Full Size at DEN
 

I am Avis first and renting full size at DEN. I have had great luck there with upgrades. Does anyone think there is a chance I would get a car with AWD or any type of SUV?

In December my full size in DEN was a fairly base Malibu with around 250 miles. I asked and was told the prior Malibu Classic was intermediate, but the 09 Malibu is full size. No upgrade as an Avis First member, but they do seem to give First members fairly new cars.

OTOH, a few years back before my company went Avis and I had no status at all other than a preferred account, I got an SUV with heated seats and such on an intermediate res.

It all depends upon what they have available when you get there and how much you can sweet talk the agent.

Also, the 09 Malibu is much bigger than the previous generation... this new one is the same size as the Saturn Aura, which has been classified as full size. So it is no surprise to me that the Malibu is in the same category.

It's strange considering the Aura is on the same platform at the Pontiac G6, which is always a mid-size.

Valid point, I hadn't thought of that (my thinking was that the Aura/Malibu are another fine example of GM's constant badge engineering). According to Edmunds, the trio have the same wheel base & length (within 2 inches) and many other nearly-identical stats, so they should all be the same category (unless that 1 cu ft of trunk space is the deciding factor).

Personally, I think Avis executives throw model names into one hat and sizes into another hat. They pull one from each hat and that decides what category the car falls into. :D

Still not as bad as Thrifty, where a Dodge Charger with cloth seats is a fullsize, but a Chrysler 300 with cloth seats is a Premium car you have to upgrade too...

That's debatable... according to my Avis experience, the Charger has always been a Premium car (unless they've changed it recently). The 300 is a "cool car"/specialty. So you can reserve a premium and get 'upgraded' to a 300 without any options and they think you're better off and should appreciate it :confused: