Need helping choosing a/the rental car.

[meWant]

Alfa

[DarkSunrise]

I'll go against the grain here and say BMW. If you're loaded down with passengers and if you'll be in typical Greece traffic, you'll want the low-end punch of the diesel engine.

236 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm sounds like the right engine for the job.

[SirBrass]

BMW. Diesel is no slouch and you'll get better fuel economy. Remember, gas costs out there are offensively outrageous. You think we have it bad in the US now? It costs more per liter out there than it does for us per gallon. That's over 3x more expensive. With the efficiency of turbo diesel over gasoline, I'd take a turbo diesel in Europe any day, even if I was more interested in renting a nice car over the cheapest thing available.

Though the argument for an Alfa b/c it's an Alfa... very good point.

But since it's for the family, I'd say go for the BMW.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by Black Tire

Drive the Bimmer, it's better IMHO.

If you want the Alfa experience, go to your local dealer and drive a Dodge:

http://europe.autonews.com/article/2...and-dodge-cars

I drove a rented Dodge Charger once. For my boat license test

Thanks to that experience, I'll NEVER own a Dodge vehicle. If that's how they design their performance cars, I don't want to know what they do for all their others. That charger probably would have flipped over going around a hairpin.

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

I drove a rented Dodge Charger once. For my boat license test

Thanks to that experience, I'll NEVER own a Dodge vehicle. If that's how they design their performance cars, I don't want to know what they do for all their others. That charger probably would have flipped over going around a hairpin.

My parents had a '97 Dodge Grand Caravan for a while (needed to take a lot of people/stuff around pretty regularly), and it was great. Handled more like a car than a truck (which is really all you can ask for, given its size), got pretty decent gas mileage, you could fit an unbelievable amount of stuff in the back if you took the seats out, and had enough power for anything you really needed (though it wasn't fast by any stretch of the imagination).

That having been said, the local Porsche dealer gave me a Challenger as the loaner car once when I had my Cayman in for service (don't ask me why - maybe it was so I would appreciate the Porsche that much more when I got it back? ), and I would never buy a Dodge performance car, based on that experience. It was huge, it really didn't even feel that fast (admittedly, it was only the V6, but it still had ~300hp, if you believe the specs...), it handled like a boat, and it had a blind spot the size of Rhode Island. I might make an exception to that rule for the Viper though, since it's ridiculously good looking.

[FiRStsc10n]

What about a Alfa Giulietta? More of in line with the BMW 1series hatch. Might add some practicality.

[dem00n]

Originally Posted by FiRStsc10n

What about a Alfa Giulietta? More of in line with the BMW 1series hatch. Might add some practicality.

There aren't much choices with rental cars.

Things are changing now though, if my uncle comes along for the ride, they might just get a minivan. Lovely...

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by dem00n

There aren't much choices with rental cars.

Things are changing now though, if my uncle comes along for the ride, they might just get a minivan. Lovely...

Definitely go for the BMW then. Go on the gas mileage and price of fuel in Europe.

After having driven a loaner/rental BOAT of a car while my BRZ was being repaired, it's better to have a decent handling car than something that monstrous. You simply will hate being on the road in something that sucks to drive b/c it's boring.

Save the Alfa experience for when you can rent one at Rent4Ring in Germany. At least then you can then say you actually drove the Nurburgring AND drove an Alfa .

Originally Posted by chrisl

My parents had a '97 Dodge Grand Caravan for a while (needed to take a lot of people/stuff around pretty regularly), and it was great. Handled more like a car than a truck (which is really all you can ask for, given its size), got pretty decent gas mileage, you could fit an unbelievable amount of stuff in the back if you took the seats out, and had enough power for anything you really needed (though it wasn't fast by any stretch of the imagination).

That having been said, the local Porsche dealer gave me a Challenger as the loaner car once when I had my Cayman in for service (don't ask me why - maybe it was so I would appreciate the Porsche that much more when I got it back? ), and I would never buy a Dodge performance car, based on that experience. It was huge, it really didn't even feel that fast (admittedly, it was only the V6, but it still had ~300hp, if you believe the specs...), it handled like a boat, and it had a blind spot the size of Rhode Island. I might make an exception to that rule for the Viper though, since it's ridiculously good looking.

You're describing my experience in the charger exactly. Funny thing: a week into driving the charger (my brz was being repaired from a rear-end collision), Enterprise called, apologizing to me and saying that they hadn't realized that the Charger they'd rented to me was on their "for sale" list, and could I come in and they'd swap me into a new vehicle, no charge (insurance was covering my rental fees as part of what they cover while my vehicle is under repair). They put me into an Impala LT. Definitely slower (4cyl vs. 6cyl), but my GOODNESS, I enjoyed driving that car so much more over driving the Charger. Nothing compared to my brz, of course, but I'd much rather drive and own a basic model Impala than a Charger based on that.

I have no clue about the Viper. I hope it actually handles well, but who knows. Now, a C7 Stringray.... that I KNOW is a good-handling, very fast car (and I would absolutely love to get the chance to drive one).

[userjack6880]

Oh, if you're tugging along the family, then I change my vote. BMW. If you must get a van, the Sprinter is a decent one, even if it isn't the best of mileage. They come in MT flavors too! I was with a large group in Switzerland. Only issue we had was going up a mountain in the Black Forest (when we were in Germany). Clutch burned out. They brought a Renault thing (forgot what model it was, not as nice as the Sprinter). Rental company person came in hot and came to a screeching halt, so that was funny.