Consolidated "Renting at LHR; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread
Jan 21, 2017, 7:18 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
Consolidated "Renting at LHR; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread
Two decent upgrades recently.
LHR
PC
Compact( C)
Received (W) - X-Trail (Rogue) 4WD 7 seater Tekna, fully loaded with leather, heated seats, nav, cameras all round.
LHR
PC
Economy (B)
Received (D) - Octavia 1.4 SE Turbo (148 bhp).
LHR
PC
Compact( C)
Received (W) - X-Trail (Rogue) 4WD 7 seater Tekna, fully loaded with leather, heated seats, nav, cameras all round.
LHR
PC
Economy (B)
Received (D) - Octavia 1.4 SE Turbo (148 bhp).
Mar 30, 2017, 6:06 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
LHR
PC
Reserved Compact C
Received I2 Skoda Octavia SE estate auto.
1.4 turbo petrol, decent fuel economy, must have been old stock as it wasn't the later "SE Business" or "SE Technology" special edition - so no nav, cruise, remote control stereo, etc. Still a nice car though.
PC
Reserved Compact C
Received I2 Skoda Octavia SE estate auto.
1.4 turbo petrol, decent fuel economy, must have been old stock as it wasn't the later "SE Business" or "SE Technology" special edition - so no nav, cruise, remote control stereo, etc. Still a nice car though.
Apr 9, 2017, 11:50 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: Hertz Presidents Circle; SPG Lifetime Platinum; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 658
LHR
PC
Reserved: C (Focus - though they've got v few of these on fleet at present, if you book a C you are more likely to get a Captur or a Mokka x - both fairly unpleasant cars!)
Received: XTrail DCi Auto in Tekna trim. (Class V according to the fob).
Although LHR was quite well stocked with cars, this literally all they could allocate to me without charging an upgrade fee, apparently. The Auto is a CVT and ruins it. Tekna trim is dripping with electronic features, including an annoying chime every time you cross a white line even to overtake. (No doubt you can turn it off, I have not had the chance to investigate how to do so yet).
PC
Reserved: C (Focus - though they've got v few of these on fleet at present, if you book a C you are more likely to get a Captur or a Mokka x - both fairly unpleasant cars!)
Received: XTrail DCi Auto in Tekna trim. (Class V according to the fob).
Although LHR was quite well stocked with cars, this literally all they could allocate to me without charging an upgrade fee, apparently. The Auto is a CVT and ruins it. Tekna trim is dripping with electronic features, including an annoying chime every time you cross a white line even to overtake. (No doubt you can turn it off, I have not had the chance to investigate how to do so yet).
Apr 19, 2017, 6:49 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
LHR
PC
Reserved: Mini (A) - Kia Picanto or similar
Received: Toyota C-HR (C) - very distinctive styling and well equipped with a backup camera and radar cruise control. Only a one-day rental but very happy with that upgrade.
PC
Reserved: Mini (A) - Kia Picanto or similar
Received: Toyota C-HR (C) - very distinctive styling and well equipped with a backup camera and radar cruise control. Only a one-day rental but very happy with that upgrade.
Apr 20, 2017, 12:31 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: Hertz Presidents Circle; SPG Lifetime Platinum; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 658
Assume they've only just got those. I might have to try one - even though I think it looks utterly hideous and I would not want to inflict the rear seats on anyone in daylight, as that is the one thing that people sitting there won't get any of!
Apr 23, 2017, 1:52 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
LHR
PC
Reserved: Intermediate (D) - Skoda Octavia or similar
Received: Nissan X-Trail - loaded, 4WD, badged (somehow) as an X-TRIAL...
PC
Reserved: Intermediate (D) - Skoda Octavia or similar
Received: Nissan X-Trail - loaded, 4WD, badged (somehow) as an X-TRIAL...
May 22, 2017, 4:03 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
LHR
PC
Reserved: C
Received: K - Mitsubishi ASX - swapped for a Renault Kadjar Signature. Ended up being a 1.2 petrol SUV (130 hp) with a dreadful eco mode, completely ineffective air conditioning, not quite 40 mpg (UK), undeclared damage (that I thankfully wasn't charged for) and a strong smell of weed. Despite only 6k miles, one of the nastiest cars Hertz has given me - even though the Kadjar itself isn't bad, especially not with the 1.6 litre diesel engine.
PC
Reserved: C
Received: K - Mitsubishi ASX - swapped for a Renault Kadjar Signature. Ended up being a 1.2 petrol SUV (130 hp) with a dreadful eco mode, completely ineffective air conditioning, not quite 40 mpg (UK), undeclared damage (that I thankfully wasn't charged for) and a strong smell of weed. Despite only 6k miles, one of the nastiest cars Hertz has given me - even though the Kadjar itself isn't bad, especially not with the 1.6 litre diesel engine.
