Rental car review
07-23-2010, 09:53 PM
#1
Rental car review
I travel a good deal for work and I have rented a ton of cars lately. I figured I would share my impressions about these cars.
For the record, I have not gotten a single beaten up rental. They have all been quite new and in good shape.
Warning: highly subjective commentary ahead...
Hyundai Accent
What a goddamn joke. This car is bad at pretty much everything. Sure, it is fairly comfortable for such a cheap car but that's the only plus. It's easily the slowest car I have ever driven with the exception of a mid 80's non-turbo Mercedes diesel. This car accelerates so poorly that you have to be damn certain that there is a gap of hundreds of yards before you pull out into traffic. It handles like crap. I drove one through some rural roads in death valley and at like 10 mph on gravel it would get sideways. I'm not complaining about that because I had quite a bit of fun scaring the shit out of my girlfriend and in all fairness, it was easy to reel it back in, but it was just unstable in any type of poor traction scenario. I know it's a cheap car and I know that it's an entry level car, but I have owned cheap entry level cars before and this one is just too crappy. I should add that it did feel like it was well made. Everything was super cheap looking but it didn't rattle or feel like it was going to break off in my hands. I had one in Vegas and one in Colorado. The car barely had enough power to make it through the mountains.
Nissan Altima 2.5 with CVT
This was a surprisingly great car. I expected it to be very vanilla but it was very comfortable, it rode nice, it was surprisingly quick for such a big car with a relatively small engine, and it was just all around a good car.
I drove it for a looooooong time. I went to Vegas and made the mistake of getting incredibly drunk (I drink maybe once a year and I suck at it) the night before my 6am flight back home. I missed my flight and there were literally no tickets available at all at any price. So I rented that Altima and drove back to Texas. It sucked balls. But I was able to drive it through the desert, mountains, rain, and a blizzard. It handled them all well.
Ford Explorer
What a pile of crap. The interior was cheesy and non intuitive. It felt cumbersome and handled like garbage. Plus the engine felt sluggish. I can't understand why anyone would buy one of these. The gas mileage was terrible and it felt a little iffy in the rain.
Ford Flex
Biggest surprise thus far. This car/suv/whatever was great. It was very comfortable and did not ride like a big vehicle the same way that the explorer did. The interior was perfectly acceptable. It really is the best merger or car-like driveability and SUV-like space that I have experienced. They did a good job with this car. If I had a wife, kids, and was missing a few testicles I would certainly consider one of these over a minivan or other SUV.
Ford Focus
WTF were they thinking? Everything feels strange in this car. The dash feels too high and the mirrors feel inadequate. The car handles like crap. It feels very sluggish. Even though it's noticeably faster than the Hyundai, it feels like you're asking the engine for more than it can handle. The interior really seems cheap and will look super dated in no time.
Chevy HHR
My god in heaven. Kill it. Kill it with fire. Drives like crap in every possible way. I can think of nothing good to say other than no one would ever steal it???
Chevy Cobalt
Drove better than the Focus and the engine felt better, even though they acceleration was probably similar. The handling was pretty decent. However, the car felt impossible to see out of. All in all it felt decent and it was a big improvement over the Focus.
Chevy Aveo. Better than the Hyundai. It was as dinky and felt as cheap as you would expect from that level of vehicle, but it had a certain charm that the Hyundai lacked. The rear hatch was a nice touch. I think that's the only way to do a small car.
Dodge Caliber
Easily the worst of all. The whole styling of the thing felt like someone had a box full of bumps and ridges and flares and scoops and doo dads and just pooped them all out onto a car. It has pseudo macho SUV looks and a high seating position but everything else screams "crappy car". I can't really figure out what they are trying to accomplish with it. It is a vehicle that I would be embarrassed to own.
Chevy Malibu
It was a four cylinder, much like Altima. I really liked it. It was comfortable and drove quite well. I would say that it is not quite as nice as the Altima but it was close enough that they could call it a competitor with a straight face.
Chevy Camaro
It feels like they really went out of their way to make it suck. It feels only about as sporty as the Altima; maybe even less. It is impossible to see out of or know where the hood stops. It is just an awkward vehicle. The V6 engine sounds powerful on paper it didn't feel very fast. I would say that I have never driven another car where looking at the gauges while watching the road was so challenging. The trunk sucks. It is fairly decently sized but the opening is absurdly small. The opening on my Miata's trunk is seriously about the same size. You can tell that so much was done in the name of style (a swing and a miss, if you ask me) and the rest took the back seat. The dash and interior in general is just gaudy.
