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BloodBag posted:I just rented a 2020 Ford Ecosport 2.0L Titanium 4WD in Salt Lake City, UT so I could drive up into the mountains to go skiing and across the Wasatch range to go snowmobiling. I just want to point out that yours was an excellent review. I especially like the turns of phrase you used, like "hobby-horsing down the road". Very nice. Thank you! bandman posted:2019 Dodge Caravan EDIT: a shameful way to start page 4. Here, have a photo reminder of why I cannot really be trusted behind the wheel. This is less "Not Enough Truck" and more "Not Enough Brain".  SD 185 Snowtracks 02 by Martin Brummell, on Flickr
ExecuDork fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Jan 6, 2020 |
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Jan 6, 2020 06:31
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Is the 2.0L NA different for '20 vs '17? Or is the EcoSport substantially heavier / less aerodynamic than a Focus hatch? My wife's Focus ('17; 2.0L NA) isn't going to set any records, but it's not slow by any means.
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Jan 6, 2020 18:08
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Krakkles posted:Is the 2.0L NA different for '20 vs '17? Or is the EcoSport substantially heavier / less aerodynamic than a Focus hatch? That was the perplexing part to me as well. I had a 2017 and 2012 focus hatchback with the DPS6 and the only thing I can think of is the 4WD system sapping power, but I can't imagine it was *that* much. 2017 hatch Curb weight: 2,935 to 3,055 lbs 2020 ecosport 3,104 to 3,360 lbs. I can't see 200-300 lbs being that much for it.
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Jan 6, 2020 18:32
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the high number is correct for the AWD. more weight, more air resistance, different gearbox (which although better is probably not as efficient as that was one of the big sell points of the DPS6), i believe intelligent 4WD is always distributing power to all four wheels so there are always drivetrain losses, and at altitude in a NA car all add up to it being quite a bit more sluggish
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Jan 7, 2020 00:38
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Right before christmas our flight got into San Diego super late (2:30 am!) and the rental agent said that due to the holiday rush he didn't have the econobox I'd reserved, so I could choose either a full sized pickup or Camaro for the price I reserved at. Camaro it is! It was going to rain a bunch so the base convertible would have been a waste of time, I got a 2019 SS model. 10 speed auto, 455 hp! It was really civilized when just motoring around, but got loud and fast quick when you stomped on it. My wife's suitcase had to go in the back seat because it wouldn't fit in the trunk opening, and the rear visibility was horrendous but other than that the driving experience was great. Not bad for $30 a day.
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Jan 8, 2020 00:24
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Rented a 2019 Nissan Altima SR for a bit while my car was in the shop and they didn't have a loaner available. It was pretty meh honestly. Had leather seats but it was already showing wear after 30k miles. The steering wheel looked and felt like a cheap arcade wheel, there was no feedback and absolutely zero resistance, the difference between it and my E82 is insane. The CVT is meh, it had paddle shifters but what's the point? It just sat at 1200 rpm basically no matter what speed you were cruising at, up to the 70mph or so I normally stick at on the highway during my commute. A lot of the controls are pretty counter intuitive, I'm pretty sure I drove home the first night with my lights off because I couldn't tell if they were on or off, and then the automatic setting would leave the lights on after I turned the car off for some reason. It. had a billion LCDs, cameras and radar poo poo but no autodimming mirrors, which I really missed from my BMW. The tires (didn't catch what brand they were) were absolute garbage in the slushy winter crap we got yesterday around here. The turning radius was surprisingly wide, at least coming from my smaller car. The fake carbon fiber trim and red stitching in the interior seemed really out of place for the completely pedestrian performance. Overall I'd give it a 3 out 5. It was probably a better car than the Sentra or whatever I would have gotten if enterprise didn't give me an upgrade, and a way better car than the 17 Versa I had as a loaner the last time my car was in the shop, but that's damning it with faint praise as the Versa was objectively the worst car I have ever driven, I'd rather have the J body I drove right after I graduated from high school than one of those pieces of poo poo
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Jan 30, 2020 02:37
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i have a new Huyndai Elantra in finest  spec complete with snow tires. i like because it is a very low trim level - cloth seats, no automatic climate control, small wheels, etc but it has a MOTHER FUCKIN HEATED STEERING WHEEL yeeathe car is very decent as an appliance. acceleration is tolerable, it is pretty compliant, the head unit has carplay, the steering is normal EPAS no feedback poo poo but it's not bad just kind of videogamey. i don't think i would get it over another equivalent car (say civic, mazda3, whatever) but it's significantly cheaper as it only costs 21 grand in canada dollars. an equivalent civic is like 25 grand and it has NO MOTHER loving HEATED STEERING WHEEL i think its like a 4, maybe 4.5/5.
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Jan 30, 2020 23:13
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Rented a 2019 Chevy Cruze LT hatchback a couple of weeks back for a work trip. It was quiet, and having remote start was nice for that below -30C week I will give it that, but I found it very lacking in pretty much every other way. -The engine/trans combination was brain-dead - the transmission (6-speed auto) wanted to be in the highest possible gear all the time, and the engine was very laggy. This meant that the car would take about a three-count between putting your foot down and anything happening, and often when it responded it responded with way more than you wanted. -The engine was not able to produce enough heat to keep the cabin warm under many circumstances. At highway speed, it was fine, but just puttering around in traffic, the air from the vents would start to blow cold after a minute or two. Even the coolant temperature gauge (which is just a glorified idiot light these days, I am well aware) would dip down to as low as a quarter of the way up, whereas the engine would stay pretty constant at halfway between hot and cold in highway driving. Again, it might be because it was in the -30s that week, but still, for all of its failings in cold weather, my E46 puts out a prodigious amount of heat into the cabin even in the coldest of weather. -Also in terms of cabin comfort, I think I would have been warmer if I just imagined heat on my rear end and back rather than turn the heated seats on. -The infotainment system took nearly 10 minutes to index the contents of my iPod every time it paired up, and it wouldn't do anything other than play the current track until it was finished. -Visibility out of the car was very poor; granted I am used to a car that's nearly 20 years old and don't have a ton of experience with modern tiny glasshouses, but this was bad even in comparison to a lot of those. There were a lot of blindspots, and shoulder checking was only so effective. Also, the seating position relative to the rest of the car made it feel very large, with the front wheels and front corners seeming very far away and difficult to judge. -The rear cargo area floor is very high and very small; for the size of the car, it's really quite disappointing. -The fuel economy I returned was laughably bad; 10.8L/100 km over nearly 450 km, out of a 1.4-litre turbo engine in a (relatively) small car. Granted the cold didn't help at all, but my BMW, which is larger, with a bigger engine and the disadvantage of being twenty years behind the Cruze, would get better in those conditions. Also, the car only has a 40-ish litre fuel tank. Having driven a number of this car's competitors in the last year helping my mother shop for a replacement for her Civic, the Cruze falls short of its competition in just about every metric. Not that any of its competitors do everything well - they all seem to emphasise one thing over others - but the Cruze just doesn't do anything well at all. Overall, I would give it a 3 out of 10.
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Jan 31, 2020 01:59
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I had a Hyundai Tuscon through Avis recently. I only paid for the most basic rental, so I guess I got upgraded somewhat. The driving experience was entirely uninspiring, which is about standard for compact crossovers. What was surprising to me was the equipment levels. It had an automatic (I'm not in the US), AWD, heated and ventilated electrically adjustable seats on both sides, leather interior, heated steering wheel, navigation, carplay/android auto, power tailgate, wireless phone charging, 360 degree reversing camera and probably more. About the only thing missing was a panoramic roof. I talked to a friend that works for one of the major rental companies, and he said it is the financing company that are responsible for reselling the car that pick the equipment level. The time they hold on to the cars is decreasing as to retain more residual value. That might not be the case in the US though.
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Jan 31, 2020 14:45
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:i have a new Huyndai Elantra in finest I covet a heated steering wheel and shift knob (does anyone do that? it'd be a nice touch) and also cooled seats for summer. That -30 stretch we just got through sucked a massive amount of rear end.
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Feb 1, 2020 14:14
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Humbug posted:I talked to a friend that works for one of the major rental companies, and he said it is the financing company that are responsible for reselling the car that pick the equipment level. The time they hold on to the cars is decreasing as to retain more residual value. That might not be the case in the US though. I mean, if you buy a white pickup in Alberta with a scrubbed-out small-company name on it and clear evidence of many, many kilometres per year, always on poo poo roads, you're buying a worn-out heap that's almost certainly close to failure of multiple critical systems, but at least you'll get a nice stereo (that is also about to fail)? PT6A posted:I covet a heated steering wheel and shift knob (does anyone do that? it'd be a nice touch) and also cooled seats for summer. That -30 stretch we just got through sucked a massive amount of rear end. https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32946642637.html
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Feb 3, 2020 02:15
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had a Q50 3.0t today and all i can say is  nissan u lovely japanese chryslerupsides: the VQ/VR family of V6s is still really good downsides: literally everything else about the car sucks
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Feb 4, 2020 01:46
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:had a Q50 3.0t today and all i can say is Isn’t it crazy? I had a 2019 maxima in New Orleans and was dreaming of the Chrysler 200 it was so hateful. gently caress Nissan. Even the (R35, never driven an OG) GTR is just a boring way to get arrested. Come to think of it, with how easily the maxima cruises at <redacted> that’s the maxima too.
