Best RENTAL CAR you have experienced?

"AndersSim - V10'ING" (anderssim) 01/18/2014 at 19:30 • Filed to: None

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Everyone knows at the moment you get into a rental car, it has 1000 horsepower no matter how small the engine is, and it can climb a mountain, and do 250 mph on the highway, donuts? Why the hell not! Rental cars in HOON-mobiles no matter how cheap they are.

AndersSim - V10'ING > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:34

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Mine is definitely the SEAT Leon FR, which I got in Spain a couple of years ago, because the Civic I had ordered wasn't clean enough. YAY!

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:37

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My only Rental I got was a 2012 Tundra with a 5.7....

When I returned it the body was clean, the underside was covered in mud......

So.....I had my fun.

Dunnik > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:37

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Top Three:

1. 2013 Mercedes-Benz W212 E350.

2. 2013 Mercedes-Benz W204 C300.

3. 2013 Volkswagen Golf Mk VI 2.5

(Disclaimer/Explanation: I'm a driver for a car rental company).

leicester > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:38

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was definitely surprised by a Chevy Sonic. base model, but enough pep and go-kart wheelbase made for some silliness

Oh, I got upgraded to a Mustang once, too. That was a hoot, although I returned it to the rental desk with dead skunk on it....

dogisbadob > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:44

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Whatever that yellow thing is, I wish they sold it over here.

The only rental I've driven was a Home Depot F350. It was brand new with only like 7k on it. Way too fucking huge for the narrow-ass city streets I had to drive it in, at night nonetheless!

I swear I didn't do this: (also a HOTD nomination)

AndersSim - V10'ING > dogisbadob 01/18/2014 at 19:46

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Haha, cool video, even though it wasn't "you"

The yellow thing is a SEAT Leon FR basically a toned down Golf GTI

hethoughtofcars > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:46

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Other than a Chevy Cobalt, the only car I've rented is a Dodge Charger. It was the super cheap rental fleet trim and it was pretty awful. Which is too bad, because I like the Charger...

Your boy, BJR > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:47

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I had a fully loaded 2011 Impala in my only rental experience. Needless to say, I put my watch on the steering wheel and pretended I was in the beginning of Drive.

Dunnik > leicester 01/18/2014 at 19:47

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Yes, I was surprised by the Sonic as well, literally so in the case of the LTZ with the turbo. "Whoa turbo!" I said.

I hope you bought the optional Comprehensive Dead Skunk Insurance Liability Waiver Disclaimer, otherwise, a $265,000 cleaning fee would apply.

AndersSim - V10'ING > Your boy, BJR 01/18/2014 at 19:48

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Did you acquire a straw? Leather Gloves? And a surprisingly awesome scorpion jacket two sizes too small?

Expo2k > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:50

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Altima 2.5 coupe with the CVT. Before you get out your pitchforks and torches, it was my first CVT, so it was a really educational experience, especially with the weird wifi ignition key. It was surprisingly not terrible at driving through the Ozarks of north Arkansas, but the whole car seemed kind of loosely slapped together in an intangible way. The Grand Prix GT 'upgrade' I got one time, though, that's another story. That one felt like I was directing the steering over the phone.

Expo2k > Expo2k 01/18/2014 at 19:51

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Oh, hey, by the way, how do I get post privileges here?

leicester > Dunnik 01/18/2014 at 19:51

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The Skunkstang was a work rental, so I'm sure that the client ended up absorbing the cost...

PRBot II > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:52

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2010 Cadillac CTS. Rented it for two weeks. First and only time I've ever drifted a RWD car. I thought I'd take a highway on-ramp... aggressively. It wasn't a movie style huge drift worthy of a viral Youtube video, but when I saw the tire smoke in the rear view mirror, I knew I had done it right.

Dunnik > hethoughtofcars 01/18/2014 at 19:52

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The V6 Charger feels like a bigger Avenger.

The V8 Charger feels like a bigger Avenger...with a V8.

Good looking car from the back. Love that taillight assembly.

AndersSim - V10'ING > PRBot II 01/18/2014 at 19:53

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YOU ARE DOING IT RIGHT!

Dunnik > leicester 01/18/2014 at 19:54

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Skunkstang, lol.

Slave2anMG > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 19:56

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This. A Camaro SS with 400 hp. I was impressed.

AndersSim - V10'ING > Slave2anMG 01/18/2014 at 19:57

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I'm jealous, even if it was a automatic.

Jeeper1 > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 20:00

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I had a Wrangler in Kauai on my honeymoon. It was pretty cool.

twinturbobmw > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 20:10

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A V6 Mustang Convertible. Listening to that thing trying to accelerate was funny. Terrible car, very fun to be in.

AndersSim - V10'ING > twinturbobmw 01/18/2014 at 20:10

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204 or 300 hp version? The 204 is horrible, had it once, it was the most drowsy experience i have ever had.

The Transporter > Dunnik 01/18/2014 at 20:11

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I'll agree with you on the E350 and I can't really speak on the C300, but the 2013 Fusion is way better than the Golf.

twinturbobmw > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 20:11

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It was the 2013 model, so 300hp. Either the car is very heavy or the rental company limited the power.

