AWD/4WD SUV from Avis
 

I plan to rent a car from Avis NY JFK in early Jan. I am trying to get a AWD/4WD for the possible snow. I have contacted Avis and been told the only way to get such a car is by going for the Elite SUV...

Does anyone have experiences with the Intermediate and Standard SUVs? Are any of then 4WD/AWD or is there any way to secure one?

Don't buy the "elite SUVs have AWD/4WD", it's a crappy upsell try and a lie by Avis. Some in each category will be 2WD/AWD/4WD but there's no way to be sure before you get there. Reserving something bigger won't guarantee anything but might give you more bargaining power when you show up.

Thanks. What I find confusing is that the standard SUV is slightly cheaper than the intermediate SUV... I thought intermediate was smaller and should be cheaper...?

And even more confusing is that both standard SUV and intermediate are more expensive than the luxury class.

If it wasn't for winter I would go that that in a minute but I really do not want to end up with a RWD car in snow...

Almost all SUV's in the Northeast have 4WD.
Almost all non-SUV's are Front Wheel Drive... a few exceptions of course.
Chances of getting a RWD car in NYC is incredibly slim.

Thanks!

The reason they say this is because the Yukon XL, Expeditions, and Suburbans all come in 4X4.

It's an option, but not standard.

The Intermediate SUV class is actually a pretty good bet, because it includes two Subarus (Outback and Forester) that only come in AWD. I've seen a lot of Outbacks in various Select-and-Go sections, and if you call ahead 24 hours and request a Subaru, you've got a pretty good shot.

Most of the other SUVs come in both 2WD and AWD configurations, so if you get an Escape, Compass, or whatever, you'll want to check the configuration. My experience is that it's usually obvious on the vehicle itself, but the agent in the booth will have no idea how your assigned vehicle is configured (it's in their system, but hidden way down deep).

Same experience here. One quick way to tell is to look at the keys if the agent has the keys but the cars are out in a lot. The model name will typically (but not always) be followed by a 4 if it's a 4x4/AWD.