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Feb 4, 2020 03:23
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Also, pro-loving-tip for you frequent travelers: carry a tire pressure gauge so you don’t have to roll around at 42psi.
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Feb 4, 2020 03:24
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RIP Paul Walker posted:Also, pro-loving-tip for you frequent travelers: carry a tire pressure gauge so you don’t have to roll around at 42psi. counterpoint: theyre paying for the tires, im paying for the fuel and i never expect a good ride or traction from a rental car anyway. air em up to sidewall rating
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Feb 4, 2020 04:28
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NumbersMatching320 posted:counterpoint: theyre paying for the tires, im paying for the fuel and i never expect a good ride or traction from a rental car anyway. air em up to sidewall rating I don’t pay for anything and like a good ride, YMMV
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Feb 4, 2020 04:51
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2020 Nissan Altima Pros: -Decent power -CVT is miles better than they used to be -Infotainment system is nice and works well, easy to pair my phone -Decent mileage (30ish mixed city/highway) Cons: -most horrifically uncomfortable seat ever -chime for door open won’t shut up even when the car is off, what the gently caress -feels like I’m sitting on the goddamn ground, even compared to a Camry or something. 4/10 would not rent again based solely on the drivers seat with the impossibly short and tapered bottom cushion. It is just geometrically incompatible with my rear end for whatever reason. Edit: also, the flat-bottom steering wheel is stupid and I hate it. bandman fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Feb 6, 2020 |
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Feb 6, 2020 04:56
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I don't know how they do it, but I get nearly 40mpg with every Altima I rent. They're fairly slow but the high end ones have some pretty good tech in them. They're nearly self-driving on the highway.
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Feb 6, 2020 20:16
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2019 Dodge Charger GT, national exec aisle, Dulles The fuckers at Dodge put a GT badge on a V6. It’s fine. I didn’t hate the automatic and it sounded interestingly different from the V6 Mustang I’m used to.
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Feb 6, 2020 22:54
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Cocoa Crispies posted:2019 Dodge Charger GT, national exec aisle, Dulles GT is the AWD model. Which can and does come with the V6. I think it's available with the hemi, but what loving rental service is gonna order that.
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Feb 7, 2020 02:16
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:I think it's available with the hemi, but what loving rental service is gonna order that. A shocking number of challenger/charger rentals are the hemi. I’ve had one, they’re great.
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Feb 7, 2020 13:55
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:GT is the AWD model. Which can and does come with the V6. I think it's available with the hemi, but what loving rental service is gonna order that. I’ve found Camaros SS in more than one executive aisle, rented one during my Irmacation back in ‘17.
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Feb 7, 2020 14:23
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new silverado 1500 verdict: GM is hosed, it's worse than the RAM by a mile and than the F-150 by a fair bit. classic GM: great powertrain, lovely everything else bit unsure whether it was the 4.3 v6 or the V8. either way the drivetrain was nice, smooth and responsive. The ride was fine, but not better than the RAM. Visibility was adequate. bench seat was tough to adjust in a way that allowed good reach for steering wheel and pedals. center of bench was clever with storage but not as good as RAM. controls for 4x4 system were easy to reach and well marked. controls for HVAC and touchscreen were difficult to reach (I'm 5'10 so i'm not tiny, but my reach isn't massive) the gauges looked cheap. the shift lever was particularly cheap. the interior looked no better than a last gen tahoe. honestly do not understand why anyone would buy this truck over a RAM 1500 or a F150 unless they worked for GM
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Feb 8, 2020 01:14
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:new silverado 1500 It's always a little disconcerting to me when I notice this in vehicles, because, like, how do normal people EVER use these? There was a sedan that had this problem as well - I think some flavor of GM, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was.
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Feb 8, 2020 01:17
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dude, i am so glad to hear that. i was like what the gently caress why do i have to lean forward way out of my seat to adjust the temp? am i actually a midget?
