Got a Jetta recently......Best rental I've had in a long time. Like most German cars the steering was firm, the body motion was well-controlled, and the seats were firm and well-bolstered. Way different than the typical disconnected-feeling Japanese or American car. From the way this thing drives, you might think it's the GLI sport model, but it's not. It's just the way the Germans make even thier base-level cars. Engine was a 5-cylinder with very good torque and a very sporty sound, although some people might think it's loud when floored.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2njiu78.jpg

Tranny was a SIX speed auto.......As a result, the powerband was always in the sweet spot. How many Japanese or American cars in this price class have a 6-speed auto? It also had a manumatic mode, as well as an "S" mode which I used most of the time. This mode basically tells the computer to hold gears longer, cruise in 4 or 5 instead of 6, and downshift sooner when going downhill.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2qd7drm.jpg

Interior was kind of stark, but puposeful. Steering wheel felt good ---- The rim had sort of an oval cross section instead of round, so it was thicker front to back than it was side to side. This enables more of the wheel to contact your palm.

http://i42.tinypic.com/24kyyx0.jpg


Gauges were pretty cool, but the numerals could have been bigger. And I would rather have 1-digit numerals instead of 2 on the tach.

http://i42.tinypic.com/nfjqdk.jpg


Had a proper dead pedal on the left. This helps hold you in place during aggressive driving.

http://i42.tinypic.com/oho96p.jpg


Glove box was lined with felt.........Pretty pimp

http://i39.tinypic.com/2ps4rnp.jpg


Radio display was tiny, and the plastic trim around the climate controls felt cheap and easy to leave prints on.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2zoyr2p.jpg

The turn signal was awesome.......It had a special setting where you could just nudge it a little, and it would blink 3 times and then shut itself off.

http://i39.tinypic.com/152jrcz.jpg

^^^GM uses the nudge of the turn signal for 3 blinks as well.

2009 Honda Element

I just rode passenger in this thing, so here are my results...

Engine
I think this is a 2.4L engine or some 4 cylinder. Its pretty noisy on acceleration and the owner told me he gets 22mpg city/highway. Quite lackluster IMO. Also, the power was adequate, but not overwhelming by any means.

Transmission
Shifts were typical Japanese. uuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh SHIFT..uhhhhhhhhhh...SHIFT. Almost like they only have a speed and accelerator pedal as the map. Not good IMO for a car in this day and age.

Build quality
While the build quality was good, the materials Honda is using lately seem cheap. The plastic is thinner than on Hondas 5 years ago. There was an annoying rattle coming from the headliner I was trying to locate when we were driving this.

Controls
While I didn't sit in the drivers seat, the dash layout seems good, easy to read gauges and the center con sole was layed out well.

One neat thing I might add is that rear seats sit higher than the front so you can see out the front window with someone sitting in the front seat. But..the seat feels like a jump seat, so long trips aren't that comfortable.

Overall I think there is a better car for the 22k price tag since the thing is the size of a Civic.

2009 Ford Escape (brand new).

This thing is a piece of shit. Period.

The transmission whines like a Crown Vic's with 200,000 miles on it
Seats are like sitting on plywood
Handles like the car from The Flintstones
Climate Controls are difficult to reach and adjust
Radio indicators are burried in the dash where you have to look away from traffic to see what's going on (more so than most radios since this one is recessed and above the dash)

Never again.

I think you're hearing the fuel pump whine, not the transmission. ^^^

nope... it had that grinding wind up sound that a poorly maintained transmission gets over time... besides, I could hear the fuel pump too: that sounds like a pissed off bee.

Last summer I took a brand spanking new escape with a manual transmission for a spin.
Felt like the shifter was busted or was missing bolts.

Rented lately ? Spent a week in Puerto Rico a couple of weeks ago and rented a Hyundai Brio...4 door. :rockwoot: :lol:

I wanted something small and cheap but with good A/C

It served it's purpose.

The drivers suck pretty bad in PR. No one uses turn signals...they will pull right out in front of you and change lanes quickly...again with no signal and love to weave in and out of traffic. Most don't even stop at the stop signs. The slower drivers love the left lane. :td:


A Dodge Neon was considered a midsize. :whatwhat: :lol

You just described New Jersey.

:lol: Probably so...never been there. I wouldn't want to ride motorcycles in PR though even though they did have some twisties. I guess maybe away from the cities would be ok but then again...I'm not too sure about that. :tremble:

So, this is the 4th or 5th time I've rented a Pontiac G6. This one was the "GT" version with the 3.5 V6, which is an extremely smooth, quiet engine, but it would do so much better in a RWD platform. There is so much torque steer all the time, even when just doing roll-on accel or downshifting. It's so irritating that I'd rather have the 4-cylinder model. Also the transmission only has 4 gears, which is weaksauce considering that a base Jetta has 6. As far as the suspension goes, it handles good around town, but once you get up to highway speeds it's too soft & floaty. :td: I don't know if there is a sport suspension available for this car, but it needs it. The 4-cyl model I rented a few months ago seemed to handle better. Also, on the highway the steering is too fast and so when it's windy you're constantly correcting it. The shocks and springs are weird because on the highway they produce a glass-smooth ride, but off the highway the ride becomes brittle. Even if you slow down to 2 mph over potholes & railroad tracks, you get this wooden clodding sound, which I've experienced in several different GM FWD sedans. It's a hollow sound that makes you think something must be loose in the suspension. :skep: