Topic: Rental car thread

[kings10]

Neat little van! Could you imagine what would be said in our markets in 2024 with that small screen? 

It was roomy, fuel efficient and had great sightlines to view the scenery. Re: screen size, agree and the tires were 195 width on 15" wheels.  But to be fair, it was a 2021 model, the last year of a generation introduced in 2014.

[kings10]

Neat little van! Could you imagine what would be said in our markets in 2024 with that small screen? 

It was roomy, fuel efficient and had great sightlines to view the scenery. Re: screen size, agreed and the tires were 195 width on 15" wheels.  But to be fair, it was a 2021 model, the last year of a generation introduced in 2014.

[Bubba]

Booking a rental vehicle: do you have more success getting a fair price booking directly through a rental company or through a travel site?

[Gurgie]

Booking a rental vehicle: do you have more success getting a fair price booking directly through a rental company or through a travel site?

I've had my best luck thru Costco (if you have a membership). Otherwise I've found rental car companies sometimes have a promo when you sign up with them & usually a cheaper rate if you pre-pay for the rental ahead of time. Oh & if you have a CAA membership, there are some discounts for that as well.

Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Dropped the CX-5 to get the hail damage fixed, and was given a 2024 Corolla LE as a rental.

Not sure what to think about it.  As an owner I'd be chuffed with its reliability and economy, but as a renter, well, it feels cheap, small, and pretty basic.  Suuuper light steering.

No Android Auto in this one.  Not sure if it's been disabled by the rental company, or if it's just not offered. 

NM.  I did a little bit of research, unpaired my phone, repaired it, and was able to activate wireless Android Auto.  Nice.

[quadzilla]

The LE model is the base model. Don't know if they get a lower rent interior than the upper trims. Actually I'm wrong, I just looked online and there is a L trim below the LE. Oh well. Also, I noticed huge price increases. In 2022 you could get a base car for $20K and now they start at just over $26K. Damn. Think my SE (Nightshade) trim was around $28K when we bought it.

Personally, I find my SE trim nice enough but I'm the furthest from a dash stroker as they come. Is it the best out there, of course not, but I also don't find it cheap. But I haven't sat in a new LE to compare of course.

Not sure about your small comment though, think it is average for the class. But you are a tall guy if I remember, maybe the LE doesn't come with a seat height adjustment.

Basic? What more do you want? I have radar cruise, lane keep, auto high beams, heated seats/wheel. What is the LE missing?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Okay, spent a day with this car so far.  The basic car is great.  Drives nice, handles well, soaks up the road decently.  The engine is powerful for what it is - 169hp out of a 2.0L, and in a small car.  The car scoots.  Well done Toyota.  I think the Corolla is quicker than my CX-5, which isn't saying much, but for a basic economy car, this thing isn't slow.  The CVT takes away from it somewhat, but I understand it's an economy car, and the CVT just does its job as it needs to.  It fits the mission. 

Including ALL the active safety equipment even on the lowest trim is a nice touch.  ALL self-driving aids, LED headlights, blind spot monitoring, auto highbeams etc.  nice touch.  Wireless Android Auto is great.  Wish I had the wireless version on my car. 

The only problem here is, I just can't get over how low rent the interior is.  The materials are just horrid.  Hard plastics EVERYWHERE.  A sea of dark grey.  A general feeling of cheapness and being built down to a price point.  I realize Toyota knows their audience, and put the money into places other than the interior.  This trim is the LE, one up from the base trim.  I wonder if upper trims get upgraded interior materials?  But even small touches, like the instrument panel, has absolutely ZERO decoration whatsoever.  It's just a flat piece of  dark grey plastic with two dials on it, and a small screen in the middle.  Zero bezels, no trim, nothing.  Is it functional?  Absolutely.  Is it nice to look at?  Absolutely not. 
I'm reminded of the 2008 Civic DX that I had for a year not too long ago.  Base model economy car, but the interior in that thing was far, far nicer than this Corolla. 

So, all in all, great compact car, disappointing depressing interior.  The people who buy these probably don't care, because it will get 5L/100km on the highway, and should run for 20 years without any issues. 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Not sure about your small comment though, think it is average for the class. But you are a tall guy if I remember, maybe the LE doesn't come with a seat height adjustment.

My 'small' comment was probably based on getting out of the CX-5 and directly into the Corolla.  It's been a while since I've fallen into the seat of a car, lol.  I fit just fine once I'm in there.  The seat has height adjustment.

[quadzilla]

OK, that sounds more like a Corolla.  It does sound like they either cut back on some materials or the LE gets lower quality. Too bad you weren't closer as we could do a side by side comparison. Then get Bubba to join us for further comparison.

I have found for the CVT you either have to give it very little throttle (med-heavy traffic) or more that half throttle and run then engine up to 4K (fake shifts) or more, otherwise you get stuck in the "drone" part of the CVT as it sits between 3-3.5K.  I do like having a real first gear though before it switches over to the CVT. Just watch out for the short shift out of first when you wanted more power making it downshift back to first again and then speeding away. The SPORT button can help avoid this though.

My summer tires are 18's which I find helps improve the handling. I can honestly say that this handles as well as my MKV GTI, no joke. 

Also, don't use the stereo, complete garbage.

Btw, this what is my IP looks like.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

OK, that sounds more like a Corolla.  It does sound like they either cut back on some materials or the LE gets lower quality. Too bad you weren't closer as we could do a side by side comparison. Then get Bubba to join us for further comparison.

I have found for the CVT you either have to give it very little throttle (med-heavy traffic) or more that half throttle and run then engine up to 4K (fake shifts) or more, otherwise you get stuck in the "drone" part of the CVT as it sits between 3-3.5K.  I do like having a real first gear though before it switches over to the CVT. Just watch out for the short shift out of first when you wanted more power making it downshift back to first again and then speeding away. The SPORT button can help avoid this though.

