Hire car for USA - tiny or huge???

Lum

Edit: ^^^^ You can't register that car in a state with California emissions laws, but you can still drive it in California on out-of-state plates. It's just the same as how my car would never pass a Dutch emissions test but I can still drive there so long as it remains registered in the UK. It's also possible that they have a special California version of the car.


OP: You're going on holiday in the USA. Driving a big muscle car is all part of the American experience!

OK so it's not the most moneysaving option but this is a holiday! If you want to save money hire a caravan in Blackpool for the weekend rather than flying halfway across the world? No? In that case go to the USA and get the Charger

Also, given that the driving standards in the USA are generally a lot worse than over here, with the worst offenders most likely behind the wheel of a huge SUV writin text messages, I honestly wouldn't feel safe in a little Korean econobox like the Aveo/Kalos. The Charger is a lot more likely to get noticed and thus not hit.

wba31

Why limit yourself to the Charger? For comfort I would go for something MUCH bigger like the GMC Yukon Denali, or a Ford F150... Americans pay you to put petrol in a car remember! :j

Bizarre how in California they all obsess over the Prius...

Lum

California has serious smog problems. Think of London in the 80s only significantly worse. That is why they have such strict emissions laws and give special perks to cars like the Prius. For example a Prius can use the HOV lane* even when there is only one person in the car.

*High Occupancy Vehicle lane, can only use if you have two people in it. The time saving during rush hour is so significant that there have been cases reported of hitchhikers charging for their services!

Inactive

jase1 wrote: »

Well the Aveo is available over here as well!

It's a Daewoo Kalos. A tiny little Fiesta-sized thing that'll be dwarfed on US roads.

It's not a bad little car but I wouldn't want to be going around in one over the pond.

.

Correct, however most of the hire companies don't actually have any of them, it is a ploy to the lucrative " upgrade " path.

pippa0_2

We have booked a Charger (or similar, as the small print says).

Although this is an expensive holiday we are on a very tight budget so I don't feel very 'money saving expert' about this, but its one in a lifetime, so why not?!

thanks for all the input

Lum

I'm guessing your husband is more of a car enthusiast than you are, so I'm sure he'll be grateful for it.

I'm not a huge fan of big inefficient American V8s from a technical viewpoint (I6 + turbo for me, much more elegant design) but if I was going to the USA I wouldn't even think about hiring anything else. They're bound to be great to drive and it's all part of the local culture.

Gloomendoom

Hmmmmmmmmm. Let me think...



or

thescouselander

I do a lot of driving in the US and I'd recommend going to the big car - as already said, dont worry about the cost of fuel, its cheap compared to priced here.

vikingaero

The Aveo will have a pitiful boot. If you're cruising for 2,000 miles you'll want to make sure your stuff is hidden from view rather than having to leave stuff on the back seat with the Aveo.

flyingscotno1

Inactive wrote: »

Correct, however most of the hire companies don't actually have any of them, it is a ploy to the lucrative " upgrade " path.

I hired a Focus- the cheapest car we could get in America, and a Focus would have been decent enough had we got one.

They didn't of course, so we got a Taurus, a huge full-size beast of a thing that barely got 25mpg. Cost us a fortune comparatively, fuel is cheap but still ouch that car had us at every Chevron and Shell on the east coast!

We were glad that we got a new car when we flew on- Honda Accord, much, much better!