Mustang Convertible Hire Car
Discussion
I recently hired a convertible mustang in the US for a couple of weeks. I am pretty sure it was a V6, but I am not sure what the spec of the car was.
A workmate of mine also hired one as well at the same time on a trip to another state in the US, and he is convinced it was a V8 5.0 jobbie, I am more convinced it was a 2.0 or 3.0 V6. It was great fun for what I wanted, but was as slow as anything, and wallowed around the road!
I am sure we had the same type of car from the photos I have seen, and the mpg (approx 22mpg for me, and 25mpg for him) received. So what is the spec of the bog standard Hertz/Avis/Dollar Mustang convertibles available for hire in the US?
A workmate of mine also hired one as well at the same time on a trip to another state in the US, and he is convinced it was a V8 5.0 jobbie, I am more convinced it was a 2.0 or 3.0 V6. It was great fun for what I wanted, but was as slow as anything, and wallowed around the road!
I am sure we had the same type of car from the photos I have seen, and the mpg (approx 22mpg for me, and 25mpg for him) received. So what is the spec of the bog standard Hertz/Avis/Dollar Mustang convertibles available for hire in the US?
Could have been one of the last 2010 4.0 V6s with 210 bhp.
Wouldn't have thought there were many still on the fleets though; most would be 2011 cars by now as the 2011 MY came in around about May 2010. Externally, 2010 and 2011 cars are (nearly?) identical.
The 3.7 has 306 hp and is pretty quick, although (without having driven it) probably feels somewhat slower due to the autobox. Your colleague could have had a V8, but these tend to be in a "special" car group.
If it was California, the license plates are sequential, so cars with 6LXX will be older than cars with 6MXX and so on (there's no set date to change over as in the UK however).
Wouldn't have thought there were many still on the fleets though; most would be 2011 cars by now as the 2011 MY came in around about May 2010. Externally, 2010 and 2011 cars are (nearly?) identical.
The 3.7 has 306 hp and is pretty quick, although (without having driven it) probably feels somewhat slower due to the autobox. Your colleague could have had a V8, but these tend to be in a "special" car group.
If it was California, the license plates are sequential, so cars with 6LXX will be older than cars with 6MXX and so on (there's no set date to change over as in the UK however).
Edited by DavidHM on Wednesday 12th October 13:04
Fats25 said:
I recently hired a convertible mustang in the US for a couple of weeks. I am pretty sure it was a V6, but I am not sure what the spec of the car was.
A workmate of mine also hired one as well at the same time on a trip to another state in the US, and he is convinced it was a V8 5.0 jobbie, I am more convinced it was a 2.0 or 3.0 V6. It was great fun for what I wanted, but was as slow as anything, and wallowed around the road!
I am sure we had the same type of car from the photos I have seen, and the mpg (approx 22mpg for me, and 25mpg for him) received. So what is the spec of the bog standard Hertz/Avis/Dollar Mustang convertibles available for hire in the US?
I also hired one (from Dollar) when I was in Florida last month. Cost $15 per day, after a bit of haggling, to upgrade but it was worth it.A workmate of mine also hired one as well at the same time on a trip to another state in the US, and he is convinced it was a V8 5.0 jobbie, I am more convinced it was a 2.0 or 3.0 V6. It was great fun for what I wanted, but was as slow as anything, and wallowed around the road!
I am sure we had the same type of car from the photos I have seen, and the mpg (approx 22mpg for me, and 25mpg for him) received. So what is the spec of the bog standard Hertz/Avis/Dollar Mustang convertibles available for hire in the US?
Probably nicest car I've had on my trips to the US.
Twas a V6 3.7 with something like 300bhp!
Figure quoted 0-60 for this model in auto mode is something like 6 seconds! All I can say is no way Jose
DavidHM said:
Could have been one of the last 2010 4.0 V6s with 210 bhp.
Wouldn't have thought there were many still on the fleets though; most would be 2011 cars by now as the 2011 MY came in around about May 2010. Externally, 2010 and 2011 cars are (nearly?) identical.
