.

As for an SV6, I think it is high 6s, and an SS is mid/high 5s, although the tests I can find online seem to show 5.1 for an SS and 5.9 for an SV6 Ute.....either way, a V8 sounds better

As for renting from AVIS, shop around and compare pricing. I use AVIS because they are invariably cheapest but every car I've rented from them has had some sort of problem that should have been fixed by their maintenance guys.

Last time I turned up at Brisbane they didn't have an SV6 and offered me a Camry Hybrid - told them no, "I might be able to get an XR6 or an SV6" told them it needed to be an SV6. Eventually they found me one with some slight bumper damage they wanted to fix but they let me have it anyway. Turned out it was a dog and I should have taken the Camry: broken rear park assist, badly off centre steering wheel, and the fuel gauge didn't go all the way to full, it stopped at 7/8 ths. Fortunately I checked my CC statement - they tried to bill me an extra $30 for fuel top up! They did take it off when I rang them mind you.

[custardtart]

One of the car companies, poss eurocar, is hiring german cars at reasonable (by aussie standards) rates. Do a bit of the coast road for a bit but also head inland and drive through the southern highlands. The coastal route is nice but too many speed cameras and cops to waste money on a decent car.
In Eden go to the whaling museum,wierd but good.

[StefanVXR8]

custardtart said:

One of the car companies, poss eurocar, is hiring german cars at reasonable (by aussie standards) rates. Do a bit of the coast road for a bit but also head inland and drive through the southern highlands. The coastal route is nice but too many speed cameras and cops to waste money on a decent car.
In Eden go to the whaling museum,wierd but good.

I get pretty good discounts with Europcar and when I arrived here not long ago I had a VW Passat estate for two weeks, fully loaded with leather, sat nav, electric everything. Subsequently I rented a 'large' sedan and got a Hyundai Elantra which wasn't so nice, only cost me $17 a day though to be fair!

Stef

[Rich_AR]

Just an update.

I've rented a Holden Sv6 for a few weeks over Xmas. Hopefully it won't be too disappointing!

[Pommygranite]

Rich - what do you drive now and why do you think it would be a disappointment?

[Rich_AR]

Pommygranite said:

Rich - what do you drive now and why do you think it would be a disappointment?

None at the moment. It's been 18 months since I've driven a car. Hence wanting to drive something nice.

[Pommygranite]

Rich_AR said:

None at the moment. It's been 18 months since I've driven a car. Hence wanting to drive something nice.

I think you'll find the SV6 pleasant then. Lots of power, kit and comfy.

[creampuff]

Commodores are very pleasant cars to drive. They really are effortless power. You could drive across the country and never exceed 2,500rpm!

[ariddell]

Thrifty have Lexus IS and GS on fleet at a not huge markup, quite fun if not hugely powerful. Avis still have a few V8 Holden Caprice around too which can be quite nice for a big comfy barge.