what size rental car ??

[natalielongstaff]

i am very confused at the different rental cars !!

we are two adults and two kids age 9 and 6 and we will have 3 cases ( hard ones not squishable )

can anyone point me in the direction of a suitable sized car ...... i drive a zafira here but thats mainly for work so i think a minivan would be a bit too large

 

[Haworthfamily]

This is always a tricky one I think.
Last year we had a Dodge Caravan and they up graded it to a Dodge Jurango! woohoo there was 5 adults and a 4 year old.

This year we've have ordered the same - for 3 adults, 1 child and there's gonna be more room than we need but.......
1. We were squashed from airport with 6 cases, hand lugage.
2. It's really nice to be high up on the road, if your a little un sure about driving etc.

Over here we have a Renault Scenic and I really like being that little bit higher up on the road like your Zaphria.

Good luck choosing.
Sarah

 

[Minniespal]

It's usually only myself and another adult that I travel with. Last year we ended up with 4 suitcases and 3 bags. I always rent a full size car which is similar to UK's Mondeo or Vectra. Plenty of room for all of the bags

 

[castanea1985]

Hi
When our kids were little, we always had a full size car... then you'll always have enough room. The boots (trunks) are pretty large compared to ours here in the UK, and should fit 3 cases in, if not, there will be enough room to get two little ones and a case on the back seat.. for the journey to and from the airport.
Hope you get sorted?
Tracy

 

[JohnnySharp2]

The problem is Nat, some rental companies - we use Dollar - allocate more than 1 type of car for each category.
For example last year for Full size Dollar had a Ford Taurus and Dodge Magnum, although they are in the same category they are different types of car with the Magnum being a large estate type and the Ford a standard four door saloon.
The same applies to other sizes too, if you check on the website of your chosen rental company you could actually ask for the type of car you want, ie Taurus or Magnum etc

You will need I feel at least a Full size, or perhaps even a Premium or Minivan.

If it helps I attach a decent photo of a Chrysler Voyager minivan and also the Premium 4x4 type car we had last year.
If you do book a 4 door full size, you can always upgrade or change it if you find it's not big enough, and many of the rental companies have 'offers' on certain types of car also, in my experience they tend to have more minivan type vehicles and consequently they can work out a decent upgrade option.
To be honest the Minivans are ideal , slightly bigger than your Zafira but great for Orlando I find.

 

[CoralCayTownhome]

When we were there in December we booked a Full size car with Dollar. This was for 2 adults and 2 kids (age 10 + 6) - we were given a Dodge Magnum which is an estate car and was a great size for us.

I just have had a check on the Dollar website and they are promoting the Dodge Charger as the Full size model. This seems to be the saloon version of the Magnum so I imagine the boot space would be sufficient. I certainly wouldn't go for anything much smaller.

Tracey

 

[wayneg]

We are 2 ad + 1 ch (adult size) with 3 cases and a bag. We always get Full size with Dollar, Drive the new BMW 3 series at home and have loads more room in Full size car over there.
They have been saying Charger for our last few visits but only had it once so far, and the time they gave us it he said it was an upgrade for delay in dealing with us (only 15 mins so I didn't mind)

 

[natalielongstaff]

thanks everyone i will go and look again now ! thanks for the pics johhny they were a great help.

 

[wayneg]

For example last year for Full size Dollar had a Ford Taurus and Dodge Magnum, although they are in the same category they are different types of car with the Magnum being a large estate type and the Ford a standard four door saloon.

Johnny, think your mistaken with this, Their examples last year for us were Ford Taurus or Dodge charger(not Magnum) which is the Saloon version. But maybe they had an offer on at some point I missed.
Link here to Dollars fleet site http://www.dollar.com/fleet/fleet_america.aspx?r=9391229028d04142a5b50498cf97bb7e

also link to Dodge's fleet. I like the look of the Avenger http://www.dodge.com/vehicles.html

 

[tiggerlady]

I am looking to rent from Dollar via airline network, on their site it states the Neon as the compact car, last time we had a neon we upgraded as it seemed small, we would love a Calibre which is what is shown on the dollars own website as the compact.
Can any one clarify which we are likely to get, we will be 2 adults with 2 cases and hand luggage so dont need a massive car, just one that feels ok.

 

[wayneg]

I am looking to rent from Dollar via airline network, on their site it states the Neon as the compact car, last time we had a neon we upgraded as it seemed small, we would love a Calibre which is what is shown on the dollars own website as the compact.
Can any one clarify which we are likely to get, we will be 2 adults with 2 cases and hand luggage so dont need a massive car, just one that feels ok.

Both times we have rented Compacts we have been given Neons, which are adequate for your needs but look at the intermediate with Airnet, I just have and for a 2 week rental the price only went up by £18 with Platinum insurance, this is because Platinum upgrade on compact is £39 but only £25 on an Intermediate car. I would pay the extra to make sure I got better car.

 

[tiggerlady]

Thanks Wayneg had not realised the difference with the platinum prices. We will definitly go with the bigger option. It seems as you go dearer the insurance goes down!!

 

[wayneg]

Does not happen as much with them now but sometimes they have offers on bigger cars like free upgrade to platinum and then the larger cars can be cheaper than compact.
Another thing I was once told about Dollar, they still quote 2 prices for 2dr and 4dr options but only have 4 door cars. I don't know if this is right or not but I always pay for 2 doors and always got 4 doors with the full size car.

 

[Goofyish]

The one and only time we had a car we had an intermediate size. I think it was a Plymouth Breeze and was probably about Mondea size. The trunk was quite small though and I seem to recall having to put one of our holdalls on the back seat between our daughters on the way back to the airport.

 

[tiggerlady]

thanks for comments, we have booked a mini van on our last couple of trips to Orlando as there were at least 5 of us,but dont need a huge car so I think an intermediate will be fine, thanks for the tip on 2 versus 4 doors we will book the 2 door as that is all we require anyway.