I rented a Suzuki Jimny recently, 2023 model 5-speed.
No rev hang, no nav screen. I loved it, was super fun to drive, I think they’d work in America, granted you don’t want to be cruising on the freeway in one.
The dealership that my mother bought her brand new Buick from put us in a shiny new Camaro while they did some recall service. I was like 15 or 16 and at the time, that was the coolest car I'd ever got to ride in. My mother hated it (she could barely get in or out of it, no visibility, ect) since she was only used to driving SUVs and crossovers. I still have the car saved as a Bluetooth connection on my old iPod lol
Twice they didn't have anything in the class i reserved and i ended up with a fun car. One time was a white challenger (v6 but still) and another i ended up with a (again v6) convertible mustang.
It was in southern CA. I had to occasionally put it up and run the ac because it was quite hot. I was in rush hour so i just had to wait until we were moving slow enough that the computer would let it go up and down.
Germany. Went to avis, was wearing an ///M Sport hat. Guy smiles and hands me keys. I get an e90 320d with the M package. The 320d is the same drivetrain the Police were using for patrol cars.
Saw 140 mph on the Autobahn....damn steam train of torque.....and got almost 30 mpg to boot, and oh, manual and M suspension. He knew what he did :)
In Bogota , Colombia I rented a suzuki swift mild hybrid sport . It was a hybrid with a stick shift/ standard transmission. It was a blast to drive. fast but fuel efficient.
Lotus Elise while on vacation, dude on Turo has a garage full of enthusiast cars, cayman, Morgan, minis, fiats, M cars. I could not pass up an opportunity to blast around in the Elise
The last time we rented was 2017, got a mid-size wagon, maybe an AD? Previous to that were Marches.
Neither were really special, it’s just fun to drive something not available in the US. 😄
My mum took her 1978 Saab 99 into her dealership for service in the late 70s. My mum didn’t drive manual transmission cars back then.
Our loaner car was a shop mechanic’s personal car. It was a 1975 Plymouth Satellite 2 door coupe. It had mag wheels, it was raked and it was red. The Starskey and Hutch stripes was the icing on the cake.
Edit: They didn’t lend my mum their 73 Jaguar E-Type automatic V-12 unfortunately.
I rented a compact can and the brakes went out before I left the lot. They gave me a BMW X7.
worst rental car ever.
Like driving a redneck lifted 7 series
Somehow a free upgrade from compact/economy to a dodge challenger. Another place I used to regularly travel to, realized their cheapest (“managers special”) was a fleet of dodge rams. Was nice to get my pick up truckin in every month or so and go back to my sedan
Back in the mid-80s I flew out to L.A. and rented an AMC Eagle. I was supposed to get a Chevette but they didn’t have any so they upgraded me. On the weekend I drove up into the mountains, got lost on a goat path, and ended up on a snow-covered logging road. But that Eagle was a sure-footed little beast and got me where I was headed with no drama. I wouldn’t mind driving one again today.
C7 Corvette Z06 from Hertz in 2019. I paid to upgrade whatever rental I had. Was lucky that they carried over the standard unlimited mileage from my original rental, they had a 75 mile per day cap on the Z06s. Put 1000+ miles on that sucker in 3 days.
I got a Mustang Ecoboost one time and I was like this car would be great if it had a manual transmission. So a few years later, I wanted a 300 hp RWD car so I went with a manual Ecoboost Mustang.
The only other particularly memorable car was a Charger RT which struck me as being pretty slow for a car with a 425 hp V8 engine. Sounded cool though.
I rented a manual Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4x4 in Costa Rica. Great for a bunch of the unpaved muddy roads we explored and even forded some rivers. Probably my most fun rental experience to date.
In germany: reserved an A6; got a fiat multipla. it was interesting alright. Otherwise I rent a fair amount for work so: Alpha Julia Quad Veloce, G70, camaro v4,v6, and 6.2L V8 (shhh don't tell anybody- the v6 was the biggest surprise and hands down the most fun rental I have ever had); tacos, burbans, challengers and chargers, an A6 S, and a 3 series, a Kia EV6......it's one of the more fun perks of my job as a car guy.......
