What cars have you recently rented?

[LeeNetworX]

Latest rental, a few weeks ago, was a Pontiac G6 GXP. Had good power but awful torque steer, much like Homeslice stated. The interior was typical GM - hard and uncomfortable and not very pleasing to the eye. No blind spots that I noticed. Was pretty good on gas, considering I was stomping on the peppy V6. Overall, was pretty fun to drive, save for the lack of comfort and the horrible torque steer.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by LeeNetworX

Latest rental, a few weeks ago, was a Pontiac G6 GXP. Had good power but awful torque steer, much like Homeslice stated. The interior was typical GM - hard and uncomfortable and not very pleasing to the eye. No blind spots that I noticed. Was pretty good on gas, considering I was stomping on the peppy V6. Overall, was pretty fun to drive, save for the lack of comfort and the horrible torque steer.

They gave you a top-drawer GXP? I feel so deprived...

[Rangerscott]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

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.

My mom owns an '04 (I think) basic BASIC model. Doesnt even have cruise control. What fucking vehicle these days doesnt come with cruise control. I bet that salesman was laughing his ASS OFF when they left with it.

Seat are VERY uncomfortable. Road noise to the max. Cheap plastic EVERY WHERE. The volume control knob on the radio doesnt really work any more. Some of the present buttons dont work. The plastic/rubber seal at the bottom of the windshield is completely destroyed by the sun. Like most SUV's with rear wiper, the blade gets destroyed by the sun and from no use. Plastic bumpers are faded. Plastic door handles are faded (Jesus I hat plastic door handles). All Ford's blinker noise is too loud. Fucker rings constantly if you leave the key in the ign wile the engine is OFF and door open. My companys '04 F-150 does the same thing and it is so fucking ANNOYING!

[101lifts2]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

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. :

Ehh...more gears is not better. I had a 2005 Malibu with a 3.5L / 4speed auto and now a 2008 Malibu 3.6VVT with a 6speed auto. I like the 4speed much better. There is too much shifting in the 6 speed not to mention banging at times. It's too busy. The 4speed seems much more mated to the 3.5L V-6. Not to mention the 05 gets 5mpg better than the 2008.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by 101lifts2

Ehh...more gears is not better. I had a 2005 Malibu with a 3.5L / 4speed auto and now a 2008 Malibu 3.6VVT with a 6speed auto. I like the 4speed much better. There is too much shifting in the 6 speed not to mention banging at times. It's too busy. The 4speed seems much more mated to the 3.5L V-6. Not to mention the 05 gets 5mpg better than the 2008.

Better in terms of not being as abrupt when it downshifts. If it has more gears then it usually has less of an RPM gap between them.

I can't stand how when you pull out to pass in some cars, it jumps 2-3 thousand rpm's. Having more gears would prevent this.

[LeeNetworX]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

They gave you a top-drawer GXP? I feel so deprived...

They've been hooking me up lately. They gave me an Eclipse Spyder GT last time.

[z06boy]

Posting this because I'm bored. Pics of mostly sucky rental cars from a few past vacations. I just want to get around and don't spend much time in the car so no biggie to me.

Oaui...



Maui...



Big Island, Hawaii...



Kauai...



Heavenly at Lake Tahoe the first time...



St. Thomas/St. Johns...

Well I couldn't find a pic of the car...a Kia Rio if I remember correctly but these shots are from the inside of it looking out and yes they drive on the left side of the road there...









Heavenly at Lake Tahoe the 2nd time...



Key Largo/Key West, Fl....



San Francisco/Big Sur...

[Homeslice]

Pontiac Vibe. Even though this thing was slow as hell (4-cyl), it was still very fun to drive, for 3 reasons:
1) Steering feel (it was nicely weighted and you could feel the pavement surface)
2) Ride (it was firm and didn't float that much on the highway)
3) Shifter position (mounted up high, allowing you to pretend you're in a sports car).

[101lifts2]

2009 Chysler 300 M Touring

I had this vehicle for 1 week in MI and I have to say it is probably one of the best rentals I've ever had. This car just did everything very well and it was a car I would consider buying.

Engine-2.7 6cyl. was adequate for the car and returned mileage in the mid 20s. The engine was smooth and rather quiet.

Transmission - Prolly one of the better transmissions I've felt from a driveablity point of view. Always in the right gear and smooth shifting. Never a harsh up or downshift.

Chassis - This vehicle is based upon an older Mercedes chassis. It felt just right, like a big German sedan. Soaked up bumps very well, never harsh and no vibration at times like on some newer Jap cars

Gauges and Console - The interior is done up nice, but the gauges with the white/green lighting is a tad hard to see. The position of stuff was laid out well, though.

[Homeslice]

Rented a new Mailbu last week. Easily 10 times better than the old one. Very impressed with how smooth and quiet it was. Very good ride as well. The suspension didn't seem to have any of that wooden "something's loose" noise that most GM FWD sedans usually have.

The interior was correctly shaped, with a center console that sweeps down between the seats. Way better looking than anything Ford has. There were paddle shifters on the steering wheel, although this seemed a bit out of place on a mainstream family sedan. The tranny was best left in Drive. Manual shifts weren't very quick.

The stereo was disappointing.... it sounded muffled.....But that is true for almost any OEM system.