Intermediate SUV vs Full Size Car - upgrade or downgrade
Feb 17, 2020, 7:29 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 399
Intermediate SUV vs Full Size Car - upgrade or downgrade
@Budget
I booked a Full Size vehicle and when I got to the counter they offered me a Hyudai Tuscon SUV instead of full size. At first I thought it was an upgrade but then I was thinking maybe not. The car was new and I had enjoyed it but it was a pretty basic compact suv (not sure if compact suv is a class in Budget/Avis)
So my question was in terms of car class was I given something equal , an upgrade or a downgrade?
I booked a Full Size vehicle and when I got to the counter they offered me a Hyudai Tuscon SUV instead of full size. At first I thought it was an upgrade but then I was thinking maybe not. The car was new and I had enjoyed it but it was a pretty basic compact suv (not sure if compact suv is a class in Budget/Avis)
So my question was in terms of car class was I given something equal , an upgrade or a downgrade?
Feb 17, 2020, 9:33 pm
#2
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,665
Avis considers the Tucson a Standard SUV, even though if you Google it, the automobile industry considers it a Compact SUV. It's standard practice in the car rental industry to inflate the vehicle classifications. Is a Standard SUV (by Avis' classifiction) equivalent to a Fullsize Car? I guess it depends on your perspective. At the end of the day though, they offered it and you accepted, and you got a new vehicle that you enjoyed driving, so chalk it up to a win. 
Feb 24, 2020, 1:58 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Calgary, AB
Programs: AC SE100k, Marriott Titanium, Accor Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 428
Interesting and I'll follow this too. I've had the same thought in mind when picking up my vehicle with Avis. My firm always books a full-sized car; but more often than not Avis puts us into SUVs. They are generally an intermediate (Nissan Rogue, VW Tiguan, Hyundai Santa Fe, etc.). I'm guessing they think full size car = intermediate SUV. I usually only find intermediate sized vehicles in the Preferred Select & Go anyhow. Once in a while, a full-size SUV or minivan shows up though.
Aug 3, 2021, 9:24 am
#4
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 767
In my experience typically all full-sized cars come with fully loaded consul screens so it's easy to run Apple or Android Car Play. I can guarantee GPS guidance with Google Maps.
The one thing to be very careful of when offered an intermediate SUV is that some of them are lower end models which don't come with screens and drive a bit less refined... and I've been burnt before on those (looking at you Mitsubishi Outlander).
The one thing to be very careful of when offered an intermediate SUV is that some of them are lower end models which don't come with screens and drive a bit less refined... and I've been burnt before on those (looking at you Mitsubishi Outlander).
Aug 4, 2021, 8:08 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 15,195
Yeah if you get one of those "suvs" which are really a crossover then decline...hyundai kona is a good example. Seen some rental locations call that a 'suv' and its more like a midsize car.