What's the best holiday hire car you've had?
Discussion
greghm said:
I put Avis just because they sometimes have some nice choice but I do not think I have used them once.
Hertz or Sixt with Gold membership will get you super quickly to your car (without going through the desk). I actually think that these cars even allow you to go straight to the Gold desk.
+1 on this. I am Sixt lifetime Platinum and being able to go straight to your car on a Saturday in July at Nice Airport and skip all the massive queues is worth every penny.Hertz or Sixt with Gold membership will get you super quickly to your car (without going through the desk). I actually think that these cars even allow you to go straight to the Gold desk.
Exactly, I think as car lovers it is very important to be have a Gold membership in one of the auto rental companies as it fast track you to your car and generally gives you an upgrade.
On another note, I stay away from Europcar as they share their front desk with another company (Budget?) and that makes the wait quite long and not worth the premium price.
On another note, I stay away from Europcar as they share their front desk with another company (Budget?) and that makes the wait quite long and not worth the premium price.
BFleming said:
Hmm Hire Cars abroad - I've never hired one in the US, strictly Europe, so my list isn't very exciting. pretty much the opposite...
VW Golf Mk3. I've had a few of these in the 90's, and all had technical glitches, usually electrical.
Peugeot 306. Not great, again brand new, but never 'nice'. That was 1993.
Volvo 850GLT. I had booked a Passat, got an upgrade to the Volvo. I loved it, left a very good Volvo impression on me!
BMW 318i E36. I remember this was brand new and I put 2000km on it over a weekend. Calypso Red and I felt like a millionaire in it!
VW T4 Caravelle. Needed something with seats, lots of them. I remember it was a 2.5 auto, but not much horespower!
Seat Toledo - the first type of Toledo. It was a miler, and I couldn't get 1st gear!
Seat Leon - Mk2, 1.4 petrol. Flat as a witch's boob, but a nice drive somehow!
Opel Astra 1.7D. I liked it. My in-laws now have one. I like it less.
Mini Countryman 1.6D. Probably led to me buying my current Countryman SD. I only got this rental as Sixt offered me a Juke & I said 'anything else back there?'.
Peugeot 5008. An alleged upgrade. OK drive, just the build quality was awful, I remember fiberglass splinters from trying to fix the rear floor cubby holes which had collapsed.
Nissan Note. This was the bottom of the barrel of cheap Spanish rentals, only offered as Seat had stopped making the Marbella. All the LCD displays had fried, so you had to guess the mileage, time, radio channel. the speedometer worked, but walking would have been faster.
BMW 118d & 116d (current model) x 2 - both white, 5 door, one manual, one auto. The auto made me want a new BMW with an auto box.
Volvo V70 D4. This was last year, and it had much trickery & gadgets. Was ok for a few days on the Autobahns.
Toyota Yaris (current model). I spun this on a quiet B road in Spain. Oops. 1.4D in white, but deceptively spacious (to a point).
And let's see what tomorrow brings (Avis, Cologne-Bonn airport)!
The day after I posted this, I had a...VW Golf Mk3. I've had a few of these in the 90's, and all had technical glitches, usually electrical.
Peugeot 306. Not great, again brand new, but never 'nice'. That was 1993.
Volvo 850GLT. I had booked a Passat, got an upgrade to the Volvo. I loved it, left a very good Volvo impression on me!
BMW 318i E36. I remember this was brand new and I put 2000km on it over a weekend. Calypso Red and I felt like a millionaire in it!
VW T4 Caravelle. Needed something with seats, lots of them. I remember it was a 2.5 auto, but not much horespower!
Seat Toledo - the first type of Toledo. It was a miler, and I couldn't get 1st gear!
Seat Leon - Mk2, 1.4 petrol. Flat as a witch's boob, but a nice drive somehow!
Opel Astra 1.7D. I liked it. My in-laws now have one. I like it less.
Mini Countryman 1.6D. Probably led to me buying my current Countryman SD. I only got this rental as Sixt offered me a Juke & I said 'anything else back there?'.
Peugeot 5008. An alleged upgrade. OK drive, just the build quality was awful, I remember fiberglass splinters from trying to fix the rear floor cubby holes which had collapsed.
