What cars have you recently rented? - Page 28

pauldun170 · 07-24-2012, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeNetworX

Care to show your appreciation?
http://twowheelfix.com/showthread.php?t=21571

Homeslice · 07-24-2012, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pauldun170

I hope Homeslice meets someone.
Someone special.

You volunteering? Thought you were married. Oh well that doesn't hold me back.

defector · 07-24-2012, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homeslice

You volunteering? Thought you were married. Oh well that doesn't hold me back.

I've never seen a ring plug a hole. Just sayin'.

pauldun170 · 07-24-2012, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homeslice

You volunteering? Thought you were married. Oh well that doesn't hold me back.

pauldun170 · 07-24-2012, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by defector

I've never seen a ring plug a hole. Just sayin'.

It would be like a weird kind of anal bearing

LeeNetworX · 07-25-2012, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pauldun170

Care to show your appreciation?
http://twowheelfix.com/showthread.php?t=21571

Sorry - missed your window.

Homeslice · 12-05-2012, 01:29 PM

2012 Camry SE

Having paddle shifters was cool, and they worked well. But the rest of the interior was disappointing. Flat seats, and too much hard plastic. Somehow I remember the older Camrys as being nicer.

Had one of those "instantaneous MPG" needles on the dash. Wasted space - nobody pays attention to it. Trip mileage is what matters. Should have put an oil temp or pressure gauge there instead.

Road/tire noise was higher than expected.

Steering was too loose at high speeds. Can barely adjust the heater without drifting into the other lane.

Suspension too soft (typical Japanese).

goof2 · 03-10-2013, 12:32 AM

So I ended up with a Prius for a rental from Hertz recently, still pretty new with just over 3000 miles. I only had an 80 mile round trip but being that it was in Los Angeles it took 4 hours not including stops, but that is another thread of hate.

What I liked:

1. The rearward visibility was great. That CRX style vertical section really helped.
2. The mileage was great too. Over the 80 miles I used less than 2 gallons of gas. I was driving slow enough that I could use electric only mode a decent amount so I'm sure that helped.
3 The radio was pretty good and stopped annoying me after I was able to get rid of the gas mileage trend line taking up the whole damn screen.

What I didn't like:

Everything else. I really hated this car. The interfaces between the driver and the vehicle generally sucked. The best of them all was the shifter which achieved not annoying me. The brakes had no feel and inconsistent response, I'm guessing due to regenerative braking. There was no appreciable difference in what the car did for the first 90% of travel in the accelerator pedal. The last 10% had a marginal improvement, but the car was still painfully underpowered. The steering felt completely disconnected from the car with no feedback and little self centering effect. I might as well have been steering through a Playstation controller. Droning along on a normal highway this probably wouldn't be that bad, but on LA's dogshit roads every pothole and road seam wanted to kick me in to another lane or the Jersey barrier.

Speaking of Playstation, there were multiple displays that would tell me exactly how efficient my driving was both at any moment and over time. The car would also tell me in real time when my driving style required the car to switch efficiency modes and where motive power was coming from. I guess all that kind of looked interesting for 5 minutes. After that I found it all to be useless distractions at a time when generally people are spending far to little time paying attention to what is happening outside their cars while they are driving.

I suppose I could say it is an appliance, like driving a toaster, except using a toaster doesn't annoy me. What really struck me is that the car seemed specifically designed to remove the driver from the process as much as possible, like the requirement to have an actual person behind the wheel was an impediment. In my view the Prius is ultimately a great candidate for the driverless car since I sure as hell didn't enjoy the job. For a point of comparison I find my 9 year old truck with 130k miles significantly more engaging and enjoyable to drive.

For those of you that own them I hope they do what you want, I just couldn't imagine buying one myself.

LeeNetworX · 03-11-2013, 08:35 AM

I rented an Explorer Limited 2 weeks ago on my last trip. Overall, I would say it's a good vehicle to rent, but would never buy one.

Likes:
- I like the looks of the vehicle, inside and out
- Seats were comfortable
- Good power for a V6 and a decent feel to the ride

Dislikes:
- Blind spots...several of them, due to the high-positioned and low profile windows and thick pillars.
- Ergonomics of the controls. The SYNC system, while cool, is so user-unfriendly to me. Everything is a touch-sensitive button and is located and positioned oddly to me. If I have to start at the control console for 2-3 minutes to figure out how to adjust the AC temp, fan speed and circulation settings, ergonomics fail. And I don't care for the touch-sensitive buttons.
- Interior space. For a crossover with 3rd row seating, the usable space isn't even close to my Pilot.

Probably the biggest reason I would never buy this vehicle, or any Ford with SYNC, for that matter, is the fact that once the warranty is passed, God help you should anything break/need replacing that's tied into the system. It's all connected and I could just imagine ridiculous repair costs if the dash display went or AC controls broke or computer itself fried, etc.

goof2 · 03-14-2013, 02:36 AM

Got a Ford C-Max SEL hybrid thought Hertz. They are either pretty new or completely forgettable since I didn't even know what the hell it was when I got in it. I had to check the tailgate at my first stop to figure it out. I thought it was actually pretty good. Don't get me wrong, the ride and driving experience didn't reach above quality economy car standards but that is still a massive improvement over the Prius. The Ford designers also didn't feel the same need Toyota did to tailor the driver interface toward beating a "Look at you, you're driving a hybrid! Great work champ!" message in to my head. The leather had a quality feel to it and it did have Sync, but a more basic version than what they put in the Explorer. I guess Hertz either didn't get or removed the GPS so people will pay for Neverlost instead.

There were a few things I didn't like. You already mentioned the Sync system Lee and I have to agree, it doesn't work very well. Even in the basic version in the C-Max with the AC separate I expect it would be a very expensive hassle if something goes wrong with it. The two small displays in the instrument cluster that are linked to it only add to the complexity and chance of a problem. Maybe the hardware will be reliable as hell and it will never be a problem, but that is a pretty big risk. The powertrain was a bit of an adjustment as well. This was the first time I drove a car with a CVT and I have to echo the comments of others, I didn't like it too much. It may be something I would get used to but in my short time with the C-Max I found it odd.

That being said if I were in the market for a hybrid I found the C-Max to be massively better than the Prius.

12-05-2012, 01:29 PM	#277
Homeslice Elitist Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area Moto: Gix 750 Posts: 11,351	2012 Camry SE Having paddle shifters was cool, and they worked well. But the rest of the interior was disappointing. Flat seats, and too much hard plastic. Somehow I remember the older Camrys as being nicer. Had one of those "instantaneous MPG" needles on the dash. Wasted space - nobody pays attention to it. Trip mileage is what matters. Should have put an oil temp or pressure gauge there instead. Road/tire noise was higher than expected. Steering was too loose at high speeds. Can barely adjust the heater without drifting into the other lane. Suspension too soft (typical Japanese).

03-10-2013, 12:32 AM	#278
goof2 AMA Supersport Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 4,756	So I ended up with a Prius for a rental from Hertz recently, still pretty new with just over 3000 miles. I only had an 80 mile round trip but being that it was in Los Angeles it took 4 hours not including stops, but that is another thread of hate. What I liked: 1. The rearward visibility was great. That CRX style vertical section really helped. 2. The mileage was great too. Over the 80 miles I used less than 2 gallons of gas. I was driving slow enough that I could use electric only mode a decent amount so I'm sure that helped. 3 The radio was pretty good and stopped annoying me after I was able to get rid of the gas mileage trend line taking up the whole damn screen. What I didn't like: Everything else. I really hated this car. The interfaces between the driver and the vehicle generally sucked. The best of them all was the shifter which achieved not annoying me. The brakes had no feel and inconsistent response, I'm guessing due to regenerative braking. There was no appreciable difference in what the car did for the first 90% of travel in the accelerator pedal. The last 10% had a marginal improvement, but the car was still painfully underpowered. The steering felt completely disconnected from the car with no feedback and little self centering effect. I might as well have been steering through a Playstation controller. Droning along on a normal highway this probably wouldn't be that bad, but on LA's dogshit roads every pothole and road seam wanted to kick me in to another lane or the Jersey barrier. Speaking of Playstation, there were multiple displays that would tell me exactly how efficient my driving was both at any moment and over time. The car would also tell me in real time when my driving style required the car to switch efficiency modes and where motive power was coming from. I guess all that kind of looked interesting for 5 minutes. After that I found it all to be useless distractions at a time when generally people are spending far to little time paying attention to what is happening outside their cars while they are driving. I suppose I could say it is an appliance, like driving a toaster, except using a toaster doesn't annoy me. What really struck me is that the car seemed specifically designed to remove the driver from the process as much as possible, like the requirement to have an actual person behind the wheel was an impediment. In my view the Prius is ultimately a great candidate for the driverless car since I sure as hell didn't enjoy the job. For a point of comparison I find my 9 year old truck with 130k miles significantly more engaging and enjoyable to drive. For those of you that own them I hope they do what you want, I just couldn't imagine buying one myself.

03-11-2013, 08:35 AM	#279
LeeNetworX SFL Expatriate #1 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ATL Burbs Moto: '09 Triumph Speed Triple Posts: 4,712	I rented an Explorer Limited 2 weeks ago on my last trip. Overall, I would say it's a good vehicle to rent, but would never buy one. Likes: - I like the looks of the vehicle, inside and out - Seats were comfortable - Good power for a V6 and a decent feel to the ride Dislikes: - Blind spots...several of them, due to the high-positioned and low profile windows and thick pillars. - Ergonomics of the controls. The SYNC system, while cool, is so user-unfriendly to me. Everything is a touch-sensitive button and is located and positioned oddly to me. If I have to start at the control console for 2-3 minutes to figure out how to adjust the AC temp, fan speed and circulation settings, ergonomics fail. And I don't care for the touch-sensitive buttons. - Interior space. For a crossover with 3rd row seating, the usable space isn't even close to my Pilot. Probably the biggest reason I would never buy this vehicle, or any Ford with SYNC, for that matter, is the fact that once the warranty is passed, God help you should anything break/need replacing that's tied into the system. It's all connected and I could just imagine ridiculous repair costs if the dash display went or AC controls broke or computer itself fried, etc.

03-14-2013, 02:36 AM	#280
goof2 AMA Supersport Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 4,756	Got a Ford C-Max SEL hybrid thought Hertz. They are either pretty new or completely forgettable since I didn't even know what the hell it was when I got in it. I had to check the tailgate at my first stop to figure it out. I thought it was actually pretty good. Don't get me wrong, the ride and driving experience didn't reach above quality economy car standards but that is still a massive improvement over the Prius. The Ford designers also didn't feel the same need Toyota did to tailor the driver interface toward beating a "Look at you, you're driving a hybrid! Great work champ!" message in to my head. The leather had a quality feel to it and it did have Sync, but a more basic version than what they put in the Explorer. I guess Hertz either didn't get or removed the GPS so people will pay for Neverlost instead. There were a few things I didn't like. You already mentioned the Sync system Lee and I have to agree, it doesn't work very well. Even in the basic version in the C-Max with the AC separate I expect it would be a very expensive hassle if something goes wrong with it. The two small displays in the instrument cluster that are linked to it only add to the complexity and chance of a problem. Maybe the hardware will be reliable as hell and it will never be a problem, but that is a pretty big risk. The powertrain was a bit of an adjustment as well. This was the first time I drove a car with a CVT and I have to echo the comments of others, I didn't like it too much. It may be something I would get used to but in my short time with the C-Max I found it odd. That being said if I were in the market for a hybrid I found the C-Max to be massively better than the Prius.