Looking to rent a car at Easter, and size of the boot is critical (staying 3 hours from airport for 2 weeks). These two cars seem to be the closest match in terms of size/price/etc -
Anyone who's familiar with these makes/models care to explain?
Many TIA.
PS: I know I can phone and ask (Hertz), but they were completely useless last time I tried.
In message , JoeJoe writes
You often don't get the car in the pictures though do you? You're just booking a class of car.
Well those pictures get the plural of suitcase wrong. And the singular.
That's true. Last year we ordered something that looked pretty big (i.e. Hyundai in the photo, and ended up with something that looked like the Mazda that was apparently within the same class. Everyone but the driver had to spend 3 hours with a suitcase on their lap... Not funny...
Just trying to avoid a repeat.
I've been renting cars from airports for four decades. I can't recall ever being given the car used to illustrate the "typical" car for the group, ever.
For example, my wife was keen to try a Fiat Panda and we ordered a Panda from the same hire company on multiple occasions. We got, on separate occasions, a Matiz, a Golf, a Fiat 500 and a Dodge Calibre as well as several other forgettable cars. Most recently I booked a Fiat Punto and got an Audi A3 and a Nissan Micra and got an Audi A4.
In short all you can do is book a class of car, then put up with the hire car company's interpretation of that class. If you are willing to face them down, being firm and polite, you *may* get a free upgrade if the car of your choice is not available.
If you look up boot capacities you will find the Mazda 2 is 250 litres, the hatchback Hundy Accent is 350 litres, both measured with the back seats up. If you think that you are guaranteed to get either car you are kidding yourself.
I once wanted to make sure that the car that I would be getting in Alaska would be a four-wheel-drive Subaru, but National Car Rental Head Office said that they didn't have them there. They had done three years previously, but no matter. So when we arrived at Anchorage, they asked us what colour of Subaru Legacy 4x4 we would like to take, as that was the only model they had available. Other than that, it is whatever the dice decide.
Thanks guys - I am no novice when it comes to car hire myself either - an average on at least 3-4 hires per year over the last 20-odd years, and am therefore well aware of all that was mentioned.
We arrive at the same time as last year - around 2am, at the business time of the year, so no chance of anything being upgraded or even downgraded, and hence trying to avoid the mess that we encountered then.
I had another look at the quotes, and I believe that the Hyundai details are a misprint as every car in any class below it is advertised as capable of holding 1 large + 2 small suitcases... Only the Hyundai, for some reason, says 1 + 1...
Thanks again.
Um - so what's the point of agonising over which particular model has the biggest boot?
Look for proper road tests of the models you're considering, like say from Autocar. They give the boot etc volume.
So order a bigger class of car.
MBQ
e
We once ordered a Fiat Ritmo for a holiday in Italy. When we got to Rome ai= rport they gave us an estate car version instead. Just as well as two adult= s and two kids make up a helluva lot of luggage and the estate car just abo= ut managed.
fred wrote: [snip]
Jings, did you enjoy the sight of dinosaurs majestically grazing on the plains as pterosaurs wheeled overhead?
At work, we've had hire cars upgraded at no extra cost to better performance up-market cars and ended up with no leg room for back seat passengers. Not good for 4/6 hour journeys.
Is the quoted size of the boot all usable space?
You book a class of car not the exact model. Book an estate car instead.
Twice the price for some reason...
Phoned them in the end, and they clarify that the boot capacity of the Hyundai on their website was indeed a mistake.
Thanks again to all.
Can I just suggest ditching suitcases for soft bags. Much much easier to squeeze in to hire car boots that rigid or semi-rigid cases.
Tim
I'd second that. We swapped to using soft cases a couple of years ago. Particularly important for budget airlines where luggage allowances are laughable. Argos sell a wheeled soft holdall that weighs just over 1kg, which is a huge weight saving compared to even "air weight" hard shelled cases. A bit of careful packing makes sure that items get to the other end in one piece. Most recently I shipped an entire CCTV system including DVR and monitor in my hold luggage. It was packed with towels and clothing to act as "bumpers" at each end of the case. No problems with it despite the best efforts of the Stansted case flingers.
Agreed - have done that for the last few years.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.