I'm sure there's a few I'm forgetting.
This is the part where you tell me I'm a fan boy for, well, I'll leave that part to you...
For the record, I have not gotten a single beaten up rental. They have all been quite new and in good shape.
Warning: highly subjective commentary ahead...
Hyundai Accent
What a goddamn joke. This car is bad at pretty much everything. Sure, it is fairly comfortable for such a cheap car but that's the only plus. It's easily the slowest car I have ever driven with the exception of a mid 80's non-turbo Mercedes diesel. This car accelerates so poorly that you have to be damn certain that there is a gap of hundreds of yards before you pull out into traffic. It handles like crap. I drove one through some rural roads in death valley and at like 10 mph on gravel it would get sideways. I'm not complaining about that because I had quite a bit of fun scaring the shit out of my girlfriend and in all fairness, it was easy to reel it back in, but it was just unstable in any type of poor traction scenario. I know it's a cheap car and I know that it's an entry level car, but I have owned cheap entry level cars before and this one is just too crappy. I should add that it did feel like it was well made. Everything was super cheap looking but it didn't rattle or feel like it was going to break off in my hands. I had one in Vegas and one in Colorado. The car barely had enough power to make it through the mountains.
Nissan Altima 2.5 with CVT
This was a surprisingly great car. I expected it to be very vanilla but it was very comfortable, it rode nice, it was surprisingly quick for such a big car with a relatively small engine, and it was just all around a good car.
I drove it for a looooooong time. I went to Vegas and made the mistake of getting incredibly drunk (I drink maybe once a year and I suck at it) the night before my 6am flight back home. I missed my flight and there were literally no tickets available at all at any price. So I rented that Altima and drove back to Texas. It sucked balls. But I was able to drive it through the desert, mountains, rain, and a blizzard. It handled them all well.
Ford Explorer
What a pile of crap. The interior was cheesy and non intuitive. It felt cumbersome and handled like garbage. Plus the engine felt sluggish. I can't understand why anyone would buy one of these. The gas mileage was terrible and it felt a little iffy in the rain.
Ford Flex
Biggest surprise thus far. This car/suv/whatever was great. It was very comfortable and did not ride like a big vehicle the same way that the explorer did. The interior was perfectly acceptable. It really is the best merger or car-like driveability and SUV-like space that I have experienced. They did a good job with this car. If I had a wife, kids, and was missing a few testicles I would certainly consider one of these over a minivan or other SUV.
Ford Focus
WTF were they thinking? Everything feels strange in this car. The dash feels too high and the mirrors feel inadequate. The car handles like crap. It feels very sluggish. Even though it's noticeably faster than the Hyundai, it feels like you're asking the engine for more than it can handle. The interior really seems cheap and will look super dated in no time.
Chevy HHR
My god in heaven. Kill it. Kill it with fire. Drives like crap in every possible way. I can think of nothing good to say other than no one would ever steal it???
Chevy Cobalt
Drove better than the Focus and the engine felt better, even though they acceleration was probably similar. The handling was pretty decent. However, the car felt impossible to see out of. All in all it felt decent and it was a big improvement over the Focus.
Chevy Aveo. Better than the Hyundai. It was as dinky and felt as cheap as you would expect from that level of vehicle, but it had a certain charm that the Hyundai lacked. The rear hatch was a nice touch. I think that's the only way to do a small car.
Dodge Caliber
Easily the worst of all. The whole styling of the thing felt like someone had a box full of bumps and ridges and flares and scoops and doo dads and just pooped them all out onto a car. It has pseudo macho SUV looks and a high seating position but everything else screams "crappy car". I can't really figure out what they are trying to accomplish with it. It is a vehicle that I would be embarrassed to own.
Chevy Malibu
It was a four cylinder, much like Altima. I really liked it. It was comfortable and drove quite well. I would say that it is not quite as nice as the Altima but it was close enough that they could call it a competitor with a straight face.
