A lot of people tend to check or look into car rental ratings Consumer Reports before they make any reservation. The website has been quite helpful in providing information and insight. It is also handy when you can learn about a few tips and tricks about the rental car service.
You can learn about a few things when coming to the site. The information isn’t only limited to car rental service, but you can also find other stuff, such as products reviews (babies and kids, electronics, health, etc). it doesn’t hurt to check the site if you don’t want to make mistakes during the car rental reservation and processing.
About Consumer Reports
Before you learn more about car rental ratings Consumer Reports, you need to understand what Consumer Reports is all about. The company is basically a non-profit ad independent member organization working together with consumers for the sake of getting transparent, true, and fair reviews within the marketplace.
The organization is designed to create a fair marketplace for everyone. They empower consumers by providing them information. They also encourage businesses by providing incentives so they can act responsibly. They also help policymakers to prioritize consumers’ rights and interest so a consumer driven marketplace can be shaped and created.
The organization has been around for several decades, considering that it was set in 1936. The findings help consumers to make decisions about their purchases, while manufacturers can perform better for the sake of consumers’ decisions. The organization has become a trusted source for information because of their independent research and testing.
The organization has created a solid place for information so consumers can rely on them for trusted information and insight.
Consumer Reports on Car Rental Performance
You may want to check car rental ratings Consumer Reports before you decide to rent a vehicle from a rental company. Even before you make the decision to rent one, you need to understand that each company has their own terms and categories for different models. For instance, some car rental services would name small cars as Class A Economy type and those cars include Chevy Spark or Ford Fiesta. But similar models may be called Class B Compact type in another companies (such as Mini Cooper or Fiat 500L).
And when people want to rent an inexpensive car, they need to be prepared for some things – things that the rental companies may not tell you. For instance, you can’t really expect high end features for those economy rides. Most models are typically 3 years old, so you can’t really expect finding sophisticated features. don’t be too surprised when your rented car doesn’t have any USB port. It means that you should be ready with your own a portable charger.
Even if the cars are newer, but they still fall within the small cars category (like Kia Rio, Mitsubishi Mirage, or Hyundai Accent), they may lack some sophisticated features, such as Bluetooth. Again, you can’t depend on the features to have comfortable expectation of the trip. That’s why it’s a good idea to contact the company to talk about their fleet availability and what kinds of features covered by the service.
The Suggested Vehicle
According to car rental ratings Consumer Reports, there are some cars that you should choose and some cars that you should avoid. Even if you are following categories set by the companies, you still need to pay attention to these models. Some of them may be considered as the best cars to rent for road trips, while some may not.
The available options are:
- If you go with the Economy, you should choose Hyundai Veloster, Ford Fiesta, Mini Cooper, or Kia Rio. Stay away from Fiat 500 or 500L, Chevy Sonic, Chevy Spark, Nissan Juke or Versa, Mitsubishi Mirage, Hyundai Accent, VW Beetle, or Toyota Yaris.
- If you go with the Intermediate, go with Kia Forte, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, VW Jetta, Mazda3, or Subaru Imprezza and stay away from Hyundai Elantra, Chevy Cruze, Nissan Sentra, Mitsubishi Lancer, or Dodge Dart.
- If you choose Standard, pick Subaru Legacy, Buick Verano, or Toyota Prius. Stay away from Chrysler 200.
- If you choose Full-Sized type, go with Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, Buick Regal, Kia Optima, or Mazda6. Stay away from Mitsubishi Galant, Dodge Charger, Chevy Impala Limited, or Nissan Altima.
- If you choose Premium, go with Hyundai Azera, Chevy Impala, Nissan Maxima, Buick LaCrosse, VW CC, Toyota Avalon, or Lincoln MKZ. You should skip Dodge Challenger, Ford Taurus, Chrysler 300, or Dodge Charger.
- If you go with Intermediate SUV, choose GMC Terrain, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Edge, Kia Sorento, or Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. Stay away from Ford Escape, Jeep Compass, Fiat 500X, Buick Encore, Dodge Journey, Mitsubishi Outlander, or Toyota Venza.
Some Handy Tips
Based on car rental ratings Consumer Reports, you can actually save up a lot of money with some of these helpful tips.
- Don’t expect new car when you get lower-than-standard rates. They are generally 2 to 3 years older.
- If you want to get the latest or the newest model, you should state it in your bookings. Even after you have arrived at the counter and you find out that it’s not the model you want, return to them before you drive away. It’s better to spend hours haggling than ended up in a car that you hate.
- Keep in mind that the popular brands are generally operating within the same umbrella. For instance, Avis and Budget may seem like a separate service, but they are under the same bigger company. Dollar and Thrifty have the same system, and so do Alamo and National. They are designed to target different market. Avis, for instance, is for a higher market. That’s why the rates are generally higher than Budget, whose market target is for low economy people looking for cheap service.
- It’s always a good idea to rent from off-airport locations. In some cases, you can even save up to 50% when you don’t rent from airports.
Conclusion
Consumer Reports isn’t the only source of trusted and reliable reviews. Feel free to explore around and find services that you can rely on. In general, the information about car rental ratings Consumer Reports can help, so it doesn’t hurt to check it out.
