Enterprise car rental, misleading vehicle classification

steveharvey2001

When planning a trip to Scotland last, I made a reservation for the hire of a "Small 4X4" to be collected on 20th December from Enterprise Glasgow central.


My reason for hiring a 4X4 was that we needed to drive from Glasgow to the highlands in December for a pre-planned event and needed to be prepared for the weather in case of ice or snow.

The example vehicle on their web site was a "Nissan X-Trail or similar" available manual transmission.


On the evening of the 18th December. I was contacted by the local office to confirm the rental and was told that I had actually reserved a 'small SUV' and not a 'small 4x4', and that the car provided would not be 4 wheel drive. They told me that not all vehicles in this class had 4 wheel drive and that most renters only want this type of car for the driving position rather than the all wheel drive capability.


I was told that, to have 4 wheel drive, I would need to 'upgrade to a premium vehicle' for an extra £20 per day.


I reluctantly agreed to pay the extra payment for a Volvo XC60, and the actual hire experience was satisfactory, however on return home, I re-checked the Enterprise web site and it is still offering the originally selected class of vehicle described as a "small 4x4" as an option and not a 'small SUV'.


https://www.enterprise.co.uk/en/car-hire/vehicles/uk/suvs/small-4x4.html


I believe that their web site is highly misleading and that the "Small 4X4" should be renamed "Small SUV" to avoid misleading renters. The example vehicle is one which as both FWD and 4WD options, so the customer would rightly assume, as I did, that they would be getting 4WD. Some may try to take such a car off road and end up getting stuck (or worse).


My cynical view is that this confusion is a deliberate "upselling opportunity" which parted be from £40 for the two days.

Mercdriver

X-Trails are FWD as standard. AWD (not permanent) is an option on the X-Trail as they are with most other SUVs on the road. It might have been better to call enterprise to confirm that it had AWD capability. AWD is different to 4x4 which is permanent. Whichever car you drive, you would have to check the Ts and Cs to check that you are allowed to take it off road - you would likely be not covered to take it off road even if you were hiring a Discovery.

I've hired a XC60 as the small SUV from Enterprise myself before. Nice car to drive, but it isn't strictly 4x4 - it is AWD - that is that the computer decides whether all wheels are driven or not - very much like my CX5 AWD.

Crabman

The term 4x4 is well understood and Enterprise should not be misleading customer by using this term to describe 'driving position'. Yet this is how they make money, along with charging customers for individual items of damage which aren't always repaired before a vehicle is sold out of their fleet.

I'd ask them to return the £40 and suggest they update their website to stop misleading customers. The offices of a different rental firm (Europcar) were raided by trading standards last year.

wgl2014

+1 on the above.

4x4 clearly describes the drivetrain. If they wanted to classify by driving position they could say SUV or Crossover.

I would email the CEO as well as customer services requesting a refund of the extra you had to pay.

https://!!!!!!!!!!!!!/s.php?id=ceo-9682&k=5a4a4116&c=Enterprise%20Rent-a-Car%20UK-Managing%20Director

flashg67

I can't see how they could even consider not refunding - totally misleading. The website couldn't be any clearer that you'll be getting a vehicle with 4x4 drivetrain.

They manage to muddy the waters even more by allowing you to select 'SUVs to hire' then only listing 4x4 vehicles.

I'd be severely miffed by this and make sure I got my money back.

Social media often gets a prompt response.

agrinnall

Of course, what the OP should really have askd for was a vehicle of whatever class they wanted fitted with winter tyres, a far better solution for travel in cold and inclement weather conditions than any 4x4.

steveharvey2001

wgl2014 wrote: »

+1 on the above.

4x4 clearly describes the drivetrain. If they wanted to classify by driving position they could say SUV or Crossover.

I would email the CEO as well as customer services requesting a refund of the extra you had to pay.

https://!!!!!!!!!!!!!/s.php?id=ceo-9682&k=5a4a4116&c=Enterprise%20Rent-a-Car%20UK-Managing%20Director

I have made a complaint and am awaiting a reply.. I will update the forum if i get a response.

AdrianC

Mercdriver wrote: »

but it isn't strictly 4x4 - it is AWD

This kind of term confusion is exactly what got the OP into this position in the first place.

It IS 4x4 if it has four wheels, all of which are/can be driven. There is no inherent distinction between part-time or permanent drive in the term. If you want to try and claim my Land Rover series 3 is not "4x4", because the front wheels aren't permanently driven, then feel free - and prepare to be pointed-at-and-laughed-at...

All 4x4s are AWD, not all AWD are 4x4, because AWD includes 4x4, 6x6, 8x8 - it just says that all wheels are driven, regardless of how many there are.

And don't even try to explain some kind of difference between any of those and "4wd" - this is 4wd, but it isn't AWD...


Would Joe Average call a 4x2 X-Trail "a 4x4"? Probably, yes. Would they be right to do so? No.

Yes, Enterprise have mis-labelled the category, if they are hiring 4x2 X-Trails under their "4x4" category, and refunding the extra would be a reasonable response. But it's eminently reasonable to use the term "SUV" to describe a 4x2 X-Trail, and I'm sure their terms forbid any kind of use where the drivetrain would make a big difference anyway. As already said, the fitment of winter tyres would be a far better clarification in the conditions described. Having all wheels driven gets you moving in poor conditions, but it doesn't help you change direction or stop moving.

Mercdriver

Many people would call a new 3008 a 4 x 4 despite the fact that you can't get it in any form other than FWD. They aren't right but not everyone likes using SUV as a term as it is an american term that isn't in universal usage yet.

In saying this, I'm not saying that Enterprise are correct. But 4x4 is a common name for any SUV where people don't use the US term for the vehicle.

AndyMc.....

Mercdriver wrote: »

Many people would call a new 3008 a 4 x 4 despite the fact that you can't get it in any form other than FWD. They aren't right but not everyone likes using SUV as a term as it is an american term that isn't in universal usage yet.

In saying this, I'm not saying that Enterprise are correct. But 4x4 is a common name for any SUV where people don't use the US term for the vehicle.

You’re the first I’ve ever heard mention that.

AdrianC

AndyMc..... wrote: »

Mercdriver wrote: »

Many people would call a new 3008 a 4 x 4 despite the fact that you can't get it in any form other than FWD. They aren't right but not everyone likes using SUV as a term as it is an american term that isn't in universal usage yet.

You’re the first I’ve ever heard mention that.

It's certainly not an unreasonable layman's use of the term, no matter how incorrect it may be.

He's talking about the current "SUV"-style 3008, not the previous sprogbus one.