Renting a car in US/Canada – What are they like?
Question:
>I’m coming to the US or Canada next month, and I should be renting a car. >Ford Contour
This is a Mondeo. They have the V6 over there too.
Response:
>>>Hi >>I’m coming to the US or Canada next month, and I should be renting a car. >>Only problem is, all the makes/models don’t mean much to me. I’m likely to >>be getting a mid-size car, probably one of the following: >>Pontiac Grand-Am >>Chevrolet Corsica >>Oldsmobile Achieva >>Ford Contour
[deletia] >David >I too have rented all of the above, except the Contour. I don’t find >the Grand Am to be any better than the others, though. Maybe you got
[more deletia] Today I picked up a burgundy Mystique with the 4 cylinder Zetec (I rented it from Hertz). It has 299 miles on the odometer and a temporary dealer tag. I think it is maybe 1 week old. I will be driving it from Atlanta to Knoxville, and then on to Nashville, TN tomorrow, so I will have more insight then. First impressions: NUMB NUMB on center steering feel. Given the tires (185/70 14), suspension is decent, far and away better than the Corsica, Achieva, Grand Am. I still think my wife’s LS owns the market on ride/handling trade-off. Engine’s not bad, but it makes my wife’s automatic equipped ‘94 Integra LS coupe feel like a top fuel dragster. After driving a large # of 4 cylinder automatic transmission equipped vehicles, I’m no longer disappointed by the performance her car gives. Anyhow, the Mystique is very tight (it should be with only 299 miles on the clock). The chassis rigidity seems to be very high. I noticed a little rattle coming from the passenger side though. I can’t get the driver’s seat adjusted to even resemble comfortable. My wife had no complaints about the passenger seat. The power seat controls are in an awkward position. I couldn’t even find them at first (my wife found them while waiting for me in the car). My main complaint is the lumbar region. It doesn’t seem to be adjustable. It puts some sort of weird pressure on my back that makes it feel as though I’ve slipped a disk again. I don’t know how I’m going to survive 400 miles in it tomorrow. Road noise is kept in check pretty well. Engine doesn’t sound bad, but it makes my wife’s 1.8 sound even better (no 4 cylinder sounds as good as my GS-r though). Much less raucous than a Neon, but a little behind the Corrolla. I noticed at a drive through that there’s a lot of mechanical clatter that can be heard outside the car (that squeaky kind of clatter) Power is thin off the line, especially for a 2.0 liter. It pulls pretty well in the midrange. Automatic downshifts 1 or 2 gears at the drop of a hat. Slight grades cause a sudden 2 or 3 thousand increase in rpms. Overdrive is precisely that. 70 mph=~2500 rpms, thus frequent gear hunting so far. My biggest disasppointment has been the fact that it sounds like the CV joints are already shot. Pulling away from a turn (especially right turns) produces a mechanical clicking that is not only heard but felt through the driveline. This scares me on a car with 300 miles on it. I wish they had one with the Duratec V6. I chose this one over a Probe SE because of traffic stealth reasons. From your original list of cars, and from my first driving impressions of the Mystique, I still think the Contour is definitely the way to go.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Hi >I’m coming to the US or Canada next month, and I should be renting a car. >Only problem is, all the makes/models don’t mean much to me. I’m likely to >be getting a mid-size car, probably one of the following: >Pontiac Grand-Am >Chevrolet Corsica >Oldsmobile Achieva >Ford Contour >I have rented all but the Contour. The Grand-Am is head >and shoulders the best of the three if you are an >enthusiast. The Corsica is completely unimpressive and >steers like a truck and the Achieva drives like a armored >personal carrier with a 4 cylinder engine. I drove >the Grand Am through the mountains of Utah with ease. The >Acheiva was brought to its knees by the Rockies in >Colorado. You’ll have to settle for an automatic, however, >I would be surprised to see an American rental agency have >many standards available. >Regards, >David
I too have rented all of the above, except the Contour. I don’t find the Grand Am to be any better than the others, though. Maybe you got one with a sportier suspension. They all seemed to have the same crappy handling, sloppy steering and brakes, but ICY cold A/C. I always seem to fall into the Corsica/Grand Am category when I rent a car. I always ask for a Corrolla/Prizm or Neon now. I get puzzled looks from the counter guys when I ask for the Neon though. The engine’s not too refined, but it’s a HELL of a lot more fun to drive than the GM cars. I guess they just don’t understand that. I also had the most unfortunate experience of renting a Buick Regal sedan (it was a free "upgrade"). The 3800 was decently torquey, but the suspension was HURL inspiring. Since our "preferred" agency is Avis, (owned by GM), I probably won’t get the opportunity to rent a Contour very often. I would go out on a limb and say that it is far superior to the Corsichieva though. I noticed they had some new Sentras in the lot at Nashville airport last Thursday (I got a mint green Corrolla). I’ll ask for one of those next time, see how it stacks up.
Response:
>Hi >I’m coming to the US or Canada next month, and I should be renting a car. >Only problem is, all the makes/models don’t mean much to me. I’m likely to >be getting a mid-size car, probably one of the following: >Pontiac Grand-Am >Chevrolet Corsica >Oldsmobile Achieva >Ford Contour
I hope you realize that an american "mid-size" car is a european "large" car >And: do any of them come with a manual gear-shift as standard, as I much >prefer them to automatics?
Your chances of getting a manual out of the run-of the mill rental agencies are slim to nonexistent.
Response:
>Hi >I’m coming to the US or Canada next month, and I should be renting a car. >Only problem is, all the makes/models don’t mean much to me. I’m likely to >be getting a mid-size car, probably one of the following: >Pontiac Grand-Am >Chevrolet Corsica >Oldsmobile Achieva >Ford Contour
I have rented all but the Contour. The Grand-Am is head and shoulders the best of the three if you are an enthusiast. The Corsica is completely unimpressive and steers like a truck and the Achieva drives like a armored personal carrier with a 4 cylinder engine. I drove the Grand Am through the mountains of Utah with ease. The Acheiva was brought to its knees by the Rockies in Colorado. You’ll have to settle for an automatic, however, I would be surprised to see an American rental agency have many standards available. Regards, David
Response:
Hi I’m coming to the US or Canada next month, and I should be renting a car. Only problem is, all the makes/models don’t mean much to me. I’m likely to be getting a mid-size car, probably one of the following: Pontiac Grand-Am Chevrolet Corsica Oldsmobile Achieva Ford Contour If I’m given a choice – what should I take? I will probably be driving 2-3000 miles, so it has to be reasonably comfortable, but I’m also a bit of enthusaist so it has to have a reasonable amount of clout. And go round corners without frightening hell out of me, if possible. Are the differences between the GM cars purely cosmetic? What else is there in that model size? And: do any of them come with a manual gear-shift as standard, as I much prefer them to automatics? Cheers, Dean Bubley — Datamonitor 106 Baker St, London, UK Tel: +44 171 625 8548 Fax: +44 171 625 5080
Response:
Related Posts