Avis fleet in UK?
 

I’ve got a 10-day rental coming up at Heathrow Terminal 3. Booked an economy (VW Polo or similar) vehicle, but I have preferred plus status. What can I realistically expect?

Probably a 3008 or an Arona (Groups D and E). If you're lucky, perhaps a Golf/Audi A3, or even an A-class?

I'd suggest asking at the counter upon collection - nothing lost if you're interested in something else and they say no.

I appreciate the response. Yuck. Definitely don't want an SUV. Does Avis in the UK give a selection in the app prior to pickup? It did for me in the U.S. the night prior, although I ended up sticking with the car they eventually assigned to me.

In 2019 I ended up picking up a Golf GTD wagon for the price of an economy car from Stansted (no status at that time, just a lot of excitement upon seeing one and the manager was all too happy to oblige). Ah, good times...

Had the chance to check in again recently and I think the upgrade will most likely be the Golf/A3 instead. Probably also depends on whether you've rented a manual or an automatic.

Unfortunately they don't seem to provide that app selection option in the UK (or at least I don't think they do) - I've been renting a while now as Avis Preferred, they've always just processed my rentals and assigned cars to me prior to collection.

Some anecdotal info as I have just rented a Mercedes in group K twice in the past month, how it went down both times:

Round 1: Automatically assigned a CLA coupe (it is apparently sort-of-an-upgrade), but had to carry 3 in the back, so was given a C-class estate.
Round 2: Was told they were out of C-classes at that rental location, and was given the option of an A-class, VW Arteon, or an Audi A4. Was also told that Heathrow had lots of C-class estates, but they tend to be reserved for Americans (why this was specifically quoted, I don't know!).

My best advice I can give you is to ask (politely, of course)!

Yeah, definitely going to have a chat with Avis upon arrival. They assigned me a Peugeot 208 VTi automatic (I didn’t ask for an auto) in the app. They’re calling it a “compact”, as well, which, if I know my cars, is a bit of an exaggeration. A Golf is a compact. A supermini isn’t.

No such luck. A 208 it is. They first insisted it was an upgrade from the Polo (I guess it was an upgrade from the ONE Polo they had on the lot, which was a 5-speed and basic as basic gets), then said it was in the same class as Polo, Citroen C3 and Opel Corsa (it’s basically the same car as the Corsa anyways) and they had no upgrades. Whatever. At least it turned out to be a manual and has CarPlay. Not totally crap to drive, either, although it feels like a toy.

Are rental companies in Europe buying used cars like they are in the US? If so, might that explain some of the option packages and types of cars you're seeing and complaining about?

I have literally zero issues with the package(s) on this thing. It’s pretty loaded as it turns out. It took me ages to find the cruise control stalk, though - when the steering wheel points straight, it obscures it entirely. It’s a 2021, with about 26k miles, so not brand new. Doubt it’s an ex-personal car, but definitely up there in "experience" (if not age). Their fleet looked pretty new and very generic, though, so I’m guessing the answer to your question is “no”.

The Audi I mentioned previously was a used car purchased from one of the larger used car aggregators by Avis, but today at Bham airport they all looked like fleet cars, so I think it depends on branch.

What did you get in the end, if i may ask? (I have similar question, but for Manchester airport)

You obviously didn't read past the OPs first post ;)

The Peugeot 208 he ended up with is mentioned a number of times in the thread...

What group car did your contract say you were driving?

This was your error: booking a Small car and expecting an upgrade. If you had booked a Mid-size car, you'd have been much more likely to be upgraded from there. The price difference, depending on the model, can be as low as £20 more on a five-day rental already costing £350+.

"B".

I didn't "expect" an upgrade at all and a midsize was a LOT more than a £20 upcharge (and our rental overall was not £350+; we ended up paying just under £285). It would have been nice to get a Golf, but we were OK with what we ended up with.