My summer tires are 18's which I find helps improve the handling. I can honestly say that this handles as well as my MKV GTI, no joke. 

Also, don't use the stereo, complete garbage.

Btw, this what is my IP looks like.

This is the one in 'mine': 



I actually don't mind the stereo.  I'm not an audiophile or anything, but I could live with the one in the Corolla. 

No Sport button in mine.  There is a 'B' mode on the transmission, just below 'D'.  It seems to hold revs higher, so I'm guessing that is the 'sport' mode? 

[quadzilla]

Damn! That looks crazy cheap!  Btw, your door is a jar 

My trans doesn't have that, I can move the lever to the left which allows me to use the paddle shifters.  Think I have 8 or 10 simulated gears. I only use them for engine braking on long descents which isn't much around here.

Maybe the B is for engine braking on long hills?

My stereo sounds worse than my Google Home speaker. I don't think it should come with a top shelf stereo but something better than my 2002 Protege5 would be nice. Yes, it is worse than that.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Damn! That looks crazy cheap!  Btw, your door is a jar 

My trans doesn't have that, I can move the lever to the left which allows me to use the paddle shifters.  Think I have 8 or 10 simulated gears. I only use them for engine braking on long descents which isn't much around here.

Maybe the B is for engine braking on long hills?

My stereo sounds worse than my Google Home speaker. I don't think it should come with a top shelf stereo but something better than my 2002 Protege5 would be nice. Yes, it is worse than that.

No gear selection on this one.  Although looking on the website, it appears the SE CVT trim allows you to move the shift lever to the left, and bump up or down to select gears as needed.  Not a big deal, honestly, as I have that feature on the CX-5 and rarely use it.  The SE (and SE Upgrade) still has the cheap IP that this one has, though.  Looks like when you move up to an XSE, you get a digital IP. 

[quadzilla]

Damn! That looks crazy cheap!  Btw, your door is a jar 

My trans doesn't have that, I can move the lever to the left which allows me to use the paddle shifters.  Think I have 8 or 10 simulated gears. I only use them for engine braking on long descents which isn't much around here.

Maybe the B is for engine braking on long hills?

My stereo sounds worse than my Google Home speaker. I don't think it should come with a top shelf stereo but something better than my 2002 Protege5 would be nice. Yes, it is worse than that.

No gear selection on this one.  Although looking on the website, it appears the SE CVT trim allows you to move the shift lever to the left, and bump up or down to select gears as needed.  Not a big deal, honestly, as I have that feature on the CX-5 and rarely use it.  The SE (and SE Upgrade) still has the cheap IP that this one has, though.  Looks like when you move up to an XSE, you get a digital IP.

Interesting. Funny thing is I don't like the digital IP in the XSE as I still prefer analog gauges...but not those cheap ones.

Will be interested in your f/e. How long will you have it for?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Damn! That looks crazy cheap!  Btw, your door is a jar 

My trans doesn't have that, I can move the lever to the left which allows me to use the paddle shifters.  Think I have 8 or 10 simulated gears. I only use them for engine braking on long descents which isn't much around here.

Maybe the B is for engine braking on long hills?

My stereo sounds worse than my Google Home speaker. I don't think it should come with a top shelf stereo but something better than my 2002 Protege5 would be nice. Yes, it is worse than that.

No gear selection on this one.  Although looking on the website, it appears the SE CVT trim allows you to move the shift lever to the left, and bump up or down to select gears as needed.  Not a big deal, honestly, as I have that feature on the CX-5 and rarely use it.  The SE (and SE Upgrade) still has the cheap IP that this one has, though.  Looks like when you move up to an XSE, you get a digital IP.

Interesting. Funny thing is I don't like the digital IP in the XSE as I still prefer analog gauges...but not those cheap ones.

Will be interested in your f/e. How long will you have it for?

I reset the fuel economy monitor when I got in it.  I'm sitting at 9.6L/100km, but that's with some heavy traffic, stop and go driving in there. 

I'm guessing I'll have it between a week or two?

[Firm]

Lol at that base model cluster...that's like 90's Hyundai spec. 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Lol at that base model cluster...that's like 90's Hyundai spec. 

Yup.  Zero Pizzaz in this car. 

The door cards are another example.  Just 2 giant pieces of molded hard plastic, with a little padded area of low-rent cloth.


Compare that to the door panels of the Mazda3 GS, or the Honda Civic LX, and you'll find the latter two cars to have far nicer materials, assembly, and little details that make up a lot of difference.

[PJungnitsch]

Also, I noticed huge price increases. In 2022 you could get a base car for $20K and now they start at just over $26K. Damn. Think my SE (Nightshade) trim was around $28K when we bought it.

Yeah, I think that's the key. Toyota must have took note of the long lineups for their products and is adjusting prices to match. That new SE with a heated wheel is $32,000 plus taxes now

[tortoise]

The Corolla I rented last fall had a way nicer instrument panel. I guess Toyota is moving the base Corolla down scale.

I can't comment on the stereo because I listened to an audio book the whole time, but worse than the one in the P5 is indeed terrible.

In April I had the Camry for a week. I really liked it. Very smooth, easy to use, the 2.5 was fine.  I kept thinking an AWD Camry wagon would be perfect for us.

[Blueprint]

Booking a rental vehicle: do you have more success getting a fair price booking directly through a rental company or through a travel site?

For North America, Costco is usually tops but sometimes we get better deals with Expedia (gold level opens up rebates!) Europe, Costco is useless, so it's Expedia or through the rental companies.

[Bubba]

This is the one in 'mine': 

Can't see the pic.