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Recommended Compact Cars?
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Date: 2008/01/03 13:33
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By: BC05TDI
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Hello all,
My wife and I are heading to Europe for three weeks in just over a week and will be renting a car in Germany (arranged through Gemut) to begin our road tour of most of Western and a touch of Eastern Europe.
My question is this: Which Compact Car have you had the best experience with.
I know it's hard to get EVERYTHING you are looking for in a rental, but I am hoping for the following options: Diesel, GPS, ESP
Body style, doors, etc are of no real importance to me. My concern is that due to it being winter I would feel much better knowing the car had traction control (like ESP). And with the high fuel prices, a diesel would be MUCH preferred. (Look at my username, I own an '05 VW Passat TDI, GREAT car). And a GPS device that works in ALL of W. Europe (not just the country of rental) would be awesome, but not totally necessary as we will be traveling with a laptop and GPS receiver, but it would be nice to have it built-in car.
So share your Compact Car (or similar) experiences, so I'll know what to request (or avoid) at the rental agency when we arrive.
Thanks in advance!
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Re:Recommended Compact Cars?
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Date: 2008/01/03 13:37
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By: BC05TDI
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I should also mention, due to the fact that we will be visiting Prague, Vienna and Zagreb, we are limited in the type of rental we can have. No Audi, Mercs, BMW, etc are allowed as rentals into Eastern Europe so please limit your comments to non-premium vehicles such as low-end VW (Golf), SEAT, Ford, Peugeot, etc.
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Re:Recommended Compact Cars?
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Date: 2008/01/06 19:29
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By: rbestor
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The likely compact cars for east travel from Germany are the Opel Astra, Ford Focus, or perhaps a Skoda or Seat compact. I prefer the Astra followed by the Skoda and Seat but chances are you won't have a choice. I think a Golf is possible but not likely. Not many compacts in rental fleets have GPS and if they do they will only be loaded with maps for the country of rental. You can request a diesel but no company will guarantee it. However, since Germany rental car fleets are about 60% diesel you have a good chance.
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Re:Recommended Compact Cars?
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Date: 2008/02/20 12:44
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By: nmag
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While obviously too late for you trip, perhaps this bit of advice will help others that view this thread. Winter rated tires are now required by law in our three dear countries. They are required whenever winter weather is active or road conditions are wintery (snow/slush/ice). Luckily, most all season tires fit the "winter" requirements (as indicated by a M+S and/or the mountiain/snowflake pictogram). However, many cars are equipped with summer tires standard so you have to specifically request winter tires to guarantee them on your car.
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We're all about travel to Germany, Austria & Switzerland