Nissan Note. This was the bottom of the barrel of cheap Spanish rentals, only offered as Seat had stopped making the Marbella. All the LCD displays had fried, so you had to guess the mileage, time, radio channel. the speedometer worked, but walking would have been faster.
BMW 118d & 116d (current model) x 2 - both white, 5 door, one manual, one auto. The auto made me want a new BMW with an auto box.
Volvo V70 D4. This was last year, and it had much trickery & gadgets. Was ok for a few days on the Autobahns.
Toyota Yaris (current model). I spun this on a quiet B road in Spain. Oops. 1.4D in white, but deceptively spacious (to a point).
And let's see what tomorrow brings (Avis, Cologne-Bonn airport)!
Hyundai i20 from Avis. Heated steering wheel, lane departure assist, and very basic everywhere else. It did the job.
Nissan X-Trail. A big truck! Same from the drivers perspective as a Qashqai.
Nissan Qashqai. Had a couple of 2016/2017 models, one fully specced with the surround cameras, one with nothing. 1.5 Diesel sounds like it shouldn't be able to propel these, but they do ok.
Jeep Wrangler. This was in California in 2017 courtesy of Hertz. A gutless 2.5 4 cylinder engine mated to a lethargic auto box. Super cool for knocking around town with the roof off, not nice on the freeway.
Seat Ibiza, current model (in 2017), 1.4 petrol. Was ok.
Peugeot 308 1.2THP Auto. Went well, gearbox was unpredictable, and the instruments being so high up... I wasn't that keen.
Focus C-Max. Holiday rental in 2018, and surprisingly good, complete with auto park (it was a manual, but asked you to select 1st or reverse as appropriate, and you did the clutch of course!).
Polo. A no frills rental. was ok apart from the collision detection system, which kept whacking on the brakes when it thought it was going to hit something.
VW Golf 1.6D - had 2, one black, one white, both manual. Competent yet basic cars, superbly built and a nice drive. No frills (hubcap spec).
Audi A3. Had this over the weekend just gone in Spain from Sixt. Black Line Edition 35 TFSI S Tronic, 2000km on the clock, registered Jan 2020. Nice car, infotainment interface wasn't enjoyable though, but probably a case of getting used to it. Fuel & temp gauges are an acquired taste (it had conventional instruments). Best headlights I've experienced (ever). 7 speed S Tronic (DSG) box gets confused sometimes, some mechanical creaks, clicks & tapping too.
Edited with the Jeep and the Peugeot 308 as I remembered them!
Edited by BFleming on Tuesday 4th February 16:23
Ford Mustang convertible in the US... But it was a specific deal to hire a Ford Mustang convertible.
In Europe, i reckon it was Jose the Seat Ibiza in Lanzarote. We took it off-roading in several places. No sump guard, which was disconcerting when we grounded it, especially in the badlands, but that little car was like a mountain goat.
In Europe, i reckon it was Jose the Seat Ibiza in Lanzarote. We took it off-roading in several places. No sump guard, which was disconcerting when we grounded it, especially in the badlands, but that little car was like a mountain goat.
Original Twingo in France.
Had a right wheeze in it around Paris and Fontainebleau forest tracks were a right hoot. Drove it at 10/10ths everywhere.
Even got down to a bit of action (on the move) in it with my ex bobbing away like it was Halloween!
Thrashed it down to Nice on the N roads and nearly came off the road in a bad way in the Massiv Centrale!
Heady days in more ways than one!
Had a right wheeze in it around Paris and Fontainebleau forest tracks were a right hoot. Drove it at 10/10ths everywhere.
Even got down to a bit of action (on the move) in it with my ex bobbing away like it was Halloween!
Thrashed it down to Nice on the N roads and nearly came off the road in a bad way in the Massiv Centrale!
Heady days in more ways than one!
Best is still the Audi A1 s-line, though I did love chucking a Fiat Panda around some Spanish mountains near Barcelona!
The worst has to be a poverty spec Seat Ibiza! I thought it would be good, but it was a turd of a car, which reminded me of a Rover 216! It was worse than a Citroen C1!
The worst has to be a poverty spec Seat Ibiza! I thought it would be good, but it was a turd of a car, which reminded me of a Rover 216! It was worse than a Citroen C1!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff