Getting a downgrade to a lousy diesel in London
 

I rented from Hertz in London in Dec and instead of getting a nice, ordinary Mondeo, they said they'd upgraded me and then stuck me with a diesel. When I objected, they said it wasn't that different and that they didn't have another car I could have! (Err, like, what I'd actually paid for, for example!)

Well, I wish I'd pushed it more. This was the worst rental car I've ever had: The rotten thing had almost no guts at all under 2000 RPM and must have the worst engine management system ever. I stalled it more times than I've stalled all other cars I've ever driven put together! And the 6-speed gearbox had reverse next to first, with no special action at all required to put it in reverse, so it was almost impossible to tell whether you were in first or reverse.... a real advantage at traffic lights!

I don't know why Hertz bought any of these crappy things, but if they paid more than the scrap metal value, they were ripped off, as are we when we get forced to drive one.

Nothing wrong with diesels. They sound a little like a tractor ... but they go just fine. And they are way better in terms of acceleration than they used to be. I've had diesels in DUB, LIS ... and, I think LHR, where I got a BMW 520 diesel -- drove like a dream! Given the cost of petrol in the UK, diesel is cheaper too! If you're not used to driving a manual (stick shift) I can imagine it might be somewhat disconcerting. Better luck next time!

I'm certainly used to driving manuals. I've never owned an automatic. I've driven manual cars for over 20 years.... But never one that requires 2000+ RPMs or it'll stall. FWIW, my own car will start (slowly) on a flat surface with no application of the accelerator at all.

I was over in Perth just recently and borrowed a friend's clapped out old Daewoo, and it was a much better car to drive than the Mondeo: It didn't stall easily and it had an interlock to prevent reverse being selected accidentally.

IMHO, the lack of distinction between reverse and 1st and the need for massive revs to avoid stalling make the diesel Mondeo downright dangerous as a rental car. (It could be that the petrol Mondeo would have the gear selection problem too, but I haven't driven one recently.)

No doubt those who've got used to its extremely poor design will be fine after a while. Every other manual car I've ever driven, you get first by pushing the stick to the far left, then up. With the Mondeo, that gets you reverse instead. Insane. I got used to finding 2nd when stationary and then pushing straight forwards to find first, but this sort of change of driving is completely unacceptable on a rental.

I think either you may have just got a bad car or you're just not used to the characteristics of a diesel engine. In fact, diesels are known for their superior torque lower down the rev range and the subsequent lack of effort required on the driver's part to stir the gear box in order to make things happen. Granted, diesel engines were vastly inferior to petrol engines of the same displacement twenty years ago, but the technology has improved to the point where the 3 litre BMW diesel engine is considered to be on a par with the company's 3 litre petrol engine from a driver's perspective. It offers similar figures in both acceleration and top speed in mainstream marques while maintaining it's traditional efficency advantage over petrol. VW and Mercedes also offer some sterling examples of what can be done with diesel technology.

I suggest you try driving some other diesels before tarring all cars with a 'D' on the badge with the same brush.

It is possible it was just a bad car. It is also possible that all the cars you're talking about (Merc, BMW, etc) do it better. After all, it was only a Ford.

Of course I'm not used to a diesel engine. Neither are 99.9% of drivers outside Europe. Hence it makes it really stupid for Hertz to force one upon someone who doesn't want it.

I am convinced by your reports that you had a very bad car, sounds like a problem with the ECM.

The whole point of diesels is that you do NOT have to rev them.

I drive a Mercedes with a large petrol engine & a 5 speed auto as my daily car, but when I rent from Hertz in Italy I insist on a diesel, much wider torque band so gearchanging is not needed anywhere near as much as in a petrol engined model.

As Hertz Italy seems insistent on giving me a completely different car each time I rent, I have to tell you that reverse gear position is NOT consistent by any means. Sometimes you have to pull up a collar around the gear shift, other times you have to push the gearshift down. Let alone the actual position of the reverse gear.

Keep the faith..............keep flying

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I had the same issues Kremmen had with an Avis Mondeo diesel last year. Those cars suffer from an uncooperative clutch and an engine which refuses to do any work when the turbocharger isn't spooled up http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

Once underway though, the Mondeo diesel handles well and has plenty of torque. Wearing thin-soled shoes helps mastering that clutch.