Rental Car Reviews

[Bob]

- I am still averaging 23.3 according to the computer in mostly highway and back road driving, with a small amount of in town sprinkled in.

That may need a sanity check. Probably optimistic.

Agreed - I think I have gotten well over 30 on pure highway with the V6 Charger before, which should definitely raise some eyebrows.

[Bob]

- I love daily driving something with this level of torque and power. It does everything effortlessly.
- The sound of the engine is nice.
- It is cool to be able to peel out at like half throttle.

Now picture an SS (109-111) or a V2 (115-116). Or V-sport (111-112). Imagine a chassis that was as good as the engine.

I know. Any of the above will offer a much nicer chassis. I have to say after driving this car with 20s around for a while, I applaud GM for putting performance first and putting 18s on the Vsport.

[Adam]

Lets get this thread back on track.

Car: 2016 Hyundai Sonata
Date Rented: 7/24/16
Location Rented: ORF
Rental Company: Avis
Powertrain: 185HP 2.4L with 6A
Highs: Chassis seemed tight, but was let down by perma-squeal tires. A/C was ice cold, which was handy on this trip.
Lows: Engine unwilling to perform. Steering overboosted. Brakes very grabby (even at 30k). Seats in low trim level interior are like cheap, fabric covered rocks.
Fun facts: Android Auto is pretty cool. For all the Windows Phone users out there, it basically allows the phone to take over the dash display. Nav by Google Maps? Yes please. Eco mode ruins your throttle response and sets the transmission up-shift speed to "lug".
Other notable cars available: I was also offered a Malibu and Altima. Snore.
Would I rent again? No

Southern Virginia is hot this time of year...

IMG_20160728_173314.jpg

[Bob]

I set the cruise in the Charger on 65 to allow my daughter some extra time to nap on the way to the airport today. After about a 50 mile run at a steady 65, the computer showed almost 35! I know this has to be a lie, but still even if it was really 30, I think that's fairly impressive for a car of this size and power level.

[Bob]

Car: 2016 Honda Accord LX
Date Rented: 8/17/16
Location Rented: TLH
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 185 HP 2.4L I4 with CVT
Highs: As CVTs go, this was one of the better ones I have driven, although it still had a few issues crawling along at 15 MPH. Solid structure, refined ride. A/C was strong in the Florida / South Georgia heat. Auto climate control is standard.
Lows: Quite a bit of body roll for a car that was supposed to be sportier in this generation, on center highway feel was a little numb/imprecise. The Accord Sport may address these shortcomings. Engine NVH not great at idle.
Fun facts: I believe this is the first time I have ever rented a Honda. Somehow National classifies this base model Accord as a Premium car, which I disagree with. When I saw the PCAR designation on the key tag, I was hoping this was an Accord Touring, EX-L, or at least a Sport.
Other notable cars available: I was offered this or a Suburban. Having driven the Suburban many times, I took the Accord.
Would I rent again? To be honest, I'll probably never have another opportunity to rent one.

[Bob]

Car: 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe SE
Date Rented: 8/30/16
Location Rented: ROC
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 290 HP 3.3L V6 with 6A AWD
Highs: Had Apple CarPlay and working SXM, it looks like Hyundai tried when it comes to interior styling, powertrain is pretty good (can I swap this into the Rondo? ), solid chassis, has dual zone auto climate and another zone for third row.
Lows: numb steering (I mean this kind of goes without saying now on 95% of new cars, but I am going to keep saying it), steering wheel still feels cheap, despite efforts in other parts of interior.
Fun facts: Umm, still searching
Other notable cars available: There were a ton of mediocre Jeep products (Compass and Patriots) and a Town and Country. Pretty sad really
Would I rent again? Probably not

[Bob]

Car: 2016 Ford Edge Titanium
Date Rented: 8/30/16
Location Rented: JAX
Rental Company: National
Powertrain: 280 HP 3.5L V6 with 6A
Highs: Nice highway cruiser with good on center feel, huge moonroof, decent cargo space, pretty good seats with many adjustments.
Lows: Power from 3.5L is pretty uninspiring when you consider this isn't even the base engine. Sync3 still lacks Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. One of my pet peeves with all Fords that have this type of dash (including Fusion and Explorer) is that the tach on the LCD dash is super slow to respond and imprecise.
Fun facts: Again, I am struggling here.
Other notable cars available: 2016 Malibu (I might have taken this if I didn't have 2 coworkers + luggage with me), 2016 RAV4 XLE
Would I rent again? Probably not, although I believe I have said this in the past and somehow ended up with an Edge again.

[Adam]

Car: 2016 Nissan Rogue
Date Rented: 9/13/16
Location Rented: HNL
Rental Company: Avis
Powertrain: 170 HP 2.5L I4 with CVT FWD
Highs: Has 4 doors and a reasonable amount of luggage space. Bluetooth?
Lows: Terrible performance in every metric. CVT "shifts" at WOT, but is terrible. Very poor rear visibility (small rear window and huge C-pillars). Power windows sounded broken (probably an actual issue, not a design oversight).
Fun facts: You can enable/disable "engine deceleration" in a menu so it acts like a normal automatic (rather than a CVT). It feels broken when enabled.
Other notable cars available: I wish I had asked.
Would I rent again? Definitely not.

[Bob]

On the plus side, at least you went to HNL. Was this the Rogue Select, or whatever they are calling the previous generation one that they are still making for fleets a la GM and the Impala?

[Adam]

Quite possibly. It was a '16 but did look fairly dated. I didn't investigate because the car was terrible.