Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo

[John]

I've been offered a PT on several occasions, and I absolutely refuse to take the keys.

Just got back from Honolulu where I had a Mercury Grand Marquis.

The good: Nothing whatsoever - OK, I take that back. Great
A/C and suspension that grandma would love.

The bad: Inefficient space design, front seat with less legroom than a Honda Civic, massive size, fuel ecomomy reminiscient of my truck, poor acceleration, and pretty much everything else you can imagine.

Next time I'll take the Lincoln MKZ or the Cadillac CTS, which are much nicer equivalents.

[WRXtranceformed]

I LOVED my CTS rental. I dogged the piss out of that car, and it was fun to drive even though it wasn't the direct injected version.

[Feersty]

I saw a new CTS with the 3.5 package? Whatever it was it was hot. Quad tips and white, with what looked like an underbody spoiler.

[.RJ]

Back in Denver and I've got a Ford Escape rental - I asked for something a little larger than "mid size" as I brought my road bike with me packed in a massive plastic case.

The good: It drives well. Really well. Engine is adequate, brakes good, transmission seems to be pretty good although shifts slowly. Interior is nice, all the controls are laid out well and visibility is good. Fuel mileage is reasonable (mid 20's, already burned through a tank of gas since friday). I can fit the bike in the back without taking wheels off.

The bad: Its slow (probably heavy), interior rattles in the back and the rear end is too harsh and skittish over bumps in the road. I wouldnt put my mountain bike in the back (everything is cloth and would dirty up real quick).

The ugly: there's a huge glaring fault - the back seat doesnt fold down flat. I cant believe no one along the line said "hey the seat shouldnt remain propped up at 45* when its folded over. It kills a lot of the 'utility' of having a big box car.

That said... if you need a slightly larger car to haul a bunch of stuff around it would be a great choice, but probably doesnt offer anything extra over something like a subaru wagon other than being taller.

Overall: B+

[Jake]

The ugly: there's a huge glaring fault - the back seat doesnt fold down flat. I cant believe no one along the line said "hey the seat shouldnt remain propped up at 45* when its folded over. It kills a lot of the 'utility' of having a big box car.

Are you sure you're folding the seats right? My 2001 folds completely flat. The 2008+ are different than mine but I think the basic steps are the same.

Look for a little pull tab on the edge of the butt cushion. If you have 60/40 seats in the back there will be two tabs - one close to each back door. Pull those and the butt cushion should pop up and flip forward against the front seat. Remove the headrests and then toss the backs down.

Glad you're liking it otherwise. I'm wondering if you have the 4-cyl or the V6. The 6er is pretty peppy (200 HP or 240 if you have an 09) but the 4 is just now getting more power. It started at 120 HP (!!) on the 2001 and moved to 153 with the 2005s. Now it's at 170ish on 2009s.

Let me know how those seats work for ya.

[.RJ]

I'll take a look, thanks for the tip. Of course there's no owners manual in the car and there's a light on the dash and I cant figure out its purpose. Wheels about to fall off? Transmission destruction imminent? Who knows :dunno: :lol:

[Jake]

I'll take a look, thanks for the tip. Of course there's no owners manual in the car and there's a light on the dash and I cant figure out its purpose. Wheels about to fall off? Transmission destruction imminent? Who knows :dunno: :lol:

What's the light look like? I can probably tell you what it's for, haha... :lol:

[.RJ]

Kinda like this ( ! )

[Jake]

I'd guess tire pressure light - my '01 doesn't have it, but mom's Xfire has the exact same light, and that's what it's for.

[.RJ]

Hrmph. They arent flat...

[Ryan T]

I've been offered a PT on several occasions, and I absolutely refuse to take the keys.

Just got back from Honolulu where I had a Mercury Grand Marquis.

The good: Nothing whatsoever - OK, I take that back. Great
A/C and suspension that grandma would love.

The bad: Inefficient space design, front seat with less legroom than a Honda Civic, massive size, fuel ecomomy reminiscient of my truck, poor acceleration, and pretty much everything else you can imagine.

Next time I'll take the Lincoln MKZ or the Cadillac CTS, which are much nicer equivalents.

The MKZ is a much nicer car to have as a rental than the Grand Marquis. Since I work at a lincoln/mercury dealership I spend a good majority of my time in one or the other cars (as well as subarus and suzukis). I drove a Zephyr (same thing as an MKZ but with a 3.0L instead of a 3.5L) back from the auction in NC back over the blue ridge parkway and I was pleasantly surprised by the willingness of the suspension to work with the driver and the way the car handled overall. If you get a chance to take one out I'd do it. Even they are FWD they are still an improvement over a Grand Marquis.

[.RJ]

Look for a little pull tab on the edge of the butt cushion. If you have 60/40 seats in the back there will be two tabs - one close to each back door. Pull those and the butt cushion should pop up and flip forward against the front seat. Remove the headrests and then toss the backs down.

The dont flip up, just move forward a bit.... letting the seatback fold down a little further.

I guess it works ok, its better, but they still dont fold flat.

Fale.

I keep thinking about buying an Element instead of another truck to haul my bikes. They seem to have gotten the 'stuff hauling' thing right.

[JustinG]

FUCK RENTAL CARS!!!!

[.RJ]

wat :?:

[Feersty]

I was in Fort Walton Beach, FL for a few days on business. Here was my rental car, a 2008 Cobalt LT Coupe:






It actually wasn't bad, and I need someone to convince not to look at the Cobalt SS as my next car. Althought it would be a long shot either way. Interior wasn't that bad, and the leather wrapped steering wheel was nice. This one came with the old SS wheels in chrome with 205/50R17. Only issue I noticed was coming out of turns, you can't just mash on the gas, you have to easy into it. It is something I am really tired of with my FWD drive car. You can't just mash it, or else it will trip over itself. I only drove this one 27 miles, but I did like the stereo and how it always showed the radio presets, with a button under it. Some of the buttons on the steering wheel I didn't get, but overall a nice car. This one made me like white cars even more. With the acceleration, it just seemed to make more noise than it did put you back in youre seat.

[Mike]

you know RWD cars are even worse when you "just mash it," right? like... the rear end comes around.

[Feersty]

But at least the steering is separate from the drive wheels.

[Dave]

which means you have to be even more in tune with what is going on with the car and the inputs you are giving it to fix the situation.

[.RJ]

I found another problem with this Escape rental. I keep smashing my shin into the headlight switch getting into it. It took a chunk out of my leg yesterday. Who puts the headlight switch down by your knees on the dash anyways?

[REED]

haha rob - could you get a little farther away in that last pic?