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Since when is a Civic a Mid-Sized car?
Has Hertz changed their car classes? When i make reservations under my corporate account, i chose midsize which says Mazda 6 or like. This week i get to the airport to pick up my car and i have a Honda Civic given to me. I go to the desk and ask them for a Mid-Sized like my reservation and they said Civic is a midsize and they can offer me a Carolla instead. I was shocked to be given such a tiny car. And i wish i woulda stayed with the civic because the one i have had no Cruise Control or Remote Door locks.
I plan to call Hertz and explain my dissatisfaction with the car i was given. Last week i was given a Kia Forte. I think something is seriously wrong here.
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Corolla has been mid-size for years, and it surprised me the first time I got one. I think the car classes are just shrinking across the board, at Avis the new Malibu is full size.
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"The greatest calamity which could befall us would be submission to a government of unlimited powers." -- T. Jefferson
All car rental companies have downsized their fleets in order to keep costs down and to meet consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Midsize is a smorgasbord car category. You can anything from a Kia Spectra to a Chrysler Sebring, and everything in between. The Corolla has been Hertz's midsize exmaple for a few years here in Canada. Down in the US, the prevous body style Mazda 6 was a midsize, but then it grew in size and has gone either to Standard or Fullsize. It doesn't surprise me that Hertz hasn't updated yet considering how often we see pictures of previous-generation vehicles listed on the website...
I'd definitely send them an e-mail and let them know about your dissatisfaction. Maybe it'll prompt them to update their website a little sooner...
Happened to me as well: my rental contract said "Mazda 6 or similar", they initially tried to give me a Civic and told me it was the same category.
If they want to call a certain category "midsize" and rent a Civic, that's fine with me - a Civic could easily hold four adults and their duffel bags, which as far as I'm concerned makes it a midsize. But the Civic competes directly with the Mazda 3, while the Mazda 6 competes with the Accord; any consumer who is told "Mazda 6 or similar" is going to have the same reaction we all did, meaning many more jet-lagged, underfed travelers getting into arguments with counter clerks who have no say in the matter. Dumb.
A Civic has been a midsize for over a year. I don't think it is fair to say that people compared '09 Mazda 6's with Accords. They are very different. The 2010 Mazda 6 is a fullsize.
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They're renting Suburu Imprezas as midsizes (YC in the case of the Impreza) in SLC unless you get the upgrade.
My response to getting one was asking the attendant why I just got a car that's the same size as a Ford Focus... which I could have paid less for according the picture and the corresponding price on the Hertz website. I drove 3 weeks in a row of Imprezas and did three weeks in a row of those survey's at the bottom of the receipts. I was given a Ford Fusion this week...
What is a G6 "Standard" size getting since the G6's seem to dropping out of the fleet quickly?
They're renting Suburu Imprezas as midsizes (YC in the case of the Impreza) in SLC unless you get the upgrade.
I actually wouldn't mind getting the Impreza this time around (I booked a C) only because I was planning on test driving both the Impreza and Legacy at my local Subaru dealership anyway.
I hope I don't get stuck with an '08 Corolla. I still see some of those in service, though they are being replaced with the '09s quickly.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TRD_808
I actually wouldn't mind getting the Impreza this time around (I booked a C) only because I was planning on test driving both the Impreza and Legacy at my local Subaru dealership anyway.
I hope I don't get stuck with an '08 Corolla. I still see some of those in service, though they are being replaced with the '09s quickly.
Car classes are determined as a combination fleet cost and physical size. A Civic from a "cost" standpoint would be in the same range as a domestic "mid size". Keep in mind Honda gives very little in terms of fleet rebates to the rental companies, which is why there is never a huge inventory or alloment of HONDA's in most rental company's fleets.
Car classes are determined as a combination fleet cost and physical size. A Civic from a "cost" standpoint would be in the same range as a domestic "mid size". Keep in mind Honda gives very little in terms of fleet rebates to the rental companies, which is why there is never a huge inventory or alloment of HONDA's in most rental company's fleets.
Yeah, I hardly see Hondas as rental cars - though I've been seeing new Accords as rentals lately, registered in the past couple months. I think they're Enterprise rentals but I have no idea.
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When I worked for the largest rental car company in the US from 1995-1997, our car sizes were based more on the value of the car rather than the size. It's all about the daily rate. The reason the Civic is considered a midsize and a Mazda 3 is a compact is because even though they are the same size the rental car company paid more for the Honda. So they need to charge a higher rate thus it is in a higher car class than you would think.
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I was offered a Toyota Yaris as a mid-size!!!! I went in and he said that was also a new midsize. I said no way, and instead they gave me a Malibu, with SIXTY (60,000) kilometers!!
I plan to call Hertz and explain my dissatisfaction with the car i was given. Last week i was given a Kia Forte. I think something is seriously wrong here.
I actually do some work with Kia - while the Forte is a bit smaller than you're looking for, it's still a solid car and has been getting pretty goodreviews.
