US Rental Cars

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Stotty

Stotty

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Off to Florida in a few weeks time for a bit of Golf and Theme Parks with the extended family and I need to rent something to get us around.

My brother-in-law has ordered a Camero, but personally, I'd rather save a bit of cash on the rental and have more spending money to play all 3 of the Jack, Arnie and Tom courses on the resort as well as drinking a decent amount of alcohol :D

Looking for some input from the US contingent over what these cars are like (all are under £350 for a 12 day rental, fully inclusive of CDW etc)...

Chrysler 200
Ford Fusion Saloon
Jeep Liberty
Chevrolet Impala
Ford Escape
Chevrolet Malibu

As usual for rental companies, these come with a 'or similar' comment.
 
Go for the Jeep this will allow everyone in the vehicle to be able to see all that flat land! And you will have room for stuff.
 
I'd go for the Fusion. Having ridden in one, they're fairly comfortable, and it should have sufficient space to hold your stuff in the boot.
 
Jeep or the Fusion, both are decent.
 
The Fusion is probably the best, but you're not going to get anything stellar. I'd go for the Jeep or either Ford, whichever is cheapest.
 
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x3 on the Fusion.

Although those new Chrysler 200's are fairly nice.
 
Ask if they have any PT Cruisers lying around.

Or a Geo Metro.
 
R1600Turbo
Although those new Chrysler 200's are fairly nice.
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I've actually heard that they're awful.

EDIT:
MotorTrend
Despite Eminem's best efforts, the Chrysler 200 (formerly the Sebring) remains a lone, sad reminder of the bad old days when Mopar spent a cold, lonely near-decade as Daimler's whipping boy, then had the marrow sucked out of it by robber barons and hedge fund managers before finally being helmed by a former hardware store impresario who received 100 pennies a year in compensation.
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You're not going to find any standouts. Look for something mid-sized and get the cheapest one available; and they'll all be about the same. So long as you don't end up with a Mitsubishi or pre-FIAT Chrysler (that includes the Liberty), you'll be fine.
 
Stotty
Chrysler 200
Ford Fusion Saloon
Jeep Liberty
Chevrolet Impala
Ford Escape
Chevrolet Malibu
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This is the first thread where I can say I've driven them all.

1. Boring, lifeless steering. Few amenities. Its cousin, the Dodge Avenger, is actually worse.

2. Not bad, the '12 (still on some lots) is a little less plush-riding than the '13, but it's kind of a trade-off in road feel. I think the new model has electrical power steering.

3. Kind neither here nor there, but doesn't feel like a truck. Held its own on dirt roads. Better than a Compass (which just feels like a cheap wagon without the handling and includes vague steering).

4. Run away. It drives like a truck. (Haven't driven a '14 model yet, which is all-new, but I haven't seen any for rental purposes as of this post.) Okay only if you are really tall or fat, and hate SUVs.

5. All-new for 2012, has a decent range of features. Feels surprisingly athletic for a small SUV.

6. New-ish for '13 my, but haven't driven the latest model (left my mark on many 2011-12 models). A sports sedan, at least compared to the Impala.

With that said, there's probably a 50% chance you'll get something different, since those are just examples. For example, the Nissan Altima and Mazda 6 come up every so often, as do a few sub-compacts (Corolla, Cruze, Jetta, Mazda 3), when they're out of bigger cars. I think they consider the Prius an "upgrade", on par with the mid-size compacts.

I rent with Avis, and they're okay with picking out just about any similar car (in the same class) in the lot, just ask them what they have at the counter.

Sometimes a Mustang V6, Dodge Charger, or Camaro V6 appear in my spot, but maybe just 5 times a year.

Minivans are almost twice as much, so watch out for the suggestion, unless you really need to haul five or more occupants and their stuff.
 
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The 200C rental I drove was classic American plastic box. It's a shame they chose that car for the "Imported from Detroit" commercial. Imported like a rat with plague...
 
Truth be told, it all depends on how many people will be with you. If it's just four of you guys, you'd be better off getting an Fusion, Impala or Malibu. Both of these vehicles are most likely more expensive to rent than the Chrysler 200 however, they're both cheaper to rent than the Escape and Liberty. The Fusion, Impala, and Malibu have an ample amount of seating room and enough trunk (boot) space to hold all your golf equipment. Going back to the Chrysler 200, I think it would have enough space to accommodate you guys, but I am not entirely sure about that.
 
Thanks again.

I think the Escape is the new Kuga in Europe, which gets reasonable reviews.

Is the Fusion a US Mondeo?
 
Libertys are cramp, and really lack any room, especially for their size. Go with the Fusion/Impala/Malibu since it will give you cabin and trunk space that will be enough for the whole family.
 
Well, I'm over here in FL, and I ended up with a Nissan Altima S, so not much point in asking about the choices :lol:

Car is actually OK other than having rubbish steering, that seems to have a mind of it's own, and an engine that's the most unrefined petrol lump I've driven in a long time (though it's a long time since I last drove a 4 pot petrol)... autoboxes and 4 pots really don't work well together. Also, it's the 1st car I've had without alloy wheels in about 15 years... I didn't know they even made cars with plastic wheel trims anymore.

