Aug. 30 Weekly Open Thread

As always, this is the place for random conversation that doesn't really belong anywhere else.

This weekend I had the opportunity to drive a rental Chevy Cobalt and was surprised by how competent it was. It certainly wasn't anything special, but it drove home the point that there really isn't such a thing as a bad car nowadays. My favorite rentals have probably been either the new Ford Fusion I drove around Las Vegas last year--it was shockingly good--or the zippy little Mitsubishi Mirage I mercilessly thrashed around Memphis about a decade ago.

Do you have any interesting rental-car experiences you'd like to share? What's your favorite rental car?

--Chris H.

Comments

[Chris Mallow on August 30, 2010 at 03:43 PM]

A few years back I was on a business trip that happened to be close enough to my parents' home that I was able to drive down and visit them for the weekend. When I got to the rental counter, I found out I'd been given a complimentary upgrade from the compact I'd rented...to a brand-new Mitsubishi Eclipse. I had driven a 2001 Spyder (I had bought it for my then-wife) and loved it, and this one was also very good. Very peppy, handled fairly well, and was comfortable.

Since it will probably be several years at least before we'd be able to consider owning one, I'm thinking about renting a new Camaro for my wife. She loves them and I could score some serious points by getting one for her to drive around for a Saturday.

[Andrew Cresimore on August 30, 2010 at 04:16 PM]

I have driven 3 Hyundai Sonatas in the past 6 months. Very smooth, very solid feeling. Not totally surprising, but better than anticipated.

[Elephantschild on August 30, 2010 at 05:52 PM]

I'll echo the praise for the Sonata. Haven't rented one, but have driven one. Not fancy, but solid-feeling. Didn't drive like I expected a Hyundai to drive (i.e. cheap). I expected to hate it, not being a fan of the "family sedan" market, but I liked it despite myself. Now, the Ford Focus that was my last rental car, that drove like I was expecting the Hyundai to drive. I know a lot of people seem to like the Focus, but both I and my husband find it a miserable little car. I bet I'd like the Fusion better. (Which is actually what I had reserved for the rental but got stuck with the Focus!)

[Christian9090 on August 30, 2010 at 05:53 PM]

I had the opportunity to drive a rental Cobalt recently too. It was probably the single most abused rental car I've ever driven. (Cigarette burns everywhere, passenger seat off the track, smelled like a wet dog). As unpleasant as the interior was I couldn't help but notice how much more satisfying it was to drive than my company's three Corollas.

[CJinSD on August 30, 2010 at 06:19 PM]

I spent much of 1996 driving rental cars while traveling, as I was crewing a sailboat at the time. Most of them were flimsy RHD Toyotas, but I also drove a few domestics. The one that surprised me with its overall competence was a Plymouth Breeze of all things. The chassis was downright good, the seats were okay. It actually handled better than the Lexus SC400 that came with the boat gig whenever we were in Palm Beach. All the Plymouth really lacked was an engine that was up to being connected to an automatic. The Neon engine was not really enough for mid sized sedan. A complete contrast would be the neoclassic Buick Century I had the following week. It was an antique with less than 50 miles when I picked it up. I had to finish assembly for the UAW so that the driver's door would close and some semblance of weather and wind sealing was achieved. It drove as if the shocks had been drained, bouncing from when you got in until a few moments after you got out. The seats were park benches. What it had was power. IIRC, the V6 said '3300' on the intake, and it was practically a top fuel dragster after the Breeze. It certainly handled like one.

A few weeks ago I rented a 2011 Camry. It was so all around brilliant that I can see why GM's current management is doing everything it can to undermine Toyota's reputation rather than even thinking about competing on product. It reminded me of the W124 Mercedes 300E my boss let me drive when I was in college. New Mercedes should still be that good.

[Anthony Cagle on August 30, 2010 at 07:05 PM]

I just got back from vacation where we had a Chevy Malibu for a couple of weeks. Initially (well, and subsequently, too) I was disappointed because I had asked for a Fit, but it wasn't too bad. The engine had a good amount of oomph to it, and I didn't really notice any glaring weirdness about it. I couldn't really get the seat configured to a comfortable driving position though; either the wheel was too far away or my feet were too close to the pedals. I'm guessing I'm on the skinny end of the spectrum of potential buyers. Between that and my mom's Equinox (ick) when I got back to our '97 Civic and my old Mustang II both felt really cramped. I did miss my '70s car the whole time. . . there's just something nicely seat-of-the-pants about older cars.