The 3.7 has 306 hp and is pretty quick, although (without having driven it) probably feels somewhat slower due to the autobox. Your colleague could have had a V8, but these tend to be in a "special" car group.
If it was California, the license plates are sequential, so cars with 6LXX will be older than cars with 6MXX and so on (there's no set date to change over as in the UK however).
It was California - and I am pretty sure it did start 6MXX, I will check the photos when I get home. Wouldn't have thought there were many still on the fleets though; most would be 2011 cars by now as the 2011 MY came in around about May 2010. Externally, 2010 and 2011 cars are (nearly?) identical.
The 3.7 has 306 hp and is pretty quick, although (without having driven it) probably feels somewhat slower due to the autobox. Your colleague could have had a V8, but these tend to be in a "special" car group.
If it was California, the license plates are sequential, so cars with 6LXX will be older than cars with 6MXX and so on (there's no set date to change over as in the UK however).
It certainly did not feel like a 306hp car - and I am coming from a daily driver of a CLS320CDI auto, so not exactly a light powerful car. It may well have been that my foot needed to be buried to get it to move, and then it ran out of power, that made it feel slower than it was. Or perhaps because it did not have the diesel torque that is spoken about. Either way it felt sluggish. Pretty sure my mate had the same car, he did not upgrade to a "muscle car" it was one of the standard cars from convertible fleet.
However, even though all the tourists are driving them around in California, it was still fantastic fun for what I wanted. I also am in love with the American style cars, regardless of their driveability. If I had realized these existed:-
I would have upgraded to one and I love them.
Fats25 said:
DavidHM said:
Could have been one of the last 2010 4.0 V6s with 210 bhp.
Wouldn't have thought there were many still on the fleets though; most would be 2011 cars by now as the 2011 MY came in around about May 2010. Externally, 2010 and 2011 cars are (nearly?) identical.
The 3.7 has 306 hp and is pretty quick, although (without having driven it) probably feels somewhat slower due to the autobox. Your colleague could have had a V8, but these tend to be in a "special" car group.
If it was California, the license plates are sequential, so cars with 6LXX will be older than cars with 6MXX and so on (there's no set date to change over as in the UK however).
It was California - and I am pretty sure it did start 6MXX, I will check the photos when I get home. Wouldn't have thought there were many still on the fleets though; most would be 2011 cars by now as the 2011 MY came in around about May 2010. Externally, 2010 and 2011 cars are (nearly?) identical.
The 3.7 has 306 hp and is pretty quick, although (without having driven it) probably feels somewhat slower due to the autobox. Your colleague could have had a V8, but these tend to be in a "special" car group.
If it was California, the license plates are sequential, so cars with 6LXX will be older than cars with 6MXX and so on (there's no set date to change over as in the UK however).
It certainly did not feel like a 306hp car - and I am coming from a daily driver of a CLS320CDI auto, so not exactly a light powerful car. It may well have been that my foot needed to be buried to get it to move, and then it ran out of power, that made it feel slower than it was. Or perhaps because it did not have the diesel torque that is spoken about. Either way it felt sluggish. Pretty sure my mate had the same car, he did not upgrade to a "muscle car" it was one of the standard cars from convertible fleet.
However, even though all the tourists are driving them around in California, it was still fantastic fun for what I wanted. I also am in love with the American style cars, regardless of their driveability. If I had realized these existed:-
I would have upgraded to one and I love them.
the 300bhp mustang doesn't feel terribly quick. I think its because :
the auto box makes the launch quite gradual (not very harsh - compared to the 400bhp v8 camaro I had before)
The wide US roads make things feel slower than you expect
when you boot a slushbox the first 1second is it changing down. However, if you watch the speedo once it's in the right gear, it does move rather rapidly
The mustang sounds nice, but doesn't have much 'drama' on the go. The manual does 60 in 5.1 seconds - I can't imagine the auto loses *that* much comparitively?
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/112_100...
The old 4.0 is probably a bit slower than your cls if its the drop top auto version, but a coupe manual would be as fast or faster than the merc.
