Rent Car of the Day

Gary’s blog, Car of the Day, follows his never-ending obsession with automobiles.  It provides an entertaining look at his favorite car picks and includes reviews, commentary and recommendations.  My blog today offers a different take on his theme.  It’s about the “rental car of the day.”

One of the interesting aspects of travel is the variety of rental cars you get to drive.  When I obtain a cool car, it’s like winning the lottery.  Other days I end up in a minivan (which translates into hell on wheels).  The one constant is that it’s always different.  I never get the same car twice, even when I travel to a city repeatedly.

A couple of weeks ago, I arrived in San Jose on Sunday near midnight.  After waiting an obscene amount of time for my luggage, I trekked to the rent car shuttle area.  Fifteen minutes later, I hopped off the bus and located my car (one of the benefits of being a frequent traveler is not waiting in line; they have your car ready when you arrive).  I walked up to the designated parking space and saw a convertible Volkswagen Beetle.  At first glance, I thought it was a cute car.  Moreover, I could put the top down the next day and enjoy the pleasant California weather.  “Oh yeah,” I thought, “this could be very cool.”

Aha, not so fast!  The Beetle has a cute exterior, but it stops there.  The trunk is microscopic, which is a terrible feature for an airport rental.  I couldn’t get my single (not oversized) bag into it.  “Okay, no problem.  I’ll just put it in the back seat.”  I tried to move the driver’s seat forward to throw the bag in the back, but the seat only moved a few inches.  By this time, it was after midnight (or 2 am central time), and I began to get frustrated.  I tried to adjust the angle of the seat.  There was no button or easy-to-use lever, only a large round knob you had to spin manually in order to recline backwards or forwards.  Seriously, what genius thought that was a good idea? 

After twisting the knob all the way forward, I still couldn’t move it enough to get my bag in the back.  At this point, I’m mentally cursing the person who assigned this car to me.  Finally, I just gave up and put my bag in the passenger seat. 

The next morning, I was in a better mood, but I quickly found more flaws with the Beetle.  It was sluggish and had limited power (2.5-liter, 150-hp inline five-cylinder).  The interior was sparse (dare I say cheap) with minimal features.  The stereo was terrible.  I couldn’t pick up my favorite station, AirOne (a great alternative Christian station in the Bay area).  Finally, the car had a few bad blind spots.  It was cute, but not practical as a rental — thumbs down!

This week I returned to the rent car facility to find another Volkswagen waiting for me.  Only this time, it was a VW Rabbit. As a young girl growing up in the 80s, I wanted this car.  There was a character I liked on a television series who drove a convertible rabbit, and I have been fond of it ever since. 

My bag fit easily in the cargo area, making it better than the Beetle from the start.  The interior is basic, but most of the features you expect in a vehicle of this class are there.  Plus, it has no annoying spin knobs on the seats.  The horse power is still lacking (2.5-liter inline five-cylinder engine, which generates 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque), but it’s slightly better than the Beetle.  Visibility is good.  It handles nice and gives a comfortable ride (it’s not a Mercedes, but the German engineering can still be felt). 

All in all, I’d give this car a solid thumbs up – for a mid-size rental. Of course, nothing beats that C-class waiting for me at home.