Has anyone rented a Hybrid from Budget?

[Southwest Minnie]

We're flying into MCO next month - 2 adults + 2 16-yr-old boys and staying on property for 7 days. Right now I have a Hybrid (Prius or similar) for $540 reserved and also a Standard (Jetta or similar) for $500, both w/Budget through Costco.

With the price of gas now, I thought maybe the Prius would be a good idea since we'll be zipping each day to the different parks with park hopper. Even though it's $40 more on the booking, it seems like we would spend well over that for gas in the Standard car.

Questions:
Can our family of 4 fit in the Prius with the luggage? (the 2 boys won't have much)
Thoughts on renting a Prius at Budget? (do they ever run out? we arrive 4pm at MCO)

 

[CarolynFH]

I can't answer re availability, only luggage space. We drive a Prius and can fit two checked bags and two carryons in the trunk space plus additional items if they're small. In April we traveled with my dad and had 3 checked size, and it was tight - had to put some carryon items in the middle seat, which would be filled with one of your boys. So it depends on how many items of what size you have!

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We're flying into MCO next month - 2 adults + 2 16-yr-old boys and staying on property for 7 days. Right now I have a Hybrid (Prius or similar) for $540 reserved and also a Standard (Jetta or similar) for $500, both w/Budget through Costco.

With the price of gas now, I thought maybe the Prius would be a good idea since we'll be zipping each day to the different parks with park hopper. Even though it's $40 more on the booking, it seems like we would spend well over that for gas in the Standard car.

Questions:
Can our family of 4 fit in the Prius with the luggage? (the 2 boys won't have much)
Thoughts on renting a Prius at Budget? (do they ever run out? we arrive 4pm at MCO)

I’m not certain about the math here. You will still purchase gas for the hybrid Prius, so it’s not a straightforward decision. How many miles do you expect to drive. At a $40 difference, you’re looking at saving about 8 gallons (@$5/gallon) just to break even. Say a Jetta gets 31-41 mpg (based on EPA ratings, which might be generous) while a Prius gets 53-54 mpg (again based on EPA ratings). Even if you drive 600 miles in the rental, you’re looking at about 600/31 = 19.4 gallons of gas for the Jetta compared to 600/53 = 11.3 gallons of gas for the Prius (using the lower estimates in each case; YMMV, literally in this case). Less than 600 miles, you might not hit the break even point.

On the other hand, you might want to try out a hybrid for consideration as a possible next auto purchase, so renting one serves as an extended test drive.

 

[Anthony1971]

first off always note similar a standard car is small a midsize these days can be a Corolla. Same with hybrid. If you actually get a Toyota they place the batteries on the newer models however the older models some of the trunk space is taken up. Best I can say is travel light…. I can’t say in Florida if a hybrid will save a lot on gas I can only tell you my experience where gas mileage on a normal car is lower than what city always says. With a gas car rated 31/39 I get around 28 combined with a mid size SUV hybrid rated i believe 38/44 I get around 42 combined with AC with heat it falls in the 33 with cold weather a little higher when it is not very cold. But it is also a 4200 pound car And has plenty of space as the battery is under the back seat.

 

[_19disnA]

I agree as mentioned about the math would need to work out such that your savings in gas purchased would be more then the extra $40 cost of the rental. How/where you drive, how many people in your car + luggage will all impact the actual fuel economy of any car you drive. If you only plan to travel to/from MCO/Disney and perhaps go shopping or out do dinner a few times during your stay, I doubt the savings in gas will be worth the added expense regardless of the exact math. EPA ratings are mostly intended to allow for comparisons between different cars. Your real world driving experience will likely be different from the published figures.

Most rental companies also seem to categorize cars much smaller then most people would expect. General categories like small, compact, midsize, etc. can have lots of room for interpretation. Be sure to check the rental car website for actual examples of vehicles in the particular category you plan to rent to be sure it will hold the number of people and amount of luggage you expect to have.

 

[Southwest Minnie]

I can't answer re availability, only luggage space. We drive a Prius and can fit two checked bags and two carryons in the trunk space plus additional items if they're small. In April we traveled with my dad and had 3 checked size, and it was tight - had to put some carryon items in the middle seat, which would be filled with one of your boys. So it depends on how many items of what size you have!

