Rental Car Reviews

[Bob]

I have thought about doing a thread about rentals for a while. I have had the privilege of renting about 15 cars so far this year so I have a fair amount of subject matter to write about. I don't have a lot of time to write verbose reviews so I figured I would just to a quick format like this.

Car: 2014 Dodge Challenger
Date Rented: 5/15/14
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 305 HP 3.6L V6 with 5A
Highs: Exhaust sounds cool for a V6, faster than a lot of rentals, feels somewhat light on its feet for such a heavy car
Lows: Not as refined as Charger, seats are pretty terrible, blind spots make it hard to drive in traffic, gearing very tall (kicks down to 2nd to pass on the highway)
Would I rent again? Probably not

Publications: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/201 ... est-review

[Bob]

Car: 2014 Ford Taurus Limited
Date Rented: 5/10/14
Location Rented: BOS (returned at PWM)
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 288 HP 3.5L V6 with 6A
Highs: Well optioned, very comfortable on the highway, decent chassis and powertrain, trunk is huge! SYNC stuff seemed to work pretty well with my phone.
Lows: Interior volume somewhat lower than exterior size would suggest.
Would I rent again? Yes

Literature: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sed ... irst_test/

[kevm14]

We should both put up our Chrysler 200 reviews.

[Bob]

Car: 2014 Chrysler 200
Date Rented: 4/29/14
Location Rented: LAS
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 173 HP 2.4L I4 with 4A (there can't be very many cars that still offer this)
Highs: Returning it, helped put me closer to executive with National
Lows: Brings back memories of dreaded rentals due to its completely unexceptional traits, doesn't have a trip computer.
Would I rent again? Not if I can help it

[Bob]

Car: 2014 Dodge Charger
Date Rented: 4/30/14
Location Rented: YVR (Vancouver)
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 292 HP 3.6L V6 with 5A
Highs: Exceeded expectations for refinement, nice chassis, comfortable to drive
Lows: Tough to park in tiny Vancouver parking spots
Would I rent again? Yes

[Bob]

Car: 2014 VW Passat TSi Wolfsburg Edition
Date Rented: 4/24/14
Location Rented: JAX
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 170 HP 1.8L TSi with 6A
Highs: Blow off valve noises were pretty cool, transmission seems to be well-calibrated, roomy, comfortable interior, chassis is decent
Lows: Not that fast
Would I rent again? Yes

[Bob]

Car: 2014 Chevy Malibu LS
Date Rented: 5/20/14
Location Rented: GRR
Rental Company: Avis (National wanted to rob me for a one-way)
Powertrain: 196 HP 2.5L I4 with 6A
Highs: Trans manual mode doesn't upshift automatically when you hit the redline and seems to rev match pretty well, solid feel, comfortable on the highway, gets respectable mileage, chassis has a nice feel to it.
Lows: Start-stop feature not working, wish it had some options
Fun fact: The LS has a smaller gas tank than the higher end models (15.8 gal vs 18.5 gal)
Would I rent again? Yes

Literature: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/201 ... est-review

[Bob]

I think it's awesome that Avis still has a Lumina on their little car damage slip. I guess it's fitting since my receipt was was printed on a dot matrix printer when I turned the car in.

[Bob]

Bonus photo of Malibu:

[Bob]

I just noticed the mirrors aren't body color. How low rent...