What cars have you recently rented?

[101lifts2]

2009 Chysler 300 M Touring

I had this vehicle for 1 week in MI and I have to say it is probably one of the best rentals I've ever had. This car just did everything very well and it was a car I would consider buying.

Engine-2.7 6cyl. was adequate for the car and returned mileage in the mid 20s. The engine was smooth and rather quiet.

Transmission - Prolly one of the better transmissions I've felt from a driveablity point of view. Always in the right gear and smooth shifting. Never a harsh up or downshift.

Chassis - This vehicle is based upon an older Mercedes chassis. It felt just right, like a big German sedan. Soaked up bumps very well, never harsh and no vibration at times like on some newer Jap cars

Gauges and Console - The interior is done up nice, but the gauges with the white/green lighting is a tad hard to see. The position of stuff was laid out well, though.

[Homeslice]

Rented a new Mailbu last week. Easily 10 times better than the old one. Very impressed with how smooth and quiet it was. Very good ride as well. The suspension didn't seem to have any of that wooden "something's loose" noise that most GM FWD sedans usually have.

The interior was correctly shaped, with a center console that sweeps down between the seats. Way better looking than anything Ford has. There were paddle shifters on the steering wheel, although this seemed a bit out of place on a mainstream family sedan. The tranny was best left in Drive. Manual shifts weren't very quick.

The stereo was disappointing.... it sounded muffled.....But that is true for almost any OEM system.

[Gas Man]

The newer malibus are very nice. I get one of those most of the time as a loaner car from my dealer if I take my car in there.

[101lifts2]

I'll take the mileage thing back on the 08 Malibu. Going from CA to MI I got 29.9, 30.6, 32.5 and 34.6 MPG on four separate tankfulls. 3.6VVT engine.

[Gas Man]

Which motor did it have? the 4 or 6?

[101lifts2]

V-6 3.6 VVT It is prolly one of the best motors for power and economy I've driven.

[LeeNetworX]

Avis gave me a Ford Escape Limited when I was in FTL a couple of weeks ago. Interior was pretty nice - it was more comfortable than it looked. Roomy. The Sync system is pretty cool, although the voice recognition could use some help. The recognition on our Altima understands my voice almost flawlessly. The only complaint I would have with the interior is the center console controls; there were so many similar-looking knobs and buttons it was almost overwhelming.

The 3.0L V6 was peppy and the transmission worked quite well with it. It seemed no matter what speed I was at, when pushing down on the accelerator the gear shifts were smooth and not jerky. Torque steer was noticable but I've driven much worse. Fuel economy was OK but not great - I was stomping on it alot, so....

As for the exterior, IMO, it's come a long way in the looks department. The color-keyed molding and chrome accents make it much more appealing to me than the earlier models. Overall, for the money they are getting for this vehicle, I don't think it's not a bad deal considering the whole package and the features it comes with.

[Gas Man]

I think the new escapes with the black rims and darker features look the best they ever have.

[Homeslice]

I thought the consensus on this board was that the Escape was noisy, cheap, and rough-riding. Did they totally revise it?

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

I thought the consensus on this board was that the Escape was noisy, cheap, and rough-riding. Did they totally revise it?

Too think I liked the original base model Escape...always seemed like an honest little bugger.