Rental Car Reviews
Re: Rental Car Reviews
In Malibu trim land (and other cars), LS is the base model.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Yes, I was able to tell this was the base model. Hopefully I can try a higher level model sometime. I would like to try out the turbo ecotec powered Malibu (not sure if any of these made it into rental fleets).
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2015 Buick Lacrosse
Date Rented: 7/7/14
Location Rented: BNA
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 304 HP 3.6L V6 with 6A
Highs: Panoramic moonroof was cool, nice interior, very comfortable on the highway, had 6 miles on it when I picked it up
Lows: Transmission seemed to limit performance a bit and was a bit unresponsive, not that exciting to drive
Would I rent again? Yes, but I would probably take the Taurus over it in the PCAR segment
Date Rented: 7/7/14
Location Rented: BNA
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 304 HP 3.6L V6 with 6A
Highs: Panoramic moonroof was cool, nice interior, very comfortable on the highway, had 6 miles on it when I picked it up
Lows: Transmission seemed to limit performance a bit and was a bit unresponsive, not that exciting to drive
Would I rent again? Yes, but I would probably take the Taurus over it in the PCAR segment
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2014 Hyundai Azera
Date Rented: 7/8/14
Location Rented: ORD
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 293 HP 3.3L V6 with 6A
Highs: Engine feels exhilarating (maybe because it's peaky, but I don't mind), Automatic well calibrated, good fuel economy
Lows: Chassis could use some work. The ride is nowhere near as refined as the Lacrosse, and the handling doesn't exactly make me want to carve up a back road. The factory audio sounds about as good as a mid-90s Japanese economy car
Would I rent again? Maybe
Date Rented: 7/8/14
Location Rented: ORD
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 293 HP 3.3L V6 with 6A
Highs: Engine feels exhilarating (maybe because it's peaky, but I don't mind), Automatic well calibrated, good fuel economy
Lows: Chassis could use some work. The ride is nowhere near as refined as the Lacrosse, and the handling doesn't exactly make me want to carve up a back road. The factory audio sounds about as good as a mid-90s Japanese economy car
Would I rent again? Maybe
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2014 GMC Terrain SLT
Date Rented: 8/14/14
Location Rented: JAX
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 301 HP 3.6L V6 with 6A AWD
Highs: Transmission seemed well calibrated, V6 engine was nice and willing to rev, despite not feeling that quick. Car had a few options, including lane departure warning and crash avoidance.
Lows: Not really that great to drive (I think this is an inherent trait of all small crossovers so nothing against GM here), so-so fuel economy (I drove this in what should have been a best case economy situation: 250 miles of 55-60 MPH back roads through North Florida and South Georgia and only averaged 23.5 according to the trip)
Other cars available: Base model Nissan Altima (this was one of the most meager National Executive selections I have encountered anywhere).
Would I rent again? No, although I might choose it over a base model Altima again
Date Rented: 8/14/14
Location Rented: JAX
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 301 HP 3.6L V6 with 6A AWD
Highs: Transmission seemed well calibrated, V6 engine was nice and willing to rev, despite not feeling that quick. Car had a few options, including lane departure warning and crash avoidance.
Lows: Not really that great to drive (I think this is an inherent trait of all small crossovers so nothing against GM here), so-so fuel economy (I drove this in what should have been a best case economy situation: 250 miles of 55-60 MPH back roads through North Florida and South Georgia and only averaged 23.5 according to the trip)
Other cars available: Base model Nissan Altima (this was one of the most meager National Executive selections I have encountered anywhere).
Would I rent again? No, although I might choose it over a base model Altima again
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium
Date Rented: 8/28/14
Location Rented: SFO - I took this on a 730 mile drive through California on vacation so the experience was a bit more in depth than my standard rental.
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 231-240 HP 2.0L Turbo I4 with 6A
Highs: Chassis legitimately good in the twisties and on the highway. Nice interior and seats. MPG not quite as bad as I expected (it is rated at 22/33 and I averaged 27 over 730 miles of driving including a lot of mountain driving in Yosemite and some fast highway)
Lows: Transmission not great for performance driving (paddles slow to respond, doesn't rev match and occasionally clunky). This is a shame because the chassis is actually pretty willing. Satellite radio reception lousy when driving through large sequoia forests.
Fun fact: Horsepower is reduced from 240 to 231 when using regular fuel. I did not know this at the time I
Other cars available: A sea of base model Altimas, a Chevy Cruze 1LT? RS (I actually briefly considered this), an Avalon that I would have taken had it not been for my mistaking it for a Camry (someone else beat me to it), Dodge Charger
Date Rented: 8/28/14
Location Rented: SFO - I took this on a 730 mile drive through California on vacation so the experience was a bit more in depth than my standard rental.
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 231-240 HP 2.0L Turbo I4 with 6A
Highs: Chassis legitimately good in the twisties and on the highway. Nice interior and seats. MPG not quite as bad as I expected (it is rated at 22/33 and I averaged 27 over 730 miles of driving including a lot of mountain driving in Yosemite and some fast highway)
Lows: Transmission not great for performance driving (paddles slow to respond, doesn't rev match and occasionally clunky). This is a shame because the chassis is actually pretty willing. Satellite radio reception lousy when driving through large sequoia forests.
