Post by Boxer6 on Apr 21, 2024 20:49:57 GMT
As my car was incapacitated for over a week recently, I was forced down the hire car route. I started off with Enterprise, as they're local and I've used them before relatively cheaply (important!!)
First was the 23-plate Kia. First impressions were of tininess. Everywhere. From engine size, physical size and most importantly of all, clutch travel size (!!), these cars are very, very small. For what it is, the car was 'OK', however less than an inch of clutch travel made smooth changes virtually impossible, and it wasn't possible to select reverse without a horrible grinding noise from the 'box. I found that once moving, clutchless changes were by far the best option! That went back the following morning, to be replaced by .. ..
the 73-plate Fiat 500. Not much larger than the Kia really, but more comfortable, nippier around town, nicer looking (and my daughter loved the pics of me in it I sent her!!) and, from my very brief experience with both, slightly more frugal. The only down sides with it were (a) I couldn't get the seat low enough to suit and (b) what I recall from 70's and 80's Fiats, the typically Italian short leg - long arm set-up of the driving position! My pick of the range would be the Abarth (natch), but if the driving set up was the same, as I suspect, that would rule it out for me.
So, the cost of this car(s) for 3 days was £23 LESS than for a class (or two) above, for a week, from Uncle Arnie. So, that's where I got the 23-plateJuke from. A bit less handy to collect, as it was from Tradeston rather than Springburn (30 minutes as opposed to 10!) Very pleasant inside, auto rather than manual, and a pretty decent driving position quite easily and quickly achieved. With only a 998cc motor, it's far from the quickest thing out there, but it reaches and maintains M-way velocities quite respectably, considering. This car has the usual switchable "maps", but to be honest, there isn't a lot of difference between the three. Even in so-called 'sport' mode, kickdown was woefully slow and unresponsive, and even utilising the flappy paddles made little difference to the acceleration rate. I suppose I was hoping for a little too much after the other two, but outright performance in any area just isn't the point of this, or any of the others, really.
Managed to get the Shark back at 5pm on Friday .. .. 4-figure sum for a new compressor (ouch!) but still probably half the price of what BMW would likely want to charge me!!
(Which reminds me, I need to cancel their booking tomorrow!)
First was the 23-plate Kia. First impressions were of tininess. Everywhere. From engine size, physical size and most importantly of all, clutch travel size (!!), these cars are very, very small. For what it is, the car was 'OK', however less than an inch of clutch travel made smooth changes virtually impossible, and it wasn't possible to select reverse without a horrible grinding noise from the 'box. I found that once moving, clutchless changes were by far the best option! That went back the following morning, to be replaced by .. ..
the 73-plate Fiat 500. Not much larger than the Kia really, but more comfortable, nippier around town, nicer looking (and my daughter loved the pics of me in it I sent her!!) and, from my very brief experience with both, slightly more frugal. The only down sides with it were (a) I couldn't get the seat low enough to suit and (b) what I recall from 70's and 80's Fiats, the typically Italian short leg - long arm set-up of the driving position! My pick of the range would be the Abarth (natch), but if the driving set up was the same, as I suspect, that would rule it out for me.
So, the cost of this car(s) for 3 days was £23 LESS than for a class (or two) above, for a week, from Uncle Arnie. So, that's where I got the 23-plateJuke from. A bit less handy to collect, as it was from Tradeston rather than Springburn (30 minutes as opposed to 10!) Very pleasant inside, auto rather than manual, and a pretty decent driving position quite easily and quickly achieved. With only a 998cc motor, it's far from the quickest thing out there, but it reaches and maintains M-way velocities quite respectably, considering. This car has the usual switchable "maps", but to be honest, there isn't a lot of difference between the three. Even in so-called 'sport' mode, kickdown was woefully slow and unresponsive, and even utilising the flappy paddles made little difference to the acceleration rate. I suppose I was hoping for a little too much after the other two, but outright performance in any area just isn't the point of this, or any of the others, really.
Managed to get the Shark back at 5pm on Friday .. .. 4-figure sum for a new compressor (ouch!) but still probably half the price of what BMW would likely want to charge me!!
(Which reminds me, I need to cancel their booking tomorrow!)
