uwe971

Hi there, im sorry for my poor english im german and i plan to travel 2 or 3 Weeks in October trough California, Nevada a bit Arizona.

It will be kind of a low budget trip i'll be alone and i plan to sleep sometimes in the car i rent. Can you sugest a class for me? Here in Germany the classes are different and also the US Cars are a bit bigger i think.

is a intermediate SUV class f ok for the trip?

Thank you in Advance

Uwe

mittencuh

I would rent standard SUV. They tend to be of decent size if you're going to be spending a lot of time in the car.

uwe971

Which group would it be? All the cars mentioned as sample are not sold in germany.
F: Ford Escape 320 €
L: Chevolet suburban 809 €
S: Chevolet Traverse 641 €
V: Chevolet town and Country 475 €
W: Chevolet Equinox 473 €
Z: Chevolet Tahoe 736 €



Maybe take V or W?

alphaod

I think you'll be fine with the Ford Escape especially if you're to be driving solo.

mittencuh

If he actually gets an Escape, but the others in that class are generally much smaller/less comfortable.

uwe971

I'll propably rent it in LAX or SFO i think i will try it. Is there any special holiday or season around October th 4th?

Last time i rent a town car in JFK and i hated the car, they completly refused to give me a other car. If i get a car i don't like makes it sence to go to a other station and try to change it without reason? Maybe i like a bigger car and upgrade a bit?

mittencuh

Both of those airports should have a good selection of cars. A good piece of advice is reserve the lowest class you're comfortable with. You could reserve the Escape and then ask for something else if they assign you a smaller SUV like the Kia Sportage. There aren't any holidays around Oct. 4.

sz2628

I would get a V - Town and Country or Dodge Caravan. Since you are going to sleep in the car sometimes, all the back seats will fold completely flat giving you plenty of room.

The F - Ford Escape would be fine if you weren't sleeping in the SUV. You will be much happier with the "V"

alphaod

Right…

Why do you want to sleep in your car OP? That actually be illegal in some jurisdictions just FYI and motels are dirt cheap and plentiful.

And many of the other cars are just not fuel efficient at all, something to consider if going on a budget trip.

IAHtraveler

I would think the Escape is plenty for 1 person to "live in" for a few days. If you're not too tall, you should be ok to sleep in the passenger seat or back (fold the seats down, throw a blanket down for some cushion and grab a pillow). I did this a couple times for a few hours of sleep in my Trailblazer in college on long drives. Not my best sleep but fine for some quick z's before continuing on when on a small budget.

IceTrojan

If it matters, LAX is MUCH more flexible about switching cars, and overall has a bigger lot to pick from.

Honestly I think a minivan would have much more room than a Intermediate SUV (even escape).

Since you're on a small budget you might be willing to gamble... I would suggest reserving an Intermediate, and when you arrive, see if there's a bigger car available in the "Exchange" aisle. You can swap into these cars for no extra cost, and I've seen minivans and SUVs at LAX in this row.

Failing that, you can go to the counter (be sure to sign up for Preferred, which is free but will save you LOTS of time) and see what they'll do. They may give you a swap for free, or they may charge you, but in my experience the upcharge is usually smaller than if you had reserved the larger vehicle outright.

Whatever happens, I don't see a need to reserve the larger vehicle right off the bat (at least at LAX... they almost never run out of cars there, and it's not a heavy travel time in October.)