Rental Car Reviews
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Also, I just realized I had it in sport mode the whole time.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Is that the highest performance mode?
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Yeah, on this car there are three: touring, snow/ice and sport.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2015 GMC Terrain
Date Rented: 2/22/16
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: Avis
Powertrain: 182hp 2.4L LAF
Highs: Sliding rear seat. Good for packing large cases. Reasonable infotainment system, but my expectations are low.
Lows: Not fast. Engine seems willing to rev but never gets around to making power. Terrible turning radius. Every parking space was a 3 point turn. Overly boosted on-center steering.
Fun facts: Can't pair Bluetooth while moving. Regardless of if you are driving or not.
Other notable cars available: Wasn't paying attention.
Would I rent again? Not on purpose.
Date Rented: 2/22/16
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: Avis
Powertrain: 182hp 2.4L LAF
Highs: Sliding rear seat. Good for packing large cases. Reasonable infotainment system, but my expectations are low.
Lows: Not fast. Engine seems willing to rev but never gets around to making power. Terrible turning radius. Every parking space was a 3 point turn. Overly boosted on-center steering.
Fun facts: Can't pair Bluetooth while moving. Regardless of if you are driving or not.
Other notable cars available: Wasn't paying attention.
Would I rent again? Not on purpose.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2016 Chevy Camaro 1LT
Date Rented: 2/24/16
Location Rented: LAX
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 335 HP 3.6L V6 with 8A
Highs: Less than 500 miles on it when I picked it up. Powertrain is responsive and likes to rev. This car is as fast as an LS1 4th gen. Manual mode on auto rev matches decently, although still isn't up the Mazda6 standard of excellence. Chassis feels sophisticated and brakes are good. Steering feel is also good. Apple CarPlay improves the rental experience a lot for me.
Lows: Tramlining a bit of an issue on less than perfect pavement. It still wasn't as much fun as the NC Miata in the Canyon roads, although I am sure it was faster. Visibility out of the back still poor. I feel like the car should look significantly different given how significant the improvements are over the previous generation.
Fun facts: What can I say that hasn't already been said? Maybe cylinder deactivation that allows it to switch into V4 mode. Manual shifting allows you to ride the rev limiter, which is up around 7300!
Other notable cars available: Infiniti QX60, Lincoln MKX, Chrysler 300C, Challenger. I wish I could rent from the LAX National every time because their selection is always so broad.
Would I rent again? Yes!
Date Rented: 2/24/16
Location Rented: LAX
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 335 HP 3.6L V6 with 8A
Highs: Less than 500 miles on it when I picked it up. Powertrain is responsive and likes to rev. This car is as fast as an LS1 4th gen. Manual mode on auto rev matches decently, although still isn't up the Mazda6 standard of excellence. Chassis feels sophisticated and brakes are good. Steering feel is also good. Apple CarPlay improves the rental experience a lot for me.
Lows: Tramlining a bit of an issue on less than perfect pavement. It still wasn't as much fun as the NC Miata in the Canyon roads, although I am sure it was faster. Visibility out of the back still poor. I feel like the car should look significantly different given how significant the improvements are over the previous generation.
Fun facts: What can I say that hasn't already been said? Maybe cylinder deactivation that allows it to switch into V4 mode. Manual shifting allows you to ride the rev limiter, which is up around 7300!
Other notable cars available: Infiniti QX60, Lincoln MKX, Chrysler 300C, Challenger. I wish I could rent from the LAX National every time because their selection is always so broad.
Would I rent again? Yes!
Last edited by Bob on Mon Feb 29, 2016 12:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2016 Fiat 500X Lounge
Date Rented: 2/23/16
Location Rented: LAS
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 180 HP 2.4L I4 with 9A
Highs: Very well equipped model with gigantic sunroof, heated steering wheel, leather, nav, etc. Easy to park in Las Vegas parking garage. Nice interior.
Lows: 9-speed auto hesitates badly in some situations, bordering on dangerous. Driving dynamics not as good as I had hoped for. Not fast.
Fun facts: Shares a chassis with the Jeep Renegade.
Other notable cars available: Chevy Silverado (almost took this, then I determined it was a V6 and decided it wasn't worth the hassle in the parking garage), VW Passat (I almost took this, but I have driven it before and I wanted to branch out).
Would I rent again? No
Date Rented: 2/23/16
Location Rented: LAS
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 180 HP 2.4L I4 with 9A
Highs: Very well equipped model with gigantic sunroof, heated steering wheel, leather, nav, etc. Easy to park in Las Vegas parking garage. Nice interior.
Lows: 9-speed auto hesitates badly in some situations, bordering on dangerous. Driving dynamics not as good as I had hoped for. Not fast.