Still, my brother in law has a bog standard Mustang soft top, and the Nissan has no problems keeping up with that :)

FL weather has been a bit rubbish so far - hot, humid, and lots of rain.

Edit...

Didn't pick up the rental 'til 10am day 2, so had to call a cab for a quick trip to the supermarket day 1 and also to get to the hire car pick up morning of day 2. Cab day 1 was a Denali, cab day 2 was a Escalade... both had 8.xl V8's... for a European with petrol at $10+ a gallon it's hillarious that someone would use a car that did 12-14mpg as a cab. Shocking interior quaility (plastics and leather in particular) for both cars too given they are supposed to be relatively luxurious cars, but lovely sounding engines :D
 
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Fusion or jeep depending on your space requirements.
 
None of those cars sticks out to me in any way. They're all equally tragic.
 
White & Nerdy
None of those cars sticks out to me in any way. They're all equally tragic.
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Thats why they are rentals, you use them to get from A to B and floor it everywhere cause it doesn't matter. We aren't shopping for new cars here. Thats why you look at MPG and space.
 
Stotty
Also, it's the 1st car I've had without alloy wheels in about 15 years... I didn't know they even made cars with plastic wheel trims anymore.
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That's quite common on many low-end, basic cars...exactly what most rental fare consists of (but with automatics). Sometimes, you get one with a few more options like a sunroof, alloy wheels, and/or Bluetooth, but that's essentially random. Last week, I had a Fusion Titanium, and usually that's not a typical rental trim package.

FL weather has been a bit rubbish so far...
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That's typical for this time of year...through the end of September, rain is going to be a threat every day.

Cab day 1 was a Denali, cab day 2 was a Escalade... both had 8.xl V8's... for a European with petrol at $10+ a gallon it's hillarious that someone would use a car that did 12-14mpg as a cab.
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Taxi cabs have broken out of the "should only be Ford Crown Victorias" mould in the past 5-10 years, and it's not uncommon to see Priuses on one end, and SUVs on the other. Sometimes, it's a regional thing...Scion xBs were a common sight in Chicago, for example.
 
White & Nerdy
None of those cars sticks out to me in any way. They're all equally tragic.
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WrxScooby
Thats why they are rentals, you use them to get from A to B and floor it everywhere cause it doesn't matter.
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It should also be noted that it is an American tradition to flog the 🤬 out of rental cars. In order to make them exciting, you sort of have to push them past their limits--and that's not difficult. When you return the car, rental companies check for new dings, scratches, vomit stains, etc...but they don't tend to notice that the steering wheel is now 20-degrees off-center. Hey, it's not my fault that the PT Cruiser is a limp, understeering pig...
 
Kylehnat
It should also be noted that it is an American tradition to flog the 🤬 out of rental cars...but they don't tend to notice that the steering wheel is now 20-degrees off-center.
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Or has teriyaki sauce all over the back seat during testing of a Hyundai Sonata. Also, curbs mean nothing to a rental car, they're actually hovercrafts in disguise.
 
Stotty
Cab day 1 was a Denali, cab day 2 was a Escalade... both had 8.xl V8's... for a European with petrol at $10+ a gallon it's hillarious that someone would use a car that did 12-14mpg as a cab. Shocking interior quaility (plastics and leather in particular) for both cars too given they are supposed to be relatively luxurious cars, but lovely sounding engines :D
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That's about all the Crown Vics would do anyway; and a full size SUV is about the last car you can get that's analogous to one of them in terms of construction (plus they have more room anyway, so in some ways its kind of a bonus). I wouldn't even be surprised if GM sold the Denali, at least, in fleet sales as well.


That's also why the grand exodus away from the Crown Victoria for police use hasn't been nearly Dodge Charger-centric as Dodge originally expected.
 
If you want to get a cheap car then Jeep will be better than any other car because it will be better than any car to drive.
 
Back from my 17 days in the ‘Sunshine state’ (although could be renamed the thunder storm state too!)… 12 days near Celebration (Orlando) and 4 days in Indian Rocks (Gulf Coast).

The Altima wasn’t actually that bad – although as I said earlier, I’m not a fan of small capacity petrol engines when they are fixed to an automatic gearbox. Covered around 700 miles and the car returned c.33mpg over a mix of town driving and 75-85mph freeway runs. Certainly a better car than the convertible Mustang my brother-in-law rented, which was pretty much a shed on wheels – the interior, in particular, was rubbish, being made of materials of a quality I haven’t seen in a European car for >20 years, and it looked like it had been assembled by a blind person.

Came back with mixed feelings about driving standards in the USA.

People will happily sit in the outside lane at well below the posted limit for mile after mile, despite the inner lanes being free of traffic, and I saw so many people cruising along whilst texting/on the internet it was frightening (I lost count of the number of people on the phone whilst driving). But traffic levels were far lower than in the UK, and drivers much less aggressive, with much less tailgating. Overall, I found driving in the US far less stressful.
 
I've petitioned for a name change to "America's Humidor", but it hasn't caught on with Florida's tourism bureaus.
 
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