Thank you, that's helpful info!!

 

[Southwest Minnie]

I’m not certain about the math here. You will still purchase gas for the hybrid Prius, so it’s not a straightforward decision. How many miles do you expect to drive. At a $40 difference, you’re looking at saving about 8 gallons (@$5/gallon) just to break even. Say a Jetta gets 31-41 mpg (based on EPA ratings, which might be generous) while a Prius gets 53-54 mpg (again based on EPA ratings). Even if you drive 600 miles in the rental, you’re looking at about 600/31 = 19.4 gallons of gas for the Jetta compared to 600/53 = 11.3 gallons of gas for the Prius (using the lower estimates in each case; YMMV, literally in this case). Less than 600 miles, you might not hit the break even point.

On the other hand, you might want to try out a hybrid for consideration as a possible next auto purchase, so renting one serves as an extended test drive.

Whoa, thank you so much for breaking it down like that for me! Now I see more clearly and can figure it out better. AND... I found my Budget receipts from a 2018 trip we took WDW. Same time frame, same hotel, park hopper tickets etc.

Get this...
In 2018 we paid $230 for an Impala! And we drove only 159 miles the entire trip including to/from MCO. We don't need an Impala-size car this time (we had an extra kiddo with us), so I think I will just reserve a Full size because those right now are the same price as the Standard size at Costco and this will give us plenty of space and I will release the other reservations for someone else to use.

Thanks so much to you and all others for helping me through this!

 

[Akck]

We’re currently in a hybrid rental in Houston because it happened to be the cheapest. We were able to fit in 2 large suitcases plus 1 smaller suitcase in the trunk plus we could’ve thrown our backpacks too. I think 4 can fit comfortably in the car.

Keep checking rates as they can get cheaper. Alternately, you can use the link on this site to undercover tourist. If you buy a ticket (AMC drink ticket will do), you can get greatly reduced rates for Budget/Avis rentals. We got our last 2 rentals in Orlando through them.

 

[OregonRN]

One of the most stressful experiences I had was when I reserved a Hybrid from Budget. I used the FastBreak pickup, the lady gave me the keys and off I went down the isle to find I was given a Kia Forte, definitely not a hybrid. I went back to the desk, which now had a long line, but saw a lady putting car seats away and informed her that I had reserved a Hybrid and that the Kia Forte was not that. She said they didn't have any right then and they gave me the equivalent category, but she would call the lot and see if they had any they could bring over. I waited and waited and waited and then I saw that lady packing up her stuff to leave. I approached her asking what was going on, had she heard back? She just repeated they didn't have any and left me standing there. By now about a hour went by, I was hot and miserable. I went back to the Kia, where I had left my Mom, and on the way back what did I notice but a Ford Fusion Hybrid. I was livid. I saw a strolling employee and went over to her and explained the whole situation. She was an angel and got it all worked out, but the experience as a whole was a nightmare and I wasted almost 2 hours of our vacation trying to get what I paid for. So just be wary because they can give you whatever car they want apparently.

 

[Southwest Minnie]

One of the most stressful experiences I had was when I reserved a Hybrid from Budget. I used the FastBreak pickup, the lady gave me the keys and off I went down the isle to find I was given a Kia Forte, definitely not a hybrid. I went back to the desk, which now had a long line, but saw a lady putting car seats away and informed her that I had reserved a Hybrid and that the Kia Forte was not that. She said they didn't have any right then and they gave me the equivalent category, but she would call the lot and see if they had any they could bring over. I waited and waited and waited and then I saw that lady packing up her stuff to leave. I approached her asking what was going on, had she heard back? She just repeated they didn't have any and left me standing there. By now about a hour went by, I was hot and miserable. I went back to the Kia, where I had left my Mom, and on the way back what did I notice but a Ford Fusion Hybrid. I was livid. I saw a strolling employee and went over to her and explained the whole situation. She was an angel and got it all worked out, but the experience as a whole was a nightmare and I wasted almost 2 hours of our vacation trying to get what I paid for. So just be wary because they can give you whatever car they want apparently.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry this happened to you! And exactly what I don't want to leave to chance - in the back of my mind I really wondered how many of those cars they have. And how many just finally give up and say heck with it after all the stress. Thank you for sharing.