[tigerstrypes on August 30, 2010 at 07:20 PM]

I'm toughing it out here, dodging Hurricane Earl's winds. Was able to finally see Paul Newman's movie "Winning". If you don't mind the drama, I recommend it.

The most memorable rental I drove was a 2009 Ford Expedition.
Pros:
-4wd for the snowy conditions
-Heated seats
-reverse warning sensor

Cons:
-For a big vehicle, there was little cargo space. Fully loaded, we were a rolling Tetris game. It's amazing how my uncle's Toyota Sienna managed to swallow all our cargo.
-Couldn't find the interior light dimmer switch until the next day (I wasn't familiar with the latest Fords).

[Some Seppo on August 31, 2010 at 04:44 AM]

We rented a 2006 Mustang when the new style was still pretty rare on the road. As we were descending to land in Portland Oregon I jokingly asked my wife if we could rent a Mustang. At the time Budget was heavily advertising them but from experience we knew they were always going to have the "equivalent" Taurus instead. Of course my wife said that would be fine. I hadn't even put down "Mustang" in my rental reservation that time.

Much to my surprise they had one to rent, and it was the perfect trip for it. Our plan was to drive down the Oregon coast on Highway 101 then across to Sacramento to visit family then fly home. The V-6 was nicely responsive and the handling very fun on that road, plus a few heads were turned in every town we went through.

The Sacramento Budget location was very happy to get a Mustang into their inventory and FYI, there are no one-way rental drop off fees at Budget. We have used them for fly-drive vacations several times.

[David Colborne on August 31, 2010 at 08:48 AM]

I rented a Pontiac G6 (Pontiac Malibu, basically) last year, which wasn't too bad. It had the usual assortment of GM-tastic "we can't beat them on reliability, so we'll beat them with electronics" gizmos, which was kind of fun. Since it was winter when I rented it, I had far too much fun playing with the "slippery surface" indicator on the dash.

[Winston Smith on August 31, 2010 at 09:34 AM]

We got a convertable Mustang in Reno a couple years back, just a plane jane 6 cylinder but it was lots of fun, plenty of power, everything you'd want in a convertable

[Chris Meirose on August 31, 2010 at 10:41 AM]

I've had a lot of rental cars. I don't know that I could even name them all, but below are a few of the decent ones.

Best rental I've had was a LT1 motivated convertible Chevy Camaro I got in February 1998 in Dallas, TX. Had the car for 4 days, got it with 2000 miles on it. Needless to say all the subsequent miles put on it by me were not of the gentle sort.

A rental that really surprised me was in 2007 I got a Dodge Caliber SXT in Denver and drove it around Colorado to Moab, UT and back for a week. The car was comfortable, spacious, got good gas mileage and ran pretty hard when I wanted it to considering it just had a 2.0L motor. The one thing I didn't like about it was poor rear visibility when backing up. It was basically a mini mini-van.

And the only other memorable rental was in Seattle when I met our dear Car Lust editor-in-chief Mr. Hafner in 2004. I got a Kia Spectra5 hatchback and really enjoyed driving it. The car had about 700 miles on it when we got it, and we put about that many more on it, primarily on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. I drove it pretty hard on some really sketchy dirt logging roads up near Hurricane Ridge. It wasn't blazing fast, but you could throw it sideways around the tight dirt corners and it was very predictable in how it would handle. My then yet to be wife didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the passenger. Would I have wanted to own this car? Probably not, but for a few days it was a lot of fun.

[tomm on August 31, 2010 at 10:56 AM]

On vacations, I rented a Cobalt in '06, '08, and again this year. The 2010 car was much tighter, handled better, and interior a bit nicer.

GM always gets cars right at the end of a model's run!