Chevy Camaro
It feels like they really went out of their way to make it suck. It feels only about as sporty as the Altima; maybe even less. It is impossible to see out of or know where the hood stops. It is just an awkward vehicle. The V6 engine sounds powerful on paper it didn't feel very fast. I would say that I have never driven another car where looking at the gauges while watching the road was so challenging. The trunk sucks. It is fairly decently sized but the opening is absurdly small. The opening on my Miata's trunk is seriously about the same size. You can tell that so much was done in the name of style (a swing and a miss, if you ask me) and the rest took the back seat. The dash and interior in general is just gaudy.
I'm sure there's a few I'm forgetting.
This is the part where you tell me I'm a fan boy for, well, I'll leave that part to you...
07-24-2010, 12:16 AM
#2
Totally agree with the altima. I rented one for a 6 hr round trip for a weekend and was pleasantly surprised by it so much, that I considered buying one the day after I dropped it off. Great midsized car.
07-24-2010, 06:25 AM
#4
That already sounds like an improvement.
07-24-2010, 01:06 PM
#7
Registered User
Totally agree with the camaro write up. I had the v6 as a rental. It didn't feel slow to me but what a poor feeling inside the car. Could they have made the windshield any smaller and the front of the car any larger? I was very happy to get out of it.
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07-24-2010, 01:14 PM
#8
Originally Posted by Mr.E.G.,Jul 23 2010, 11:53 PM
Chevy HHR
My god in heaven. Kill it. Kill it with fire. Drives like crap in every possible way. I can think of nothing good to say other than no one would ever steal it???
Dodge Caliber
Easily the worst of all. The whole styling of the thing felt like someone had a box full of bumps and ridges and flares and scoops and doo dads and just pooped them all out onto a car. It has pseudo macho SUV looks and a high seating position but everything else screams "crappy car". I can't really figure out what they are trying to accomplish with it. It is a vehicle that I would be embarrassed to own.
My god in heaven. Kill it. Kill it with fire. Drives like crap in every possible way. I can think of nothing good to say other than no one would ever steal it???
Dodge Caliber
Easily the worst of all. The whole styling of the thing felt like someone had a box full of bumps and ridges and flares and scoops and doo dads and just pooped them all out onto a car. It has pseudo macho SUV looks and a high seating position but everything else screams "crappy car". I can't really figure out what they are trying to accomplish with it. It is a vehicle that I would be embarrassed to own.
Why both manufactuerers chose to make "performance" versions of these cars is a mystery. They could not even be decent polished turds.
I think a while back somebody posted a story about an HHR SS beating an S2000 time around the ring when people get to magazine racing but I bet nobody in the history of earth traded a decent car for one.
I can't wait to drive though Italy in a month in my rental Fiat 500. I know it will kind of suck but it will still be cool to drive through Tuscany in a tin can with a screamin 1.3 liter engine. I hope they don't bounce me to another model or I will be pissed.
07-24-2010, 07:28 PM
#9
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I disagree with you on the Malibu . That thing was so dull it makes the Fusion seem like a Rolls Royce or Bentley!
Seriously the Fusion is the rental to get . It seems to be a very nice car with only two faults that I found . The engine is not quite Honda smooth and the trunk lid sounds like it is made of tin when you close it.
The V6 Camaro I drove felt like a stiff suspensioned sedan and not sporty at all.
Last what you said about the Caliber I double that for the Aveo and Cobalt. The exteriors scream "Homeless people would be ashamed to have this as their car".
Seriously the Fusion is the rental to get . It seems to be a very nice car with only two faults that I found . The engine is not quite Honda smooth and the trunk lid sounds like it is made of tin when you close it.
The V6 Camaro I drove felt like a stiff suspensioned sedan and not sporty at all.
Last what you said about the Caliber I double that for the Aveo and Cobalt. The exteriors scream "Homeless people would be ashamed to have this as their car".
07-25-2010, 10:55 AM
#10
Originally Posted by Silverstreak HX,Jul 24 2010, 07:28 PM
The exteriors scream "Homeless people would be ashamed to have this as their car".
I forgot about the Ford Fusion. I rented one of those but it was at the end of nearly 18 consecutive hours of working and I really can't say that I remember much about it (or anything else form that day).
I've been in a rental Fusion on two other occasions and it seemed nice, but I wasn't driving so I can't offer much more.