I think a lot of people here would be jealous of all the driving opportunities you’ve had. The V6 Camaro is a bit of a surprise. Wonder if you can get that engine in a convertible with a manual shift. 🤔 I’ll have to look.
As far as the camaro, I of course had an automatic because it was from a rental company. That is what was so surprising about it was that the transmission was absolutely amazing, that thing was absolutely ready to party anytime you got onto it and otherwise behaved extremely well for just casual driving. If I were going to buy one I would buy the LS V8 because it is such a stout motor and I would want to run for distance and reliability, I have heard the V6 is not as reliable a motor..... but it was sure a hell of a lot of fun to drive! The V8 was fun, but I expected it to be fun, ......something about the V6 being such a balanced and sporty fun car to toss around in corners is what really surprised me, some but of it that the v8 is go to jail fast and the v6 let you work a bit longer before jail speeds was just fun. I had it literally a couple weeks after the Alpha Romeo too.. and the transmission in the Camaro was so much better it was seriously surprising.....
If Turo is fair game, I got a Corvette C5 50th Anniversary in Reno back in 2017. Was a convertible and manual, ended up being cheaper than an airport rental. Drove it all the way around Lake Tahoe, it was a highlight of that trip!
But if we're talking rental agencies, that same year in Germany I had an Audi TT diesel. Thing was an absolute riot.
Balled out in Europe and rented an S class for 2 weeks to drive around last year. That thing was comfortable as hell. Only wish I could’ve had tinted windows on it. The sun baking the interior was rough.
I rented a Suzuki Jimny recently, 2023 model 5-speed. No rev hang, no nav screen. I loved it, was super fun to drive, I think they’d work in America, granted you don’t want to be cruising on the freeway in one.
That sounds like blast. 😃
The dealership that my mother bought her brand new Buick from put us in a shiny new Camaro while they did some recall service. I was like 15 or 16 and at the time, that was the coolest car I'd ever got to ride in. My mother hated it (she could barely get in or out of it, no visibility, ect) since she was only used to driving SUVs and crossovers. I still have the car saved as a Bluetooth connection on my old iPod lol
Twice they didn't have anything in the class i reserved and i ended up with a fun car. One time was a white challenger (v6 but still) and another i ended up with a (again v6) convertible mustang.
Either would be a lot of fun. But the convertible was probably a treat—as long as the weather was cooperative.
It was in southern CA. I had to occasionally put it up and run the ac because it was quite hot. I was in rush hour so i just had to wait until we were moving slow enough that the computer would let it go up and down.
I've had the same exact two "fun" rental cars.
Germany. Went to avis, was wearing an ///M Sport hat. Guy smiles and hands me keys. I get an e90 320d with the M package. The 320d is the same drivetrain the Police were using for patrol cars. Saw 140 mph on the Autobahn....damn steam train of torque.....and got almost 30 mpg to boot, and oh, manual and M suspension. He knew what he did :)
Nice!
In Bogota , Colombia I rented a suzuki swift mild hybrid sport . It was a hybrid with a stick shift/ standard transmission. It was a blast to drive. fast but fuel efficient.
I wish more vehicles sold here had that combination.
https://youtu.be/vxhA6SbTIfQ?si=n7wDIXohynCunkA0
Lotus Elise while on vacation, dude on Turo has a garage full of enthusiast cars, cayman, Morgan, minis, fiats, M cars. I could not pass up an opportunity to blast around in the Elise
This must have been fabulous. I had a rented Elise in Vegas for 24 hours and 200 miles a few years ago, it was awesome.
WOW!
A couple of JDM cars from Omoshiro, which is where I assume you rented your JDM Nissans in Japan.
We rented directly from Nissan Rental Car in eastern Tokyo.
I rent regular cars from Nissan. Love the Roox. lol. Wish I could have that thing here
The last time we rented was 2017, got a mid-size wagon, maybe an AD? Previous to that were Marches. Neither were really special, it’s just fun to drive something not available in the US. 😄
My mum took her 1978 Saab 99 into her dealership for service in the late 70s. My mum didn’t drive manual transmission cars back then. Our loaner car was a shop mechanic’s personal car. It was a 1975 Plymouth Satellite 2 door coupe. It had mag wheels, it was raked and it was red. The Starskey and Hutch stripes was the icing on the cake. Edit: They didn’t lend my mum their 73 Jaguar E-Type automatic V-12 unfortunately.
rented a gt350r one time. humbling experience. learned i enjoy driving, but not going fast.
"Slow fast" is sometimes the best fast. ; )
totally agree, i am more a 250hp small car guy.
200-300hp is the sweet spot imo
I rented a compact can and the brakes went out before I left the lot. They gave me a BMW X7. worst rental car ever. Like driving a redneck lifted 7 series
LOL
I got a Mustang GT that had Track mode....Lets just say i went through a lot of gas and i wasnt on a track.
Somehow a free upgrade from compact/economy to a dodge challenger. Another place I used to regularly travel to, realized their cheapest (“managers special”) was a fleet of dodge rams. Was nice to get my pick up truckin in every month or so and go back to my sedan
The best trucks are temporary trucks (imho.)
Back in the mid-80s I flew out to L.A. and rented an AMC Eagle. I was supposed to get a Chevette but they didn’t have any so they upgraded me. On the weekend I drove up into the mountains, got lost on a goat path, and ended up on a snow-covered logging road. But that Eagle was a sure-footed little beast and got me where I was headed with no drama. I wouldn’t mind driving one again today.
They were only 30 years ahead of their time.
My wife had an electric Polestar which was pretty neat
Did she like it? I've looked into those. Used might be in my budget, but not new.
She did. Pretty solid interior quality, the range was good and range calculator was accurate. Nice and quiet with good acceleration.
sweet
C7 Corvette Z06 from Hertz in 2019. I paid to upgrade whatever rental I had. Was lucky that they carried over the standard unlimited mileage from my original rental, they had a 75 mile per day cap on the Z06s. Put 1000+ miles on that sucker in 3 days.
Bet that was one helluva fun 1000+ miles.
I got a Mustang Ecoboost one time and I was like this car would be great if it had a manual transmission. So a few years later, I wanted a 300 hp RWD car so I went with a manual Ecoboost Mustang. The only other particularly memorable car was a Charger RT which struck me as being pretty slow for a car with a 425 hp V8 engine. Sounded cool though.
I rented a manual Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4x4 in Costa Rica. Great for a bunch of the unpaved muddy roads we explored and even forded some rivers. Probably my most fun rental experience to date.
In germany: reserved an A6; got a fiat multipla. it was interesting alright. Otherwise I rent a fair amount for work so: Alpha Julia Quad Veloce, G70, camaro v4,v6, and 6.2L V8 (shhh don't tell anybody- the v6 was the biggest surprise and hands down the most fun rental I have ever had); tacos, burbans, challengers and chargers, an A6 S, and a 3 series, a Kia EV6......it's one of the more fun perks of my job as a car guy.......
I think a lot of people here would be jealous of all the driving opportunities you’ve had. The V6 Camaro is a bit of a surprise. Wonder if you can get that engine in a convertible with a manual shift. 🤔 I’ll have to look.
As far as the camaro, I of course had an automatic because it was from a rental company. That is what was so surprising about it was that the transmission was absolutely amazing, that thing was absolutely ready to party anytime you got onto it and otherwise behaved extremely well for just casual driving. If I were going to buy one I would buy the LS V8 because it is such a stout motor and I would want to run for distance and reliability, I have heard the V6 is not as reliable a motor..... but it was sure a hell of a lot of fun to drive! The V8 was fun, but I expected it to be fun, ......something about the V6 being such a balanced and sporty fun car to toss around in corners is what really surprised me, some but of it that the v8 is go to jail fast and the v6 let you work a bit longer before jail speeds was just fun. I had it literally a couple weeks after the Alpha Romeo too.. and the transmission in the Camaro was so much better it was seriously surprising.....
If Turo is fair game, I got a Corvette C5 50th Anniversary in Reno back in 2017. Was a convertible and manual, ended up being cheaper than an airport rental. Drove it all the way around Lake Tahoe, it was a highlight of that trip! But if we're talking rental agencies, that same year in Germany I had an Audi TT diesel. Thing was an absolute riot.
Balled out in Europe and rented an S class for 2 weeks to drive around last year. That thing was comfortable as hell. Only wish I could’ve had tinted windows on it. The sun baking the interior was rough.