[facelvega on August 31, 2010 at 11:33 AM]

Yeah, I've had a Cobalt, it was alright I guess, and not as embarrassing as an HHR I was once given. But there are definitely still bad cars out there: try renting a Dodge Avenger: worse than the time I rented an eight year old Saturn from rent-a-wreck, and the single worst car I've driven since I was a kid.

For me the thing I notice most about renting is when something that's supposed to be pretty good turns out to be pretty bad. For instance, I easily preferred the mid-2000s Taurus I once rented to a new Chrysler 300 a few months later. A Ford Escape, though semi-bad, is no worse than a CR-V. Mazda3? Fine, better than a Civic, but not ultimately all that amazing. Volvo S40? Like the Mazda but with the wheel well where you want to put your left leg. Subaru Outback or Impreza, one notch below the Mazda. Golf? Fairly good I guess but nothing to write home about. The only rental that I remember ever having smiled over was the first-gen Fit: ridiculous storage and quite good in city traffic.

[spud on August 31, 2010 at 12:24 PM]

It's hard to pick a "favorite" rental car as I'd have to say that the best thing about renting cars is that you never really quite know what you're going to get...and for a day or two, anything can be entertaining.

Being a frequent renter from the two big international agencies, I've had plenty of Cobalts and sadly the horrendous Chevy HHR (an acronym that surely stands at least for Horrible and Revolting as well as some other H word). But just when I'm sure that's all I could get, I wind up with the periodic Mustang convertible (wouldn't want to own one, but it's sure fun for a change). Of course that Mustang is as likely to be waiting at the end of a flight in February (it's still cold in February in Atlanta) as it is in April. Again, the fun is in the discovery.

Speaking of convertibles in February, some rental fleets just make no sense at all. For example, I rent frequently for business travel in the US Virgin Islands. There, for some reason, the rental lots are often stocked with mid/full-sized sedans. I mean, I'd love a Fusion for interstate cruising up here on the mainland, but trying to maneuver a large LHD 4-door sedan down a barely 1 lane neighborhood street on the side of a mountain and then on the left side of the road (on the 2 lane bits) where the average trip mileage-wise is about 5 miles is just sort of wacky. Try to explain that to the agent behind the counter.... "Do you want the pre-paid gas option?" Yeah, like I'll buy 15 gallons of gas to drive 20 miles this week. Good grief.

And finally, there's the local rental companies that service car dealers. The vehicle choice there is often even more idiosyncratic (not to mention totally beat to heck). For a while, I was getting a Silverado 1500 (with the long bed and apparently all set up for snow plowing) as a service loaner/rental each time I took my MINI S in for service (and that car went in for service ALOT). At one point I suggested parking the MINI in the back of the truck for safe-keeping. I think that the rental guys just liked the idea of making a MINI owner drive that monster truck. ;-)

[degenerate1991 on August 31, 2010 at 02:41 PM]

Recently, a new 2010 Chevy Cobalt has become my daily driver over my previous car, the 1991 Honda Accord described here (http://www.carlustblog.com/2009/09/our-cars1991-honda-accord/comments/page/1/#comments). Specifically, it's a base (LS, to be accurate; it does have A/C) XFE (i.e. manual transmission) coupe.

It's a perfectly competent car, and gets good mileage (37.6 MPG on the last tank of gas, most of it interstate driving), but it's not an inspiring one. The powertrain is surprisingly nice (even if the noises coming from it are generally unpleasant), the shifter is in my opinion excellent, and the engine is peppy, though the extra tall gears for the XFE package are noticeable (as is the "shift" light), especially with the A/C on. The ride is comfortable (if a bit heavy on road noise and a bit of rattling), but if I had designed it, the springs would be stiffer; the handling is a bit soft, especially noticeable at higher speeds. I hate the electric power steering, but it's really not all that bad, just entirely devoid of road feel; I'd rather it not have power steering at all. The brakes are non-antilock, taking 146 feet to stop from 60-0, as opposed to 139 feet for a 2007 Silverado half-ton; that said, they do the job well enough, so long as you don't lock them up. Most of the poor braking performance probably has to do with the low-resistance (and thus, low grip) tires, which are less than confidence inspiring in rain. In summary, the driving experience is okay, but not especially fun.

