Rental Car Reviews

[nate]

Just for the hell of it I thought I would write my review of two rental cars I drove for the last 10 days.

 

2013 Hyundai Elantra - 22k miles

This car came with some nice features like iPod connectivity and ECO Mode.  Interior cabin space was ample for a smaller car, same with the trunk.

 

However there were already issues with the car.  The iPod connectivity did not work, same with the trunk release.  Also, the interior of the car was covered in that cheap painted and polished plastic that already was significantly scuffed. 

 

For such a small car, the turning circle was pretty big.

 

Finally, and most importantly, ECO mode is great in theory but it is absolutely garbage.  What it does is controls the engine and transmission to help get better gas mileage.  I drove this car for 5 days in Wisconsin and by the third day I never turned it back on.  When you need power you don't get it, it never down shifts.  It was maddening.

 

Overall grade: D I still fail to understand why anyone buys a Hyundai.  When compared to Toyota/Honda they do not stack up.  They are at best a more reliable version of cheap American cars.

 

 

2013 Nissan Xterra S 4x4 - 2600 miles

This car has the S trim which is the mid level trim.  It comes with a decent sized screen for the audio with information about what song is on the radio, etc.  It comes with a 4.0L V6, cloth seats and power windows.  It does come with iPod control.  

 

It had tons of space, I was able to fold one of the back seats down flat while my Daughter's car seat was in the other to give us a large amount of cargo space.

 

The iPod control worked, and it worked well.  Scrolling through songs and playlists was really easy.

 

The engine had plenty of power which was very nice, the ride was pretty smooth and it was nice and high off the ground.

 

Gas mileage was pretty poor, especially compared to other vehicles in its class.  The difference being that the Xterra is more of a rugged model than most other smaller SUVs on the market.

 

Also, having a five year old, it was hard for her to get in and out of since it was so high off the ground but she kind of liked it.  I think over time she probably would have gotten used to it, but the first time she was tired or annoyed I can imagine it would be a struggle getting her into the car.

 

Overall grade: B I liked this car enough that I tried to buy one yesterday.  I couldn't because there aren't any dealers within 150 miles that have one in the 4x4 setup.

[St1ck]

I've had an Xterra for over 6 years, and plan on keeping it until it craps out. When that happens, I very well may buy another. 

[nate]

Heading to look at a couple 2012 Pathfinder LE 4x4's today.

[nate]

Man, I forgot I did this.  Here are some more.

 

VW Jetta - Fairly base model but with leather.  Not a huge fan.  It was well appointed and everything but drove really weird.  I am thinking one of the higher models with a better engine would have been better.  I give the one I drove a C+ only because of how it was to drive, the actual build of the car was nice and the technology package was nice.  Having driven the Audi A4 I know this car can be a lot better.  I think this one suffered from being underpowered and lacking some of the higher end driving features.

 

Jeep Renegade - The one I had was maybe a mid range model?  Had leather and decent tech package.  It was really easy to drive, had decent power and was surprisingly roomy for a small SUV.  It had some plastic on the inside that you could tell was cheap and would eventually fall apart.  With that said it was a fun little car.  I would give it a B.  I would never buy one because of the terrible reliability history of Fiat/Chrysler though.

 

Buick Enclave - I drove this from Milwaukee to St Louis and holy crap is it a pile of shit.  For a car that is less than a year old it is already falling apart.  It has these backup and blind spot sensors that come on at random times, sometimes stay on and other times never come on.  The dash board has these chrome accent pieces which conveniently reflect the sun in a way to blind the driver.  The iPod control gained sentience and randomly decided to play whatever it wanted.  The menu system is laid out in a way that you need a half hour to find or change any specific setting.  The buttons on the steering wheel are small and hard to press.  The visibility is shit, which makes the malfunctioning sensors that much more annoying.  At speeds of 70+ it is all over the road, the steering is too fast so it is really annoying to make any kind of small correction in.  It has no power and a clunky transmission (which could be from rental car beating but it only has 14k miles).  Basically this is exactly what I would expect from GM.  Overall it is an F

Edited April 27, 2016 by nate

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I bought my current car because of a rental two years earlier. I have a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. Why not a Toyota or Honda? About 8K reasons why.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Vegas Halo Fan

[ABC]

Just for the hell of it I thought I would write my review of two rental cars I drove for the last 10 days.

 

 

 

Clearly not a car guy. I don't get most of the complaints. These cars do exactly what they are meant to do. Stop cheaping out and pay more if you want more. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

My last rental was a Kia Soul. Liked it more than I thought that I would. Lots of room, decent performance and good fuel economy.

