Car Hire Lottery

[jamcg]

As mentioned in the fleet thread I’ve been given a Ford Puma hire car while they decide what to do with the focus.

I have no idea if whoever signed off on the interior has ever driven a car on the road or if they even understand road safety. It falls in with this thing modern car designers seem to be obsessed with, where they try and reinvent the wheel with everything

Everything is on massive touchscreens, with multiple inputs to do anything. Trying to turn off the stupid speed beeps that constantly get the current limit wrong is a 4 press process in jam packed menus where you end up pressing the wrong thing 5 times

The steering wheel seems to be inspired by the old allegro quartic, it’s not quite a square but it’s almost there

There’s only one stalk, that does everything. Indicators and front/rear wipers- thankfully to indicate it’s still up and down but the wipers are silly fiddly bits you turn to operate them- apparently because if you get an auto the gearbox controls are on a stalk to the right of the wheel- sounds like people will try to put the wipers on and change gear instead

All in all it’s a nice car and obviously quite similar to the focus, but so many things that make you look away from the road it’s silly

[mik]

Mrs mik’s ETron is with Audi getting suspension arms replaced under the extended warranty.

Courtesy Q3 35 S-line (new).

After 30seconds of looking I was thinking that Audi have done an amazing job of hiding the start button. But then I realised it has a flick-key. Which goes into an ignition barrel.

In 2026.

[Jobbo]

I sat in my Jimny with the key in my pocket for a few seconds before I remembered it needed to be inserted in the ignition barrel. How things have changed. I’m still not used to how to turn off cars these days; EVs don’t seem to ever be off until you lock them.

[mik]

I’m very used to it - Evora has old school key in barrel. I just wasn’t expecting it in a brand new car.

[Mito Man]

I wonder if similar to the Covid era it's related to the chip shortage which is expected to last a few years.

[jamcg]

I wonder if similar to the Covid era it's related to the chip shortage which is expected to last a few years.

It’ll be to make you pay for more options

[Jimexpl]

Mrs mik’s ETron is with Audi getting suspension arms replaced under the extended warranty.

Courtesy Q3 35 S-line (new).

After 30seconds of looking I was thinking that Audi have done an amazing job of hiding the start button. But then I realised it has a flick-key. Which goes into an ignition barrel.

In 2026.

The 73 plate A3 35 TDi that we've got on loan while the insurance companies sort themselves out doesn't have a key - Is the Q3 built on a cheaper platform?

[Jimexpl]

Chose a 'mystery car' for a work trip to Barcelona this week.

Got a white Seat Ibiza FR.

Drove well enough, engine fairly punchy (didn't check what it was), but a really odd spec -

Traditional flick key, but it was keyless start!
Semi-autonomous driving - steering as long as it detected hands and active cruise control
Manual handbrake
Wireless phone charging
Very agressive rear collision sensing - I was slowly backing out of a street and it didn't trust me, so the abs rapidly triggered, vibrating the car and bgining be to a stop. I honestly thought I'd driven over a bollard or something, and am sure that the shock would be more likely to cause an accident!

[mik]

Had a choice of 3 and opted for the Panda.

Quite funky inside and out, but the only new car I have driven in the last whatever years whose steering wheel adjusted for height, but not rake. Which left me with my feet a bit too close to the pedals in order to achieve a comfortable hand-distance to the wheel. Traditional driving position I guess, so…. when in Rome…. even though I wasn’t.

The drive was extremely like an F1 car - in that it was a light hybrid with electrical assistance when called upon - recharging again when slowing. This meant you’d start an incline on the Autostrada quite happily holding 110kph in 6th using cruise control, only to realise your speed was starting to bleed off once the battery had exhausted its contents, forcing you to quickly drop it into 5th, only to realise the IC powerplant still couldn’t cope on its own, forcing you to quickly drop it into 4th. Which was a bit annoying.

Steering was quick - had to be delicate with it at speed to avoid swerving around your lane like a local. And stop/start is awful when it’s 40DegC outside - the vents mimicking hair dryers as soon as it kicks in.