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Feb 8, 2020 01:28
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I had a Nissan Frontier while my M3 was getting its rear bumper replaced. I did not care for it. Was it a 2005 or a 2020? Who the gently caress knows! It had 6000 miles. The passenger door made a horrible noise when opened or closed. I'm sure it's fine for the bargain basement truck it's supposed to be, but imagine my shock when I look it up and the thing starts at over $27k! I was expecting like $20k with the quality of it. Behold its glory  Check out the high quality foam around the windshield  That looks like it's about to fall off  This speaker grill could be pushed down about 1/4" to sit flush  The door handle was kind of a pain to get to. This also shows the horrid steering wheel that was slick plastic.  The center console armrest was some sort of tacky rubber that felt absolutely horrible the couple of times I touched it. I'm glad it's winter and I was wearing a jacket.  I did not care for it and have no idea why anyone would buy one unless they have massive discounts on them since they're god drat dinosaurs. I wasn't expecting anything luxurious or anything, but this was way worse than my lowest expectations.
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Feb 25, 2020 02:35
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^^ This past summer, I realized I wanted/ needed a midsize truck again. I'd had 3 80's Nissan hardbodies, but had always wanted a Tacoma. My dad, brother and I would call out whenever we saw one or the other, and in Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island BC, Toyotas outnumbered the Nissans at what felt like 8 to 1. One of the most apt descriptions of the Nissan Frontier I read was that Nissan is the Chrysler of Japan. Your review basically just cemented that.
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Feb 25, 2020 04:20
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the frontier is real cheap, heavily discounted, and pretty tough. if you are going to actually beat on a truck i'd rather beat on it than the ranger
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Feb 25, 2020 14:17
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:the frontier is real cheap, heavily discounted, and pretty tough. if you are going to actually beat on a truck i'd rather beat on it than the ranger I figured there had to be pretty deep discounts on it. There's absolutely no way it's worth that MSRP.
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Feb 25, 2020 16:21
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I rented a brand new Hyundai Tucson for a trip from Vegas to Phoenix and back, loading my wife and all of our gear for a medieval event over a weekend. I can report that the car was entirely competent, well designed, and otherwise unremarkable in almost every way. The only thing that impressed me was the amount of standard features such as lane keep assist that it came with. I don't want a smallish CUV, but if I was in the market for one and didn't car about cars at all, it's probably what I would buy.
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Feb 25, 2020 18:09
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fknlo posted:I figured there had to be pretty deep discounts on it. There's absolutely no way it's worth that MSRP. Deffo. The little things are surprisingly good tow vehicles. Known a few commercial fishermen here in FL that tow smaller boats with them. I used one to tow the tiniest, most overloaded, 12 foot cargo trailer for a week. That one had a Banks tune, 4 inch exhaust, LSD, and a port job though. Super fun without the trailer.
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Feb 27, 2020 01:14
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Buick Enclave Essence FWD. Comfortable and quiet on the highway. Returned about 25mpg in mainly highway, but that was loaded up with five adults, ski gear, and in the White Mountains in NH. Fit five adults and ski gear without much issue in the cabin, but one guy in the third row was a little tight. Access to third row was good. Decent acceleration and powertrain. No issues in some minor ice, snow, and mud. Heavy, you can feel the weight especially braking, but actually was fairly predictable in corners (although slow) No forward collision assistance or active cruise on a $44K soccer mom car seemed like an oversight. Fundamentally a really competent minivan replacement, but not actually better than say, a Pacifica at anything other than not being FCA product. I don't see why I would buy it over either a minivan for the same use case, or like a Tahoe if I wanted something a little more ambitious with AWD or 4x4. If someone gave me one for free (and I had kids) I'd happily drive it, but I wouldn't roll up to the Buick dealer and plunk down my cash. Also looks decent from certain angles (front is fairly handsome) but is too big. The shape works OK on something that is Envision-sized, but not this big.
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Mar 2, 2020 16:53
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2017 - Salt Lake City airport - Budget tried to give me a Jeep Wrangler 2-door MUDD KRAWLER EXTREEME edition instead of the economy/compact I'd reserved for my 300+ mile highway journey. Refused it, wouldn't even fit the bags I had with me and the thought of 300 miles in a 2-door jeep on mud tires was terrifying. Waited awhile, getting impatient to be on my way. Desk guy comes up, asks a question I've never been asked prior or since in a rental in the US - "Can you drive stick" - uh sure. Thinking I've pissed of the rental gods more than usual, expecting a stripper Hyundai with manual windows or something. Nope. Focus ST hatch. Why this was in a Budget lot in SLC I have no idea, but there it was, all black and full of turbo goodness. Immediately rerouted my trip to head through mountains/Yellowstone, easily adding 6 hours to my drive time. Worth it. Returned 30+ MPG for the entire trip, even though I was in full-on Hoonigan mode for easily 30% of the miles, treated the accelerator like an on/off pedal. Shame the entire Focus line is gone now. Now it's Kia Souls everywhere.
