Luggage and hire cars.

[Ware Bears]

Just doing some forward (very, we don't go until next year! ) planning and would be grateful if someone could clarify something for me.

We have booked a full size car which shows luggage capacity of 2 large cases and 2 small ones in the Virgin book and on the Dollar website. However I'm not really sure whether the picture of the smaller cases means medium size ones or carry-on cabin size ones ( and I certainly don't intend to try phoning Virgin at the moment! )

Is there anyone who has hired a full size car who can help me with this?

Thanks.

 

[Claire L]

When we went in 2004 with DMIL we had a full size car and managed to get in it 3 hard sided suit case and 2 soft sized wheeled bag about 24 inches in length, having said that half of the rear seat was occupied by luggage going back to the airport

Claire

 

[catherine]

We've never been able to get the stated number of suitcases in a full size car and our suitcases aren't' all that big! In fact we've started to get a 4 door intermediate as we've found that there's not much difference (luggage wise) between the two sizes of car!

Perhaps others have had different experiences!

 

[gilld]

We had Full Size some years ago when we took 4 cases - 2 large, 1 medium, 1 smaller but not small, plus hand luggage. We had to put one of the big cases in the back with the children to accommodate the rest. The boots are condiderably smaller than comperable cars here, but my car now has SUCH a tiny boot - to accommodate the roof when down - that US boots seem HUGE to us!

 

[jockey]

We could not get our two Samsonite hard cases in the boot of a full size - we put one in the boot and the other in the back seat. Although as Gilld says they are bigger than boots here but not as tall - I can just about get my handbag in my boot!

 

[CowboyCO]

Instead of renting a large size car, I recommend renting a minivan or an SUV. All American rental (car hire) agencies have them and you can pack a LOT baggage into the back of either vehicle type!

 

[Miffy2003]

Intermediates we have hired have comfortably fited our two "large" suitcases plus one medium one. By medium I mean regular suitcase size just a bit smaller, I don't mean one of the small types you carry on to the plane. There was also room for two biggish holdalls in the boot. Everything else went in the back with the DDs

So looking at all the different answers it must depend on how much you squash tham all in (that's why I stick to soft cases )

 

[jockey]

Soft cases really are the better option. We find it difficult to get the hard type suitcases in the boot as you can really squash them down!!!

 

[Ware Bears]

Thanks for the replies.

I've got hard Samsonite cases so unfortunately can't squash them in. Last time we had an intermediate and managed to fit one large and one medium case in the boot along with a soft carry-on. We put an empty carry-on in one of the hard cases last time to use on the way home but guess that won't really be an option now because of the baggage allowance changes. Never mind, we booked a bigger car this time to give our DDs a bit more room now they are older, if needs be they will just have to have holdalls/carry-ons on their knees!

 

[ashmufc]

How do you find the 7 Seaters? I'll be travelling as 2 adults, 3 teens and 1 child. So thats six in total, so I should have plenty of luggage space right?

 

[Cochise]

I was quite taken aback that a car reported to be the size of a Vauxhall Omega (Full size) had the boot of an Astra

 

[gilld]

How do you find the 7 Seaters? I'll be travelling as 2 adults, 3 teens and 1 child. So thats six in total, so I should have plenty of luggage space right?

You will hav eplenty of room for travelling comfortably but not much room for luggage. We were 6 adults in a 7 seater and we really struggled to get the bags in.

 

[wicket2005]

I think it depends on what car you actually get. We went with Alamo last year and you pick which car you wanted. We were that keen to get going we just jumped in the first car which was a really big one. It was an Impala something. Anyway that fitted in two very large hard bodied cases plus a soft bodied large holdall. It had the biggest boot I have ever seen. This year we insisted on an I4 (like we had in other years) because my hubbie prefers driving around in this size car.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

How do you find the 7 Seaters? I'll be travelling as 2 adults, 3 teens and 1 child. So thats six in total, so I should have plenty of luggage space right?

7 seaters are great for carrying people, but not necessarily good for people and luggage too.
We generally get one but this August we are going for an F4 full size - I am concerned we won't get our 3 hard suitcases in - may end up upgrading I guess. Especially as Josh likes the extra room (see picture below)

 

[jna]

I was quite taken aback that a car reported to be the size of a Vauxhall Omega (Full size) had the boot of an Astra

Is that observation from first hand knowledge? Could you expand on your experience for me please?

I ask simply because for the four of us I have booked a LH grade car from Virgin. They state that the European equivalent is a Vauxhall Omega and it will take three to four medium bags. What does Virgin means by medium for a start?

If necessary we can live with a case on a seat for the journey from the airport to the hotel in Orlando, but we are also driving across to Clearwater for our last week and lack of luggage space could really turn out to be an issue – not just with comfort, but safety inasmuch I don’t think you ought to have a heavy case (or two?) in the passenger area.

I have to say that I take Virgin’s capacity guidance with a very large pinch of salt. Should you upgrade from a LH to an LX the higher grade car supposedly has an extra 1.2 cu. ft. of luggage space (7.2% increase), but this car can take an extra TWO medium sized bags - 50% more luggage. Where do they get that from? I know boot shape etc. can help but do they supply a shoe horn?

I know from experience how poor the standard town cabs in the U.S.A. are for boot space, but has anyone else found these so called larger hire cars lacking in the same way?

John

 

[penlanspice]

How do you find the 7 Seaters? I'll be travelling as 2 adults, 3 teens and 1 child. So thats six in total, so I should have plenty of luggage space right?

We had a 7 seater in Dec and there was 4 adults, We could get 3 cases and 2 backpacks in the boot (you may get 4 in, but we had trouble with 3! it's kinda hard to balance them all on top of each other while trying to shut the boot) we had to put the other case in the back seats. To be honest I would say if you have 6 cases it would be quite tough getting them in. You will just need to be creative with finding ways to fit them around the seats. LOL.

 

[Mumof2]

We had an I4 last year and got two large hard cases in the boot plus a large soft bag and the carry on luggage. The extra soft bag went at the kids feet! Obviously a bit more squashed on the way back with all the shopping, but I find the boots on I4s ok - not great but ok!

 

[tartangirl]

Looking at the Dollar web-site the Full size car is a Dodge Magnum. This looks like an estate car so I would have thought would have plenty space.

We has a Chrysler Pacifica SUV last year. Seats 6 but you'd get no luggage in. With the back row of seats down we had plenty space for 2 large suitcases and a few other bags.

Previously we've had an I4 (Dodge Stratus) and again had no trouble getting 2 large suitcases in the boot but had to have some bags in the back seat.

 

[jna]

Thanks for the input. I had a look at the Dollar site and the Dodge Magnum. Yes, it does look like an estate. They only suggest four cases of two different sizes which is rather odd. You would think it would take more. I wonder also if it is available in Orlando.

I can see us accepting the I4 and if we find there is not enough space for our last week's trip on to Clearwater we may have to upgrade on the day we go or just before, having had a chance to look at the cars at first hand.

Why can't they offer a good old Volvo estate or something like that. No problem with eight cases then!