Aug 29, 2017, 9:22 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
LHR
Booked C - Renault Captur (used to be Focus)
Received D - Skoda Octavia. Only a 1.0 engine, but surprisingly quick (though not fast), and absolutely bog basic (no cruise or steering wheel controls for the stereo, no parking sensors, auto lights, or even power rear windows) but an amazing CarPlay installation. Great car, just needs a little more equipment.
Booked C - Renault Captur (used to be Focus)
Received D - Skoda Octavia. Only a 1.0 engine, but surprisingly quick (though not fast), and absolutely bog basic (no cruise or steering wheel controls for the stereo, no parking sensors, auto lights, or even power rear windows) but an amazing CarPlay installation. Great car, just needs a little more equipment.
Sep 8, 2017, 4:02 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
LHR
Booked B - Vauxhall Corsa
Received C - Ford Focus 1.0 ecoboost.
67 plate so less than a week old, with 355 miles on the clock... and quite a lot of damage to the front LH corner. It's a Focus: CarPlay is OK, DAB digital radio is awful and basically doesn't work, handling and ride are excellent, fuel economy less so.
Equipment is meager: favorite part is the driver's window that you have to hold the switch to close all the way...
Booked B - Vauxhall Corsa
Received C - Ford Focus 1.0 ecoboost.
67 plate so less than a week old, with 355 miles on the clock... and quite a lot of damage to the front LH corner. It's a Focus: CarPlay is OK, DAB digital radio is awful and basically doesn't work, handling and ride are excellent, fuel economy less so.
Equipment is meager: favorite part is the driver's window that you have to hold the switch to close all the way...
Sep 18, 2017, 4:59 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,198
LHR
PC
Booked B - Vauxhall Corsa
Received K - Mitsubishi ASX 1.6d '4' 4WD
4 is a trim level, not indicating that it has AWD. Loaded with leather, panoramic roof, backup camera, nav, etc. but still feels like an old and cheap car with lots of Pep Boys add ons. Decent handling, and the engine was OK, but not nearly the same quality as the class leaders.
Great upgrade (B to K is at least two classes) but I would have much rather had the Civic or Astra next to it.
PC
Booked B - Vauxhall Corsa
Received K - Mitsubishi ASX 1.6d '4' 4WD
4 is a trim level, not indicating that it has AWD. Loaded with leather, panoramic roof, backup camera, nav, etc. but still feels like an old and cheap car with lots of Pep Boys add ons. Decent handling, and the engine was OK, but not nearly the same quality as the class leaders.
Great upgrade (B to K is at least two classes) but I would have much rather had the Civic or Astra next to it.
Sep 29, 2017, 9:53 pm
#14
Join Date: Oct 2012
Programs: Dynasty Frequent Flyer (Elite Plus),Accor Platinum
Posts: 1,866
LHR
Booked: X class, Ford Mondeo
Offered: Scoda sedan? it didnt look that big though and supposingly X class.
Received: Nissian X trail
Was a bit dissapointed with the expereince In LHR. Shuttle pick up was great. But was thinking scoda was C or D group. Asked the agent outside the main office In the gold rewards office. She said huge demand so no upgrade and that was all could be offered. I asked I could pay to upgrade to an even higher level if available. Still said no availability. Plus she mentioned as I had booked manual car they could not upgrade me to automatic car. After asking her to check a 4/5 times (she mentioned they Had 1 C class merc but it was just booked for later that afternoon.
Then finially She Offered an X trail. We took it as atleast some kind of upgrade. Interesting How it magically came up after pushing.
Booked: X class, Ford Mondeo
Offered: Scoda sedan? it didnt look that big though and supposingly X class.
Received: Nissian X trail
Was a bit dissapointed with the expereince In LHR. Shuttle pick up was great. But was thinking scoda was C or D group. Asked the agent outside the main office In the gold rewards office. She said huge demand so no upgrade and that was all could be offered. I asked I could pay to upgrade to an even higher level if available. Still said no availability. Plus she mentioned as I had booked manual car they could not upgrade me to automatic car. After asking her to check a 4/5 times (she mentioned they Had 1 C class merc but it was just booked for later that afternoon.
Then finially She Offered an X trail. We took it as atleast some kind of upgrade. Interesting How it magically came up after pushing.
Last edited by tris06; Oct 3, 2017 at 3:44 pm