Fun facts: Shares a chassis with the Jeep Renegade.
Other notable cars available: Chevy Silverado (almost took this, then I determined it was a V6 and decided it wasn't worth the hassle in the parking garage), VW Passat (I almost took this, but I have driven it before and I wanted to branch out).
Would I rent again? No
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Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2015 BMW X5 xDrive 3.5i
Date Rented: 3/9/16
Location Rented: LGA
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 300 HP 3.0L twin turbo I6 with 8A
Highs: Nice interior, feels well put together, refined ride and handling.
Lows: murky steering feel, especially off center. Engine a bit raspy at high RPMs
Fun facts: Has more toys on it than I had time to play with. When you put it in sport mode, I believe it changes some of the active suspension settings.
Other notable cars available: Fiat 500X, some non-descript sedans.
Full disclosure: This was parked in the executive area at National so I grabbed it. When I got to the exit, they said it was an upgrade vehicle, but they could give it to me for an extra $10 a day. Was it worth it? Probably not.
Would I rent again? No
Date Rented: 3/9/16
Location Rented: LGA
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 300 HP 3.0L twin turbo I6 with 8A
Highs: Nice interior, feels well put together, refined ride and handling.
Lows: murky steering feel, especially off center. Engine a bit raspy at high RPMs
Fun facts: Has more toys on it than I had time to play with. When you put it in sport mode, I believe it changes some of the active suspension settings.
Other notable cars available: Fiat 500X, some non-descript sedans.
Full disclosure: This was parked in the executive area at National so I grabbed it. When I got to the exit, they said it was an upgrade vehicle, but they could give it to me for an extra $10 a day. Was it worth it? Probably not.
Would I rent again? No
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Wait, we get a pic of the Fiat and not the Camaro?
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2016 Chevrolet Express (yes, they still make this!)
Date Rented: 4/1/16 (unfortunately this was no joke)
Location Rented: CLT
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 342 HP 6.0L V8 with 6A
Highs: Had 5 miles on it when I picked it up, good powertrain, transmission rev matches downshifts well in manual mode. The satisfaction that comes with parking it in a normal spot. No need to pack efficiently.
Lows: Vintage 90s GM build quality (bad panel gaps, interior squeaks). Horrible driving experience. Rides like a HD pickup from 20 years ago. Steering wanders a lot. 14.8 MPG over 700 miles of mostly highway.
Fun facts: Has available 4G Wifi, but this van wasn't equipped. Recommended rear tire pressure is 80 psi!
Other notable cars available: Unfortunately, none. I thought I was getting a Transit, but apparently the recall wasn't done so this was my only option. Tried to switch to a Suburban, but they didn't have one.
Would I rent again? No
Date Rented: 4/1/16 (unfortunately this was no joke)
Location Rented: CLT
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 342 HP 6.0L V8 with 6A
Highs: Had 5 miles on it when I picked it up, good powertrain, transmission rev matches downshifts well in manual mode. The satisfaction that comes with parking it in a normal spot. No need to pack efficiently.
Lows: Vintage 90s GM build quality (bad panel gaps, interior squeaks). Horrible driving experience. Rides like a HD pickup from 20 years ago. Steering wanders a lot. 14.8 MPG over 700 miles of mostly highway.
Fun facts: Has available 4G Wifi, but this van wasn't equipped. Recommended rear tire pressure is 80 psi!
Other notable cars available: Unfortunately, none. I thought I was getting a Transit, but apparently the recall wasn't done so this was my only option. Tried to switch to a Suburban, but they didn't have one.
Would I rent again? No
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2016 Nissan Maxima
Date Rented: 4/9/16
Location Rented: PWM
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 300 HP 3.5L V6 with CVT
Highs: Fast on the highway. More fun to drive than a lot of the other FWD premium class cars. Nav is standard. Looks good in person. Nice interior.
Lows: Not that quick from a standing start (not sure if the CVT is to blame here). Cloth interior in a PCAR???
Fun facts: When I was picking it up, I asked what year it was because I didn't really want the '15. The lady at the counter said, "it's a 1997."
Other notable cars available: I wasn't offered anything else (PWM is not an Aisle location)
Would I rent again? Yes
Date Rented: 4/9/16
Location Rented: PWM
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 300 HP 3.5L V6 with CVT
Highs: Fast on the highway. More fun to drive than a lot of the other FWD premium class cars. Nav is standard. Looks good in person. Nice interior.
Lows: Not that quick from a standing start (not sure if the CVT is to blame here). Cloth interior in a PCAR???
Fun facts: When I was picking it up, I asked what year it was because I didn't really want the '15. The lady at the counter said, "it's a 1997."
Other notable cars available: I wasn't offered anything else (PWM is not an Aisle location)
Would I rent again? Yes