M54B30 > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 20:19

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I rented a 2013 V6 Mustang (300 some odd hp) in San Antonio about a year and a half ago. Nice engine, fairly comfortable, but the transmission was junk. It was always in a race to 6th gear, and San Antonio has weird highway on ramps. Nothing worse than hitting the gas at 45 mph to merge in and it's gotta second guess whether downshifting is necessary. Once it decides it is (hence my foot on the floor) it'd go from 6th....to 5th....to 4th..... And an hour later it's where you wanted.

Small gas tank too - I was putting in 10 gallons at a time every few days.

But. But.

That thing would kick its ass out sideways VERY easy. Lots of fun.

StoneCold > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 20:23

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My parents rented a 2013 Ford Escape in Colorado, and they loved it

promoted by the color red > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 21:06

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Toyota Prius. No, listen. It's the space-age car we were promised and it is eerily quiet. Beige as fuck but that tech stuff is pretty cool. Oh, and I hit 95 accelerating from an on ramp.

That was interesting. I wouldn't buy one, but I'd definitely drive one.

Burt > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 21:18

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dat L99. It was an automatic, but it was still quick, handled rather well, had excellent brakes, and the paddle shifters were a nice touch. I giggled every time I used the remote start, and I'm not saying it'll do 134 m.p.h. in 5th gear, but theoretically, it could...

duurtlang > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 21:30

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I've only ever rented vans. So I nominate the 2007 Ducato passenger van I rented in 2008, as it led to an amazing road trip across Europe with seven of my friends. It was also the first time I experienced a 6 speed manual. Oh and 4 cylinder compact car fuel economy in this sizable (diesel) van on the highway. We got about 40 mpg (US gallons) when cruising at 75 mph.

Slave2anMG > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 21:34

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The damn thing was a hoot to drive. Only downside was that every mullet-headed-wife-beater-shirt-wearing-gap-toothed hayseed in primer gray Fox body Mustang 5.0s wanted to race. That got tiring...

AthomSfere > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 21:37

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Ford Fusion.

Was it the best car for rent, probably not. But it single handed-ly made me realize Ford has finally got their shit together. Everything about it was un-Ford-like good. Steering was sharp and responsive, ride was firm enough for a small family oriented sedan, noise levels were good, stereo was acceptable.

The Fusion makes me think even the 2015 Mustang might be good, at least the best since the Mustang II...

Rory > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 21:54

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Over the years my parents have rented a load of cars all over Europe and the states.
The few I loved had to be
A 2013 BMW 535d in Germany. It may be heavy, but that car is amazing.
A Fiat 500 in Italy, It just felt right.
Any convertible in Florida ( we go there every year as we have family there)
but my favourite has to be the Ford Focus I had to myself last year. It was the first time I was allowed be a named driver on the policy and my parents purchased a car to drive just after renting the focus, so the it was mine for 4 weeks.
I thrashed it and adored every minute.
Plus its actually a lovely car.

mattoverdrive > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 22:25

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Definitely a tie between the airborne Civic and the Pontiac Vibe rally car.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 22:31

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2014 F-150 from U-Haul... It did a great job pulling the Fiat home, without being /too/ uncomfortable. It was missing a pedal and had this funny looking PRNDL thing, though. I didn't like that. Potatopic below.

coqui70 > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/18/2014 at 23:02

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2013 Mustang coupe, even with the auto/V6 combo still fun if you drive it like you stole it. 2003 focus ZX5, great handling balance. Recently a 2014 Jetta SE with the 1.8 Turbo and new IRS for non-GLI model - that was a real sleeper in dark grey metallic with steelies and plastic wheel covers! Volvo V70 turbodiesel in Germany a while back - not brown (sage green) or manual but still full of grunt.

texasfordfan > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/19/2014 at 00:30

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I'm not old enough to rent a car yet, but I know what my mom's favorites were.

1.) Volvo S40 Diesel Manual in Spain. My mom was looking for a new car, and she really wanted that one. Sadly they don't have the diesel version in the US.

2.) Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.2 Diesel in Italy. My mom loved the tiny diesel engine because our fuel economy was great. Plus, she really like the gearbox.

bob and john > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/19/2014 at 01:33

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my and my dad did trip in italy last summer (started in milan. went: alps, ferrari factory, france, to venice)

we had a reanult megane CC with the 1.6 diesel i think. FWD convertible with a metal roof. wasnt bad.
it was my first time REALLY driving stick (aside from a few parking lots before hand, this was a week long trip). at one point we pulled over to grab some pics, and getting back onto the highway, i did a aggressive 1-2 change. chriped the front tires.
got me a slap on the back of the head for it, but it was fun XD

pdx107 > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/19/2014 at 09:15

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Probably the Focus I got in Cincy

Worst would be the Stratus or the Jeep in Vegas...

Iceman1107 > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/19/2014 at 14:30

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Chevrolet Corvette Convertible. Available at Hertz. No need to argue why this is the best rental car ever.

Louis Subearth > duurtlang 01/26/2014 at 13:40

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Now wait for the Ram Promaster to offer a manual option and have another shot at it.