"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
03/07/2018 at 16:56 • Filed to: None
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"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
03/07/2018 at 16:56 • Filed to: None | 1
| 9 |
This is week 4 in a row of being in Dallas, TX on work travel and I figured I would give a quick synopsis on the rentals I have chosen for the last few weeks. Since DFW has most (maybe all?) of the rental companies set up with an open garage floor where you choose your own car based on your alloted category, I have been just picking different things each time. Of course I am in the lowest possible category so my options are somewhat limited but I have been able to avoid Versas like the plague thus far.
2 weeks ago: Ford Focus hatch in white
1 week ago: Ford Fiesta hatch, also in white
This week: Toyota Corolla in silver
I believe the week prior I was on a ski vacation and then the week before that I had a Kia Forte which I previously wrote about. Anyways, these rentals have been solid choices for the simple task of getting between the airport, hotel, work, and dinner places during the week. There arent many turns here in Dallas but I sure have tried to push these things around the freeway onramps and the uturns here as much as possible.
The Focus was actually the best so far for sure. This car is decidedly quick and held the title for being the fastest of the group. Being that my only real joy with these rentals is just driving as fast as possible, this was an easy title for the Focus to achieve. This car did the best wheel hopping burnouts as well.
The Fiesta was the most nimble while also being the slowest of the bunch. But it held onto being “slow car fast” easily thanks to the suspension allowing for it to actually be fun-ish. This car did burnouts only with the wheels turned or a wet road.
The Corolla, while faster than the Fiesta, turns like a turd and would screech the tires and feel floaty around any remotely agressive turn. It has the added bonus of being the ONLY car with bluetooth that worked with my phone so that was a plus. Have not been able to do a burnout yet so it is in last place right now.
Next rental, I will be here for two weeks (including the weekend) so I definitely have to pick something not terrible. If a Focus or HOONDAI Accent is available, I will be going with one of those for sure. Although I found it funny that a Nissan Frontier was parked in the row, meaning I had that as an option. But I am really not a truck person. There was also a Mitsubishi Lancer available but it reeked of cigarettes so I didnt go with that one. I will consider other gambles but I would really like to not have a penalty box over the weekend.
Especially if I go and autocross it!
This is a bit far away but would be a great way to spend the weekend.
whatuptkhere
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/07/2018 at 16:59 |
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The Focus and Fiesta really are sorted cars. Drove a near-base model Fiesta the other day which handled way better than an old 206 GTi 130. Quicker too. Funny that.
That said, I’ve had a mate with a Focus which grenaded its engine and the Fiesta we checked out drove great but had madly bubbling coolant due to a head gasket failure, so... not sure they stack up on reliability.
wafflesnfalafel
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/07/2018 at 17:14 |
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How was the DSG in the Focus, (they are still putting those in, right?) I’ve kinda wanted to try one just to see what it’s like...
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> whatuptkhere
03/07/2018 at 17:24 |
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I know my girlfriends mom has had MAJOR issues with her Focus but it is one of the earlier recent gen ones (a 2012 I believe?) And from the way the transmission responds, it feels quite broken even if it is kind of fun to use. Decent handling and quick cars but yeah idk about the reliability either. They are quite the lookers though compared to Nissan junk at least.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> wafflesnfalafel
03/07/2018 at 17:27 |
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I believe it still is the DSG as it does shift gears quite well. You do not get any sort of manual selection of gears but it seems to find the correct gears without much issue. It does feel somewhat broken if you get into traffic but is most certainly better than the last Focus I drove in 2014 (I believe it was a 2013 model?). And the wheel hopping burnouts couldnt be good for that either I imagine but they were so much fun.
I’d be quite worried about it from a reliability standpoint but from purely “fun” perspective, it definitely is a decent slushybox to deal with.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/07/2018 at 17:32 |
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My company specs a tier above yours. So far I’ve had a Fusion Hybrid, a Camry, a Sonata, and for one magic week, a free upgrade to a Maxima. The Maxima was the nicest of the bunch. The rest are a toss-up. The controls on the Camry were better than the F usion except for the cruise control which is located on a stalk on the Camry. The Son ata was fine. That’s really all I can say about it.
I keep trying to trade in/trade up, but with spring break underway, the rental car fleet has been depleted by families going on vacation and older college students going to party.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/07/2018 at 17:48 |
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I agree, Maximas are quite the nice vehicle to trot around in. Fusions are pretty good too, although I found the one I drove to be eerily quiet inside and putting the windows down led to way too much wind buffeting. I have driven older Sonatas and Camrys when getting a full size in the past, always just kind of boaty but decent. Honestly I enjoy this category, I believe its different for Budget fastbreak versus just the typical “cheapest” row. Its better than the options I had when renting from Dollar once, it was like 30 different copies of Versa and a couple of Yaris’. I went with the Yaris which wasnt terrible but it was slower than the Fiesta.
WRXforScience
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/07/2018 at 18:19 |
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http://dfwautocross.com has all the dfw autocross events.
Eric @ opposite-lock.com
> wafflesnfalafel
03/07/2018 at 18:47 |
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Those DCTs are actually really good in my experience, coming from someone that drives a manual. But I drive like I’m in a manual and therefore I don’t creep unless I’m rolling downhill. With my wife behind the wheel driving like an automatic driver, it became unhappy with her after a while.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> WRXforScience
03/07/2018 at 22:57 |
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Oh sweet, they have an event next weekend that’s perfect! That’s much closer than Arkansas lol.