The interior is, in a word, functional. Hard (and easy to dirty/mar) plastic is everywhere, and the seats are stiff (though not bad on long drives). It's hard to get perfectly comfortable, but after becoming accustomed to it, it's good enough. The light gray cloth is distressingly easy to get dirty compared to the burgundy of my previous car. Power accessories? Forget about it, with manual windows, locks, and mirrors, though the headlights are automatic (which is cool), and it comes with Onstar (I'd gladly trade those for power locks, though the remote unlock feature is handy, given that I have a nasty habit of locking my keys in the car.); this is, in a way, refreshingly simple but the passenger side mirror/window are all but impossible to reach (the window can be adjusted while stopped), and I'm 6'2"; also, my passengers, without fail, forget to lock the door. Oh, and no cruise control. The trunk is huge (though the entrance to it is tiny), but otherwise the interior is cramped, to me. Rear/quarter visibility is quite poor, but the mirrors are, thankfully, quite good. On the positive side, the A/C is excellent (very nice, living in the south), and the stereo is good as well.

Truth be told, the car's biggest failing is that it isn't my old car. Objectively, the Cobalt is a better vehicle in most respects (at least, compared to my Honda at 20 years old and over 255,000 miles) than the old one, but I liked the Honda better, both due to it's better/roomier interior and (subjectively) better driving characteristics, and quite a lot of sentimental value. I really did love the old car, and driving a beater amidst a sea of shiny new cars was a part of my identity, that I feel I've lost with the Cobalt. Though my friends (who were alarmed at my previous vehicle) universally approve of the new one, I honestly felt more pride driving the old one.

I truly appreciate, in spite of what my previous words may suggest, the fact that my family got me this car (It's a long story how.), but part of me wishes that they would have let me keep the old one. Alas, they'd never understand, and didn't; for this difference in feelings, I'm sorry, and it is my fault. My feelings about it are largely irrational, but I suppose that's car lust in a nutshell.

[Rob the Audi Guy on August 31, 2010 at 04:12 PM]

I'm sorry for you. :( Nobody should have to drive a cobalt as "their" car. It's fine and dandy to beat on as a rental... but as your own car? Ugh. That sucks dude. Maybe you can sell it, and get something, nay, anything else? Life is too short to be stuck in something like that.

[Mind games on August 31, 2010 at 04:19 PM]

I expected to hate it, not being a fan of the "family sedan" market, but I liked it despite myself. Now, the Ford Focus that was my last rental car, that drove like I was expecting the Hyundai to drive.It's a perfectly competent car, and gets good mileage (37.6 MPG on the last tank of gas, most of it interstate driving), but it's not an inspiring one.

[Mochi Mochi on August 31, 2010 at 05:29 PM]

Best ever rental car: a 1st gen honda insight. I rented it back in 2004 to drive around Los Angeles before moving here. It was so much fun - a really wonderful little car. Made me want one ever after that.

[Bill T. on August 31, 2010 at 07:03 PM]

Back in May, my wife and I flew to Atlanta for a weekend conference We went a few days early so we could drive to Ocala, Florida to see my youngest sister. My lady had pre-arranged a rental car, so we went from the rental agency desk to the parking garage. The rental was for an economy model, probably a Kia or Hyundai. At the time my wife was reliant on a walker prior to having knee-replacement surgery. In the garage we looked at several, a primary necessity being the trunk’s capacity to hold the walker (folded up). A number of models were OK, but some were dark with dark interiors. My lady does not like excessive heat, so any dark model was out. Then she saw a light Grand Marquis with a light interior. The walker fit in the trunk and an upgrade was offered. We took it and drove to Florida and back, in comfort. The Marquis was quite impressive with a smooth ride, good A/C, and quiet. It was relatively new, with mileage in the low 1,000’s. I would recommend it to anyone.