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Mar 2, 2020 19:03
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marcopolo posted:Now it's Kia Souls everywhere. Speaking of: I have a base Kia Soul as a rental and it's not bad. Not sure why it was on the National Executive aisle but I willingly chose it over an Altima because I was curious.
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Mar 2, 2020 19:42
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Wait, are Maximas lovely now? I have vague memories of them being pretty nice, at least 20 years ago. I have one reserved for a vacation trip. Not for a long haul, just maybe 200 miles driving over 3 days.
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Mar 3, 2020 00:17
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marcopolo posted:2017 - Salt Lake City airport - Budget tried to give me a Jeep Wrangler 2-door MUDD KRAWLER EXTREEME edition instead of the economy/compact I'd reserved for my 300+ mile highway journey. Refused it, wouldn't even fit the bags I had with me and the thought of 300 miles in a 2-door jeep on mud tires was terrifying. Waited awhile, getting impatient to be on my way. Desk guy comes up, asks a question I've never been asked prior or since in a rental in the US - "Can you drive stick" - uh sure. Thinking I've pissed of the rental gods more than usual, expecting a stripper Hyundai with manual windows or something. Nope. I ended up with a 2018 5.0 mustang with six speed from SLC. Never seen or been offered a stick any place else.
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Mar 3, 2020 00:39
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I rent ~30 cars per year for work. I am 6'4", drive a mazda 2, and while I have to rent ICARs for work from enterprise, I rarely get ICARs as I'm on a first name basis with my normal rental location. I've rented 6 cars so far this year. They all kind of blend together. Cars I hate: Nissan Sentra Grand Caravan Mitsubishi Outlander (Think those are all out of the fleet) Toyota Corollas are bad for long trips. The footwell is too small. GM CUVs. Eww. Particularly chevy. Cars I like getting: VW Passat. Seriously. A good road trip vehicle. Not sure I've want to own one as LOL VW, but a solid car for long trips. Comfortable, enough power, 600mi per tank. Ford Fusion. These are actually really decent, particularly in high trim, which Enterprise sometimes has. Both this an the passat have better radar cruise control than others. Chevy Tahoe. Only for long trips in rural areas. gently caress this car in the city. Hyundais and Kias ave gotten really nice. They also seem to be leaving the Enterprise fleet in California. Its mostly Nissan, Ford, VW, and Chevy CUVs I never get fancy cars as this location never has them and the airport locations won't give me them. I guess I've gotten a few infiniti CUVs, meh. I get a pickups sometimes, I'm ford, dodge, then GM. Chevy pickups are pretty grim in rental spec. GM seems to be sucking really bad on everything that isn't a Yukon or a Caddy. Frontier seats don't go far back enough for me, so I dunno. edit: The ford ecosport is perhaps the dumbest vehicle I've driven. Very nice inside compared to many CUVs, expensive, and possibly the slowest car I've ever driven. Terrible to drive generally. nm fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Mar 3, 2020 |
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Mar 3, 2020 01:39
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marcopolo posted:2017 - Salt Lake City airport - Budget tried to give me a Jeep Wrangler 2-door MUDD KRAWLER EXTREEME edition instead of the economy/compact I'd reserved for my 300+ mile highway journey. Refused it, wouldn't even fit the bags I had with me and the thought of 300 miles in a 2-door jeep on mud tires was terrifying. Waited awhile, getting impatient to be on my way. Desk guy comes up, asks a question I've never been asked prior or since in a rental in the US - "Can you drive stick" - uh sure. Thinking I've pissed of the rental gods more than usual, expecting a stripper Hyundai with manual windows or something. Nope. I think that might have been a manager car. I know a guy that works rental and he has a company car that is still ostensibly a part of the rental fleet, although not available for normal rental. If there is a situation like yours with overbooking, or a super VIP shows up (the type where they deliver the car to the customer wherever he might be) he has to give up his car. Its weird that it would be manual in the US but it might be at the request of a particular VIP and the manager. Around here, those are almost always Teslas or German saloons.
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Mar 3, 2020 08:45
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I had a coworker end up with a stick shift Wrangler a while back. It’s bonkers that it was even in the fleet, but whatever.
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Mar 4, 2020 00:20
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Non US folk, how is a Citroen C4 Picasso for bigger dudes? I'm a 6'3" & 250lb large guy, and that's what out agent has found for it France trip later this summer. Will I fit? Will I be miserable? Should I ask the agent to find something larger?
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Mar 8, 2020 12:36
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