Consolidated "Renting at LAX; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread
 

Will be flying to LAX in may and as its my first time in the US, I went "big" with my rental - group FFAR, Armada or similar. What seems to be the most common car in this group? If its Armada, have the started to switch to the new 2017 Armadas, as the last generation is really outdated?

Hi, I am going to rent a car at LAX. Have booked an 4runner (L) but don´t really want the 4runner just an car in the same category and size! Like Ford Edge or Grand Cherokee! Because I am not sure how the 4runner is to drive on the highway. We are 2 adults and two kids and we are going to drive around for 2 weeks and I want an safe and comfortable car. What is your advice? Stay with the L category or change?

SUV
 

Ordered a car from this group last year in Toronto and got a very nice Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited.

Has anyone rented from 4WD/AWD Large SUV (T, FFAR) this year, im curious what Im most likely to get from LAX this month. I would not want the 2016 Nissan Armada, or Ford Expeditoin, but the 2017 Armada and Chevrolet Yukon look good.

Last time I was at LAX (A few weeks ago), they had a few new 2017 Armada. There were plenty of Expeditions and a smattering of Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Toyota Sequoia. They bought few GM vehicles for most of 2016, so if you get a GM product, it will likely be fairly new. I think they had a good few Expeditions to fill the GM gap. l don't recall seeing any of the old shape Armada there, but there were plenty on fleet, so I would not get on there being none left.

Hi I have booked "5 Passenger Standard SUV (Group L) SFAR
(L) Toyota 4Runner or similar" from Los Angeles airport and dropping off in San Diego - any ideas on what we will get? Thank you

Now in LA, so a first update from there.

All the new cars on fleet that I recorded seeing at PHX a few days are here, too.

The first of the Range-Rover Evoques and L-R Discovery Sport cars have just been plated up, and I could see a long line at the off-site facility ready to enter the fleet.

They've also had a significant number of 2017 Elantra. (There are lot of all Hyundai models on fleet here and at PHX).

Also spotted the first of the new goofy looking Prius - class E6, as before.

Work was going on all day with new signage getting ready for Ultimate Choice which launches at LAX this coming week.

So this Ultimate choice means that you can just pick any free car on the spot in that class you have reserved?

The way it is supposed to work is you book Midsize/Inter or larger. And then will go to your assigned area. PC, 5* or Golf or 'regular'.

Consolidated "Renting at LAX; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread
 

Just booked a Toyota 4runner or similar (sfar) at LAX 1st of june.
What are my chances to get that exact car?
4runner would be really nice because of V6 and rwd, when those other cars in that class are mostly fwd.

If there are no 4runners available is it possible to "downgrade" and have a Camry or other sedan instead?

Not sure as that will be Ultimate Choice location.

Except that, with an SUV reservation, you'll be assigned a particular car, not just an Ultimate Choice hunting license.

Unless the fleet changes dramatically between now and 1st June, I would say the chances of you getting a 4Runner are almost zero. I've seen precisely 1 at LAX on three visits there. They have very few Toyota models on fleet at present apart from some elderly Yaris and Camry. There are handful of other Toyotas but for now at least it is a far cry from the days when it was hard not to get a Toyota.

Most numerous L Group car (or more likely the FWD models) I would say is the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. There are also some brand new Edges, a few Journeys and after that, it is odd examples of other things from the main list - though note that there are currently no Equinox or Terrains around.

If you go smaller SUV, then the Nissan Rogue is by far the most abundant - there is a large supply of 2017s on fleet here (and in PHX).

For the LA area if it makes a difference, are the only convertibles available still mustang or camaro?

Consolidated "Renting at LAX; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread
 

Just arrived at LAX today and went straight to the Ultimate Choice areas. First, let me say that each section was huge. It took me 20 minutes to peruse the lot once. I kept wandering after I chose my car to see what else was available. Was there anything special to celebrate its recent launch?

Nope. In Gold, 5 Star and President's Circle, there was the same selection of Altimas, Cruzes, Sonatas, Camrys, Rogues, Optimas, Corollas, Jettas and Elantras to choose from.

A few interesting finds:
Everyone seemed to gravitate toward the Passats (I counted 6 of them, all quickly taken)
5 Star had an Altima with a trunk that was poorly repaired after an accident. There was one 2017 Fusion (Hybrid SE) that a lady quickly ran to.
Gold had some Buick Veranos and one Regal.
President's Circle had one Infiniti Q50 hidden at the end of the aisle. For everyone else it was a premium upgrade (as was a Cadillac XTS). In addition, President's Circle had a bit more variety in each class. There were more SUV's (Sportage, Santa Fe Sport, Pathfinder, Tucson) and Full Size (Malibu). But nothing really special, besides that lone Q50. If I was PC, that Q50 would've been mine in a heartbeat.
In the non-member midsize section, there were several RAV4's, in addition to plenty of full size cars. The full size car section had, you guessed it, full sized cars. So there was little reason to pay the full size rate if you could upgrade in the mid size section (I reserved intermediate). The Compact section had Rios, Accents, Souls, Focuses, the typical stuff.

I was about to grab the Regal from the Gold section when a lot attendant pulled up a freshly washed 2016 Nissan Maxima with 36K miles to the Full Size section. I stood in front of the Maxima and took it as soon as he got out of the driver's seat. So far, no problems. A few minutes later, a Dodge Charger pulled up to the Full Size area.

Hertz Ultimate Choice at LAX seems to be a bit of a disappointment. It's like Gold Choice on steroids, where instead of choosing between 5 Altimas, you can choose between 50. And there's very little that's special for the upper tiers.