[Section517]

On Kauai I rented a 1998 Corolla from a discount rental place. The paint was peeling and the headliner was falling off. Had a pioneer aftermarket CD player. The window tint was purple and bubbly. B+.

Man I miss that car.

 

Who cares?

You were in Kauai.  I love and miss that island.

[NJHalo]

Another satisfied Kia Soul renter

[Adam]

Never had any issues with our sonata

[Angel Dog and Beer]

Who cares?

You were in Kauai.  I love and miss that island.

 

You must've missed that thread, cals hates Hawaii.

[NJHalo]

I love renting from Alamo in Orlando Airport. They have such a huge lot, and variety that you can choose from. I usually have my wife stand by a car to keep it, while I wander around trying to find something better.

[Tank]

when my men's chorus travels out of state, we pick up about 6 rental cars/vans. the guy who coordinates all of this for us, without fail, doesn't have same info as the people at the counter need for the reservation, and so a long series of phone calls take place to try and work out the screwed up information.

 

this happens 100% of the time we rent cars. can't think of any exceptions.

[mrwicked]

I had a fiat 500 stick shift when driving around the countryside in tuscany, italy.

it was awesome.

not a ton of torque, was slow going up some of those rolling hills.

but it had some pep once you got moving.

was a total blast.

 

funny i was there in september. just last week i got a ticket in the mail for breaking some random traffic law while i was there.

punks.

Edited April 27, 2016 by mrwicked

[Jason]

I've been researching some autos lately as all of mine are high mileage and could go at anytime. So far everything I've read has the Sonata ranked pretty high as compared to other mid size sedans. I've yet to find a 3rd party reviewer (like JD power) to give it bad marks. My parents have a 2014 hybrid and they are really happy with it. My dad told me he gets close to 600 miles on a tank of gas. Not bad.

[arch stanton]

Are you sure VW didn't just rig your odometer to make it look like you went farther on that tank of fuel?

[Tank]

I get over 600 miles per tank with the Touareg.

That must come in handy (hi Adam!) when you summer in Chicago.

[Stradling]

How big is that gas tank?

[arch stanton]

I'm trying to figure out how that could happen. Did they screw with all the maps and GPS? Or does someone from VW throw in a few more gallons of diesel when I'm parked?

Those crafty Germans...

Diesel fumes are hallucinogenic.

[Blarg]

Each time I take my Mercedes in for service they give me a C300 sedan as a loaner. The 2 lite turbo actually is smooth and moves the car along effortlessly. I took it down to San Diego and back and averaged 34 mph.

Back up cameras are the best and I wish my SLK had one. The sedan is much longer in the tail and the camera really gives you a clear view of traffic as you pull out between a couple of SUVs. It's always a pain the SLK trying to see around all that metal and not get hit.

One complaint of the Mercedes is not that you can't adjust the ride and performance attributes but every damn time you start the car it resets to ECO mode. So you have to go through the stupid menu to get back to where you were before you shut it off to fill the tank. Really stupid stuff and it smacks of government intervention but earlier models used to remember your last setting.

[Tank]

Each time I take my Mercedes in for service they give me a C300 sedan as a loaner. The 2 lite turbo actually is smooth and moves the car along effortlessly. I took it down to San Diego and back and averaged 34 mph.

Back up cameras are the best and I wish my SLK had one. The sedan is much longer in the tail and the camera really gives you a clear view of traffic as you pull out between a couple of SUVs. It's always a pain the SLK trying to see around all that metal and not get hit.

One complaint of the Mercedes is not that you can't adjust the ride and performance attributes but every damn time you start the car it resets to ECO mode. So you have to go through the stupid menu to get back to where you were before you shut it off to fill the tank. Really stupid stuff and it smacks of government intervention but earlier models used to remember your last setting.

 

try using a ball peen hammer. should clear it up right away.

[Adam]

25 gallons. And I get up to 30 mpg on the highway.

And remember that's in a vehicle with enough torque that it can pull 7700 pounds.

How do you know? Did you throw a couple of broads from Minnesota on a trailer and drive them to Shakey's?

[Blarg]

He pulls a Make America Great Again billboard with him as he goes.

[maximus p]

I've had an Xterra for over 6 years, and plan on keeping it until it craps out. When that happens, I very well may buy another. 

We also have an Xterra, for the past 3 years.  4X4 that goes anywhere we need it to out in the desert.