Brother wants a small car only

[landandword17]

My brother and his wife are planning to go to Orlando for Christmas and it will be their first time renting a car. They’re both relatively new drivers, less than 5 years, only learning after moving back home after a decade in Toronto. They drive a Polo and a Yaris and they don’t want anything bigger than that as my brother thinks having a car he’s used to will be one less thing to worry about and he’s concerned about his ability to drive a bigger car in general.

Now, we’ve used Alamo but I don’t remember any economy cars, I think Compact was the smallest and we got a Versa so bigger than a Yaris/Polo. I’ve been looking at pictures on Yelp of the various rental agencies and I can’t find a picture of a small car even though most have the Mitsubishi Mirage or similar listed as a category. The smallest cars I’m seeing pictures of are Corolla, Versa, Focus. I’m also seeing some people saying in the reviews that they booked a compact but the agency was all out so they were upgraded usually into big SUVs so I won’t tell them that and frighten them!

Does anyone know of an agency that does small cars? Or have any advice to offer them to ensure they don’t end up with an unwanted upgrade?

I’ve tried reassuring them that an automatic Corolla or Versa would be easy to drive but they’re insisting if it’s not a small car they’re not going to hire and they’ve just put a deposit on a villa so not ideal!

[RickT]

Tell them to just book a compact from a likes of Alamo and they can choose something from the garage to suit their needs.

I have seen fiat 500's and the odd Fiesta saloons...

A polo is now infact not really a small car, i would just reassure them they will be fine at the airport - once they are there they have no option other than jumping in a car and driving and once used to it will be fine.

[MrsArcher2b]

I'm sure they will be fine. I used to be worried about the same thing and have had a Note and Versa from Alamo. With the roads and parking spaces being larger and all cars being automatic it was no bother.

[DonnaD]

You might want to point out that with all the giant pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans here they might feel alot safer in a bigger car. As mentioned with the wider roads and parking spaces plus automatic cars there really isn't anything easier about driving a small car. My Prius feels small here and I wouldn't want anything smaller.

[Ridersmom]

MY car is in need of repair so I rented a car until mine is better. REntals for this week were outrageous and I am cheap so I booked and actually got an economy -Ford Fiesta. It's the first time in many rentals, I have actually gotten an economy. Usually booking an economy gets you a compact. While I would have preferred a Note,
Corolla or Versa, I have been driving this 2 fdays and the gas indicator hasn't moved from full.

I prefer small cars and have often gotten much bigger cars as I will book a managers special and end up with a Dodge Challenger or Chevy Impala, neither of which I particularly like. BUt I have ofund that within a day, you adjust. For me the hardest thing was on the old days when we only had manual transmissions and not depressing the "clutch" (usually stepping on the brake instead).

If they are arealkly uncomfortable, spend a day driving on back roads or in the villa community.

[sha9]

Suggest they book the smallest category with Alamo and choose the car that suits them best. If they choose not to hire that’s their issue and I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
As other have said though, I’d rather have an SUV on those roads!

[w513mfs]

They don't have to have an suv to feel safe mentioning things like this will just put them off.

Accidents are gone happen no matter size of car and they all have air bags and seat belts. Doesn't matter if you are hit with a Yukon or a Mini @ 70 plus MPH its gonna hurt either way. I've seen all sorts upside down in my job and size is not necessarily an indicator of safety.

The best advise which has already been given is book Alamo this way they can pick their own.
Have them look out for a Toyota probably a Corolla or VW a Jetta. The thing with both Toyota and VW is they part share so a Jetta is basically a golf with boot, yet on the inside is very similar to a Polo. Same for Toyota a Corolla basically the same as an auris which si just a bigger yaris and very similiar on the inside with all the same plastics out of the same parts bin. (side note which i find funny the Audi TT, Seat Leon, Ibiza, Golf and Porsche cayenne all use the same door handle).

remind them that all will have parking sensors or reverse camera. Also maybe show them some videos on you tube of the Corolla or Jetta or something else Alamo offer in their fleet. This may make them feel more familiar when they arrive.

Other suggestion would be to have them try an automatic before the go this can help to elevate some of the hesitation.

where as they may not be able to get the same car they will get the same brand which will help to crate that old slipper feeling.

[wanye]

a while ago i had a really small nissan car - it was allocated by the hire place, so i didnt really have any choice. i have to say, i felt quite intimidated by all the other cars being at least twice the size on the road.

i'm not saying get a hummer, just that you should probably want to get something a bit more normal sized.

big roads and massive parking spaces everywhere means that having a larger car isn't an issue like it is in the UK. i have a relatively small estate car (seriously, the new mini is almost as large) and tight car park spaces can be an issue over here, but in the US i've *never* felt any issues, even in larger vehicles

[DonnaD]

Originally Posted by wanye

a while ago i had a really small nissan car - it was allocated by the hire place, so i didnt really have any choice. i have to say, i felt quite intimidated by all the other cars being at least twice the size on the road.

i'm not saying get a hummer, just that you should probably want to get something a bit more normal sized.

big roads and massive parking spaces everywhere means that having a larger car isn't an issue like it is in the UK. i have a relatively small estate car (seriously, the new mini is almost as large) and tight car park spaces can be an issue over here, but in the US i've *never* felt any issues, even in larger vehicles

See more...

This is exactly what I was trying to say. I also don't think reversing cameras or sensors are standard on small/medium sized hire cars.

[penguin19]

In 2015 I had a fiat 500 from Alamo...

Not sure if they still have them there but as you get to choose you can just pick one that works for them.