[CJinSD on August 31, 2010 at 08:36 PM]

I forgot about a brand new rental Chrysler 300 I drove when some Chrysler execs were in town for an event. I'd been interested in them for years and was glad to get the keys to it. It turned out to be a pretty big disappointment. Nothing was really terrible about it except the gear spacing. It was a 2.7 V6 model, which should have been enough engine to get the job done. On paper, the power to weight ratio was certainly in the ballpark with many of the cars I've driven. Unfortunately, the gear ratios were spaced to give an unrealistic EPA highway number. As a result, driving it with moderate pressure on the gas pedal resulted in early upshifts followed by the engine just about stalling. The only way to keep up with traffic was to floor it and have it thrash in one gear before clunking into the next and the engine speed falling out of its range of reasonable torque production anyway. It was really a miserable car to drive, all to help Chrysler meet its CAFE number while punishing consumers. Considering CAFE is marching up and the Detroit makers are chasing their goal with ever taller gearing, I expect more of the same in the future. Looks like a return to late '70s, early '80s style Detroit misery is coming.

[Gregg Trend on August 31, 2010 at 11:00 PM]

Earlier in July of this year, while attending a conference in Burlington Mass. we rented a Subaru Impreza from Hertz. And..we we were 'impressed.' very good handling, acceleration, CD & radio, AC, the whole package. Good gas mileage, too. Best experience? A 2002 Mustang free upgade from Hertz (because they didn't have I really wanted.) We also liked the Monte Carlo (probably a 2007 or '08) that we picked out of an Enterprise line-up at San Francisco International Airport. It was a pearlscent grey. I own an older Monte (a 2001). This was the first time I ever saw a Monte Carlo as a rental.
The worst experience we had was with a 2006 Malibu in a parking lot across from LACMA on Wilshire in Los Angeles. We came out of the museum to find the battery dead. The fellow from Hertz said it was caused by a loose wire in the trunk. However, somehow we able to drive to El Segundo from Anaheim & thence to the museum the nextday with no problem. Hmmm.

[Gregg Trend on August 31, 2010 at 11:04 PM]

Oh, one stange thing about the Monte (rented in October 2008): it was entirely keyless-- no locks on doors or trunk (all electronc.)

[kenny heggem on August 31, 2010 at 11:53 PM]

My fave rental was a purple 2001 Metro 4 door. The car had incredibly comfortable seats. Seriously, I drive straight from San Jose CA to Salt LAke City Utah... and never felt a pain despite a horrible back due to a car accident.

The ride was pretty decent too.
The trunk was ample for such a smallish car.
The AC effective.

The handling is this later generation could have been better, and despite the smallish 16v 4 cylinder in a Metro 4 door... I was taught the importance of going under 70 MPH to receive good fuel numbers. I pulled over like 5 times that 14 hr drive. 95+ MPH in a Metro = abysmal fuel economy.

[Mark on September 01, 2010 at 04:22 AM]

Hyundai Santa Fe - first time with a Hyundai, was very impressed. Smooth, comfortable, quite, with decent pep for an SUV. Lots of cargo room. We drove one from NJ to NC loaded to the gunwales with luggage and the cat, no problems whatsover. Had it for a month afterwards while waiting for our car to arrive on the boat. I can see why Hyundais are so popular.

Mercury Grand Marquis - great ride, good pickup. Felt like acop the whole time. the only downside was I had it in Pittsburgh, in the winter. It was a Virgina car so no snow tires...

Dodge Ram - When my wife's car was in the shop following a fender-bender, Enterprise supplied us with the rental. The clerk picked me up at the body shop in the Ram (Super cab? The smaller 4-door one, not the Crew cab). When I asked what other cars were available, she said just the Ram, and a 15-passenger van. Naturally I took the pickup, and both the wife and me were pleasantly surprised - very comforatable, well equipped, easy to live with - not 'trucky' at all. We agreed we could own one if we had any use for a pickup.

No really bad stories, luckily!

[Elephantschild on September 01, 2010 at 12:12 PM]

@Mindgames, above: I'm fine with uninspiring cars. My daily hauler is a 95 Dodge Caravan base model, after all. But the Focus's handling felt so poor to me as to be dangerous. It's alarming (at least to me) if car handles worse than my minivan does when it's in need of all new shocks.

I'll gladly give up 5-10 mpg for a better-handling, less skittish, downshift-already-not-yesterday-thanks car.

(Sorry for the thread-hijack.)

@CJinSD, above. That's exactly what my husband and I found when renting a (entry level) Dodge Charger, which has that same engine. It sure as heck looked good, though.