Had a priceline reservation for my dad in ALB for a midsized. I knew that I was going to get Hertz based on prior experience. Hertz.com said midsized was Mazda 626 or similar. I thought that was fine. Hertz told my dad that he was getting corolla and it was a midsized.

Maybe a corolla is as nice as a 626 but certainly not as big. And corolla EPA rating is certainly not midsize. I think it has only recently entered compact. I didn't opt for full sized because i figured that would mean taurus and who wants that. Not the end of the world, but I the question the legitimacy of a midsize corolla.

No way is a corolla mid sized. I've rented them before on occasion and they are definitely compact.

Remember Hertz calls a Cavalier mid-sized so I think a Corolla is probably special mid-sized....

Hopefully, you got a good deal on Priceline so that it all evens out...

I guess so, but is annoys me that I paid $4 X 3 days extra specifically to have a larger car. That was my dads rental. My rental was exacly one hour earlier and was a compact. I ended up with a taurus with neverlost. So I guess it evened out. I just feel that if they don't have what you ordered, you should be upgraded to whatever they do have, not told that this is a midsize.

The lesson I have learned with car rentals, at least between compact and midsize is to just pay less. you are going to get whatever car they have anyways, so why pay extra.

Well that's just downright dishonest. I think I could win that lawsuit with my eyes closed. That's considering I'm only halfway through law school.



[This message has been edited by hindukid (edited Dec 13, 2003).]

Oh yes a Corolla is a midsize in the minds of Hertz. I've had that discussion with the counter in several locations.

A couple of years ago Hertz started calling a lot of what I would consider a compact a midsize, and some that I would call a midsize a full size.

Rather than fight it I moved my business elsewhere. I don't know if they have backed off on it lately, as when I have to rent from Hertz because other companies are sold out I tend to get the Taurus as a full size which is what they used to call a full size.

I tend to have better luck with National because of the Emerald Isle, where you can pick what you want to drive. I've also been lucky with Avis getting much nicer newer cars than I ever did at Hertz.

I have business associates who rave over the great service they get with Hertz, but before I stopped using them more often than not there was a problem with the rental, usually the car wasn't full of gas, or reeked of smoke when I request non-smoking cars (Hertz tells me they can't guarantee a non smoking car).

If someone wants to try a class action on this, I'd be happy to sign. I've rented a couple Corolla "midsize" this year, and have had several Cavalier attempts which at times have gotten quite heated.


[This message has been edited by channa (edited Dec 14, 2003).]

I rent from Houston IAH every week. This week I was told by the evening manager that the Mazda 6 has been phased out and is being replaced by the Corolla.

The Department of Energy classifies the Corolla as a Compact at 90 cubic feet of interior volume (21 cubic feet less than the 6):

FuelEconomy.Gov - Corolla

Cavalier is also compact at 92 cubic feet.

FuelEconomy.Gov - Cavalier

Also, if you look at the crash tests results, the Cavalier scored very badly in the side impact tests.

[This message has been edited by Tummy (edited Dec 15, 2003).]

In the midsize lottery, I'm of the opinion that the Corolla is a winning ticket. Using Hertz's definition of midsize, your dad could have been dumped in a Kia Optima, Chevrolet Malibu or as previously mentioned, the dreaded Cavalier. Sure, a Mazda 6 would have been nicer, but your dad could have done a lot worse.




[This message has been edited by snorkmaster (edited Dec 17, 2003).]