[John]

Love the Panda and one of the most fun (normal?) cars I've owned. Mine was powered by the mighty two cylinder twin air engine though rather than the hybrid

[240PP]

I also had a Panda last year in Como. It was quite nice to be in a back to basics car after the Espace I had in Paris, which was way too complicated to get to grips with for only a few days.

In Italy always hire the smallest car you can get away with.

[mik]

In Italy always hire the smallest car you can get away with.

Very much that

[V8Granite]

I'm in Poland and currently have a BYD Seal hybrid.

Initial impressions are it feels a lot bigger than it actually is, from the drivers seat it feels like I'm in a GL sized car, especially the corners which oddly feel farther away than they are.
The screen is a bit clunky but the image is really good and the stereo for a cheap car is particularly well done. It has a strange leather covering the dash which is perfectly stitched and does raise the cabin feel up a lot. Although the overly large centre console feels a bit enclosing and the view out of the back is awful, no real point in having a rear view mirror. The reverse camera is good but when close to something it gives a weird fisheye view that makes you question what your eyes see so you end up not using it.
Performance is ok, range seems brilliant with a predicted 900km which i like. There is a weird humm, vibration when the engine is on though which makes a few of the panels buzz a little on this 9000km version.
Absolutely zero feel from brakes or steering and it heaves a lot if you change direction quickly. If you want to sit and just listen to music as you go to and from work its a pretty good place to be.
Would I buy it over the mainstream stuff, no as its a joyless appliance, if it was a tool to do long motorway trips in, its pretty good.

One issue though, I'm at a power station and Chinese cars are banned, the security guard said that we are not so silly

Utterly forgetful but also hopefully a painless few weeks with it.

Dave!

[Gavster]

In Italy always hire the smallest car you can get away with.

Very much that

So true. There’s a good reason why cars like the Panda are so popular over there.

[GG.]

Forgot to post on here - most recent rental car we had in Portugal this year was a BMW 116i. 3 cylinder engine - torque steered like a pig. Auto box without even any ability to change gears via paddles or even on the gear selector (just drive or 2). No easily accessible sport mode on a button and when you do select "sport" on the screen it seemed to automatically turn off traction control so no ability to have more aggressive throttle/gear shifts without going without TSC. Interior felt cheap.

What an abomination - absolutely not "the ultimate driving machine". Not worth posting a photo.

[Jimexpl]

Three different hire cars in 3 weeks -

BMW i4 M35: (£671 for 4 days! - needed a car in a hurry)
More than fast enough for the entry level model
Better damped than I expected when compared with recent BMW non-M products - could cover country lanes swiftly
Average range
Pretty forgetful driving experience

Fiat 500 mild hybrid manual: (30k miles)
Crashy ride without the feeling that is was a nimble little car
Joyless drivetrain - earlier twinairs are much more fun
Annoying mesh cover for the panoramic roof that didn't really stop the sunlight
No carplay or usb-c sockets
Immediately parked up at my parents and borrowed my Mum's car.
Europcar tried to sting me for bumper damage when I dropped it back - it had only been used twice an not bene within about 10 feet of another car of wall. The guy showed me the photo evidence - I took the table from him and zoomed in on the image and you could see that the damage was already there when I collected it...

Peugeot 2008 diesel manual (40,000 miles, from Drivalia, the only hire company open at 11.30pm near Luton airport):
Damage on most panels and wheels!
Competent car. Nicer steering than the i4 and decent suspension.
Quicker than I expected.
Felt good for a 40k mile hire car.
My pick of the three even though it looked like a bit of a wreck

I was happy to get back in my 140k mile X5 when I got back to Spain, with hydraulic steering, real climate control knobs and £250 wireless ebay carplay!

[Gavster]

I was given a Pug 2008 (iirc) back in 2024 in Italy and really enjoyed it. Odd shaped steering wheel and it took a while to get the right position to see the instruments, however, overall it was a really easy and responsive car.