Fun fact: Horsepower is reduced from 240 to 231 when using regular fuel. I did not know this at the time I
Other cars available: A sea of base model Altimas, a Chevy Cruze 1LT? RS (I actually briefly considered this), an Avalon that I would have taken had it not been for my mistaking it for a Camry (someone else beat me to it), Dodge Charger
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Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2015 GMC Yukon SLT
Date Rented: 9/26/14
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 5.3L Ecotec3 V8 355 HP with 6A
Highs: Actually got 20 MPG during my brief time driving it. Cylinder deactivation is smooth. Nice to drive for the type of vehicle it is. Comfortable and tons of options (heated and cooled seats, etc).
Lows: NAV system very cumbersome to use, hard to park
Fun fact: Lane departure warning will vibrate your seat when you drift over the lines
Other cars available: Impala, some kind of 2500 level GM/Chevy Pickup, Altimas
Date Rented: 9/26/14
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 5.3L Ecotec3 V8 355 HP with 6A
Highs: Actually got 20 MPG during my brief time driving it. Cylinder deactivation is smooth. Nice to drive for the type of vehicle it is. Comfortable and tons of options (heated and cooled seats, etc).
Lows: NAV system very cumbersome to use, hard to park
Fun fact: Lane departure warning will vibrate your seat when you drift over the lines
Other cars available: Impala, some kind of 2500 level GM/Chevy Pickup, Altimas
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: Hyundai Elantra (don't remember the year)
Date Rented: 12/15-12/16/14
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: Enterprise
Powertrain: Probably the 2.0 DI
Highs: May be capable of some decent fuel economy in modest conditions. Reasonably smooth engine but it only had 2,000 miles.
Lows: Hated the power delivery characteristics. Sluggish (yes I turned eco mode off immediately) and somewhat unpredictable. The suspension also sucked. Not enough damping though under less challenging conditions it seemed alright. Over sharper highway bumps, the rear end would actually jump sideways a small amount. I think this happened in another Elantra I rented once.
Fun fact: it appeared to have adjustable steering assist (3 levels) but I discovered that at the gas station at the end of the trip and while it seemed to make a difference, I only drove another ~5 mins before returning the car.
Other cars available: I dunno. We were booked for a compact and this was an upgrade to midsize I think. Sad.
Would I rent again? Eh, maybe over a compact car but I'd look for another "midsize" next time. All I really wanted was a Cruze. Is that too much to ask? Would also be nice to check out the new 1.5L Fusion but that's probably way too fancy. I assume that's classified as "limousine."
Date Rented: 12/15-12/16/14
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: Enterprise
Powertrain: Probably the 2.0 DI
Highs: May be capable of some decent fuel economy in modest conditions. Reasonably smooth engine but it only had 2,000 miles.
Lows: Hated the power delivery characteristics. Sluggish (yes I turned eco mode off immediately) and somewhat unpredictable. The suspension also sucked. Not enough damping though under less challenging conditions it seemed alright. Over sharper highway bumps, the rear end would actually jump sideways a small amount. I think this happened in another Elantra I rented once.
Fun fact: it appeared to have adjustable steering assist (3 levels) but I discovered that at the gas station at the end of the trip and while it seemed to make a difference, I only drove another ~5 mins before returning the car.
Other cars available: I dunno. We were booked for a compact and this was an upgrade to midsize I think. Sad.
Would I rent again? Eh, maybe over a compact car but I'd look for another "midsize" next time. All I really wanted was a Cruze. Is that too much to ask? Would also be nice to check out the new 1.5L Fusion but that's probably way too fancy. I assume that's classified as "limousine."
Re: Rental Car Reviews
You would be surprised about upgrades. I rolled into Enterprise at BOS recently (my National status means nothing there) with an intermediate reservation dropping off at JFK. I rolled out in a 2015 Tahoe. At first they offered me the choice of a Sienna or a Grand Caravan (ugh). I asked for the ATS they had on the lot, but they wouldn't do it. I also tried for the Avalon. We finally settled on the Tahoe. It was a fair negotiation.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Car: 2015 Ford Expedition
Date Rented: 2/11/15
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 5.4L V8 310 HP with 6A
Highs: V8 sound, Ride was pretty good (IRS?), visibility out of the front felt better than the Tahoe. Comfortable and tons of options (heated and cooled seats, etc).
Lows: Was hoping this was the ecoboost, electronics a bit dated since this is an old platform
Fun fact: Still has that old school keyless entry system that Ford has used since the early 90s.
Other cars available: Impala (new and old), Tahoe (passed this up because I have rented it so many times before and I wanted to try the competition, Camaro (needed seats to take people out to lunch)
Date Rented: 2/11/15
Location Rented: BWI
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 5.4L V8 310 HP with 6A
Highs: V8 sound, Ride was pretty good (IRS?), visibility out of the front felt better than the Tahoe. Comfortable and tons of options (heated and cooled seats, etc).
Lows: Was hoping this was the ecoboost, electronics a bit dated since this is an old platform
Fun fact: Still has that old school keyless entry system that Ford has used since the early 90s.
Other cars available: Impala (new and old), Tahoe (passed this up because I have rented it so many times before and I wanted to try the competition, Camaro (needed seats to take people out to lunch)