Hertz - Is a 'semi-automatic' an 'automatic'?

Opinions please.

I have been renting weekly in Germany for quite some time now, as per my other thread re Hertz in Germany. I have resigned myself to the Mercedes A class; no matter that I rent a VW Golf automatic every week, as I am 'upgraded' to the A class even though 'prefer VW' is in my profile.

Last week however I ended up with this
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/37490/ford_fusion_plus.html
A Ford Fusion 'semi automatic'. I was driving 1,000km in about 3 days, both Autobahn and mountains, including the bad and the hilly parts of the A8. It was a really poor driving experience; except for a bit of city driving I had to constantly shift the car as it doesn't shift on its own. Basically it is a clutchless manual, as I have seen it described.

This past weekend I managed to find a great Hertz rep who had noted my PC status in advance and took care to inform me that she had a VW Golf automatic for me (for my first time ever with Hertz here!). I asked her about this car, and she agreed that she would not consider it automatic, although she had never had it in her fleet.

While I have driven the Autobahn for decades, including in a Citroen 2CV in past, I now need an automatic due to certain physical issues. This car absolutely did not meet my needs, but the HLE was sold out, as was every one of the 10 locations I called that weekend due to the start of the holiday.

So, am I wrong in considering this car a downgrade from the reserved 'A Class or similar' automatic? (in this case I did actually reserve the 'A class or similar' as I needed something larger than a Golf)

Golf has DSG, which is far superior to clutchless manual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox

118 views, 1 opinion! :D

Thanks for the Golf info, but as those of you who have read my Hertz in Germany posts know, I reserve a Golf weekly but get an A class instead.

Interestingly enough, the only other time I have experienced a 'semi-automatic' was in my Karmann Ghia days!

semi-automatic is not the same as automatic. If you have to do something to shift it, other than going from Park to Drive Neutral or Reverse, then it is not an automatic.

Agreed! I just spoke to reservations about a future rental and she agrees. Sadly the wait time for customer service is estimated at 10 minutes hold so I have sent off an email and will post the results, if any (but somehow I doubt that I will win this one)

Almost all automatics have a full automatic mode and a semi-automatic mode , at least here in Europe. Clutchless manuals do indeed exist but are very very rare, there ISN'T a clutchless manual Ford in Europe. The ford fusion you rented had for sure a full automatic mode, you just didn't know how to change between full auto and semi-automatic. Most of the cars have a change lever (stick?) position labelled "+/-" or similar, so it is easy to figure how it works. In the case of the (european) ford fusion I think it is a button in the stick (hardly intuitive). If you see an "A" at the display it is full auto, if you see a number it is semi-automatic. Just pressing the button once would have saved you a lot of work with the stick ;)
I worked for a car rental company and we had the Ford Fiesta automatic. The European ford fusion is basically a ford fiesta (with more room inside), that's why I think that both use the same system, but I have never used a Ford Fusion automatic.
I had once an old couple complaining about having to change manually for the whole rental duration. Exactly the same problem as you. They had an automatic Ford Focus at home (UK), they just didn't know that it worked differently.
There are few automatic cars in Europe, so some companies sometimes fit very different cars in the same category. For example my company had the Mercedes A class (automatic) and Ford Focus (automatic) in the same category, but Mercedes A class (manual) in a more expensive category than Frod Focus (manual). But even with this consideration a Ford Fusion is a downgrade from a Mercedes A class, from every point of view.
By the way, Mercedes A class and VW golf are usually the same category in many car rental companies.
Regards.

Well, the Hertz attendant actually tried to figure it out as well, and he too could not find any way to drive the car without shifting.

The VW Golf and the A class Mercedes are indeed two different car classes with Hertz in Germany. Again today I am driving an A class and again today I was confirmed the upgrade due to my status. I can reserve these on the Hertz site at different prices.

Why do I think that someone at Hertz Customer Service has received my email and chose to respond to me here? Interesting first post.

I don't know if it is interesting, maybe just a strange first post (and user name) ;)
The closest I have been of working at hertz was one and a half years at the desk of a car rental company 20 meters away from hertz office at an international airport.
I'm not a regular user of this forum. I was just looking for something else and found your post. As i told you I had a similar experience with an old British couple and I couldn't help answering you. As I told you, my experience is limited to the automatic Ford Fiesta, I have never used an automatic Ford Fusion. I can't be therefore sure that both use the same system, but I'm 100% that Ford doesn't sell clutchless manuals in Europe. The hertz attendant wasn't very capable (at least he should have asked a more knowledgeable colleague).
Regards