The new V6 coupe manual is a 5 second 0-60 car, the convertible auto is (allegedly)6-6.5.
Without the V6 pony pack the suspension is pretty wallowy on the last gen, combined with the convertible weight and the sloppy auto the rental cars give Mustangs a bad rep. A well specced Coupe manual is incredible fun.
The Camaro is a wonderful piece of design in my opinion too, but not really a match for the proper mustangs on the road, other than aesthetic appeal.
The new V6 coupe manual is a 5 second 0-60 car, the convertible auto is (allegedly)6-6.5.
Without the V6 pony pack the suspension is pretty wallowy on the last gen, combined with the convertible weight and the sloppy auto the rental cars give Mustangs a bad rep. A well specced Coupe manual is incredible fun.
The Camaro is a wonderful piece of design in my opinion too, but not really a match for the proper mustangs on the road, other than aesthetic appeal.
5lab said:
the camaros aren't much more expensive than the mustangs - extra 2-3 bucks a day. Not sure on the topless one though
Our top requirement was a convertible, and not a Sebring! I did look around for other options other than the Mustang, but that was the only option.Please note - I am not slagging off the Mustang - as I enjoyed it, I turned the traction control off and drove it everywhere like this.
I was just suprised how underpowered it felt for what the specifications are suggesting.
the traction on the mustang doesn't turn off fully with a press. you need to press it, then press and hold, whilst stationary, to fully disengage it. Note that the Phoenix PD don't take kindly to rolling burnouts and you'll be fine
incidentally, the worst thing in my opinion was the lack of manual shift mode on the gearbox. I've not had another US market car without an ability to shift gear for myself - found it a little disappointing
incidentally, the worst thing in my opinion was the lack of manual shift mode on the gearbox. I've not had another US market car without an ability to shift gear for myself - found it a little disappointing
I rented a convertible Mustang from San Francisco airport back in March (incidentally we had 10 days of clear blue skies).
It was fun driving the Pacific Coast Highway, on day 2 around Carmel, I noticed a small cylindrical object under the drivers seat as we were getting back in the car at Cypress Point.
I picked it up, opened the canister & inside were several rocks of crack cocaine. How my wife & I laughed upon realising my prints were now all over the aluminium canister & she reminded me that inmates of the US penal system might find me quite cute. Needless to say said items were hastily lobbed into the Pacific Ocean.
It was fun driving the Pacific Coast Highway, on day 2 around Carmel, I noticed a small cylindrical object under the drivers seat as we were getting back in the car at Cypress Point.
I picked it up, opened the canister & inside were several rocks of crack cocaine. How my wife & I laughed upon realising my prints were now all over the aluminium canister & she reminded me that inmates of the US penal system might find me quite cute. Needless to say said items were hastily lobbed into the Pacific Ocean.
stubbsy996 said:
I also hired one (from Dollar) when I was in Florida last month. Cost $15 per day, after a bit of haggling, to upgrade but it was worth it.
Probably nicest car I've had on my trips to the US.
Twas a V6 3.7 with something like 300bhp!
Figure quoted 0-60 for this model in auto mode is something like 6 seconds! All I can say is no way Jose
and here's a pic of it!Probably nicest car I've had on my trips to the US.
Twas a V6 3.7 with something like 300bhp!
Figure quoted 0-60 for this model in auto mode is something like 6 seconds! All I can say is no way Jose
I try and avoid them when I'm in the USA for the last race of the redneck season - Last few times I booked a Dodge Charger and actually got one (once I got Fraud Escape but that's life) and they are quite good fun and cover the miles well
I'll see what I get in Nov as I've just booked another charger with Dollar
I'll see what I get in Nov as I've just booked another charger with Dollar
Each time I've rented a Mustang I have been disappointed, always having to return them for one that works properly,often more than once.Compared to the Sebring and Solara they are coarse, noisy, thirsty, cramped,cheaply built and poor handling. Looks aside I find nothing to recommend and certainly would not choose one again.
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