The first thoughtful decision to make when choosing a rental car is what needs it should cover and what we can aspire to within our spending forecast. For example, if we are going to travel mainly by road and our budget is tight, there is a considerable difference when traveling between choosing a city car (segment A) and a small one (segment B), despite the fact that the monetary difference sometimes it is minimal. To give an example, it is the difference between renting a Fiat 500 and a SEAT Ibiza , which although they may seem like it, are not of the same category. In the Ibiza you travel with more space, comfort and stability, while the Fiat is simply a cheap option for getting around the city, especially.
small cars
- Ideal for 1 or 2 adult passengers
- Up to 2 suitcases
- Use in city
Group A cars are urban cars of less than 4 meters, generally around 3.6 m in length and frequently with three doors and only four seats and a 250 l trunk. If we are going to visit a city without leaving it and our space needs are not great, either because our group of travelers is small (for example, we are going as a couple) or because we do not carry much luggage, ideal for moving around any city. It is a utilitarian car that allows us to move quickly through traffic and park easily . There are regions where this type of vehicle is not very popular, especially in North America and Australia. In this case, we will try to rent the smallest car they offer us, usually compact ones the size of a Volkswagen Golf .
The most common rental cars
- FIAT 500
- Ford Focus
- KIA Picanto
- Mini Cooper
- Volkswagen Polo
small cars
- Ideal for 2 adult passengers
- 2 to 3 suitcases
- Mixed city-highway use
This category belongs to the utility vehicles of around 4 meters, generally with five doors and five seats and about 300 liters of trunk, enough for two or three cabin suitcases. They are cars that still have a practical orientation for easy parking. However, they offer significantly better comfort, trunk and space for two or more passengers in case we are going to use it to move, for example, around an island or between several cities or towns. And the price difference with those in Group A is usually small, sometimes a few euros per day. Ideal for two passengers.
The most common small cars
- Opel Corsa
- SEAT Ibiza
- Volkswagen Polo
- KIA Rio
- Peugeot 208
- Renault Clio
Compact Passenger Cars
- Ideal for 3 adult passengers
- Up to 4 suitcases
- road use
They are cars between 4.2 and 4.5 meters with about 400 liters of trunk space or more, which can sometimes hold up to four suitcases. Therefore, they are passenger cars designed so that even four adults can travel, not comfortably but with enough space, and accommodate their suitcases without having to distribute things around the cabin. They are generally offered with intermediate power engines, mostly gasoline, so they are ideal for going out on the road as they are perfectly solvent. Regarding Group B, the price difference is significant and becomes expensive enough so that you have to have a well-justified need for a larger size. For three passengers it is the right choice.
The most common compacts
- Ford Focus
- Peugeot 3008
- Volkswagen Golf
- KIA Ceed
- SEAT Leon
Medium sedans
- Ideal for 4 adult passengers
- More than 4 suitcases
- road use
If we are going to travel many kilometers between different points of interest and we also require three or four seats to travel with adults , it would be great to have a medium-sized sedan , whose trunk usually accommodates about five large suitcases. It is a category of car that stands out for a good level of performance, a high degree of comfort and low consumption , since in addition to equipping diesel engines as a general rule (at least in Europe), they have better aerodynamics than SUVs. For family use with minors, an SUV is more advisable, especially if they travel with child restraint systems.
SUV and 4×4
- Ideal for 4 passengers with children or elderly people
- 5 or 6 suitcases
- Road use and excursions on unpaved roads
- More expensive than the equivalent sedan
If we are going to visit rural areas and plan to use the rental car off-road, they are an excellent choice . But an additional advantage that rental SUVs provide when we are traveling: they are excellent for families with children or traveling with elders and people with reduced mobility, since we will make their trip much more bearable when getting on and off the car. You can read more about the best cars to go to the beach or the mountains this summer . The price of SUVs, depending on the size, is usually always a little more expensive per day than that of the sedan of equivalent size, so if you are not going to take advantage of these specific advantages provided by its height, we do not recommend opting for your rent.
The most frequent SUV or 4×4 rentals
- Audi Q3
- hyundai tucson
- Jeep Compass
- Mercedes GLC
- SEAT Tarraco
Electric cars
- Ideal for 2 or 3 passengers
- 2 or 3 suitcases
- Use in the city or on the highway with charging well planned in advance
Here comes one of the important doubts that may arise for many travelers when they have the opportunity to rent a car of different categories and the electric one is among their possibilities. Normally, rental companies offer small or compact cars, and occasionally, medium sedans such as the Tesla Model 3 or medium SUVs such as the Jaguar E-Pace. In any of these cases we must try to be practical and be clear about what type of use we are going to give it, because what can be a new experience, simply by trying an electric vehicle for the first time, can become an adventure if we are not familiar with autonomy or the use of chargers in this type of car. So our advice is that you opt for an electric one if you are used to using them or, above all, if you are going to use it on trips where you know that you have charging available easily (or charges at the hotel during the night), especially if It is in the city and its suburbs.
The most frequent electric rentals
- Renault ZOE
- Fiat 500e
- Volkswagen ID.3
- Volkswagen ID.4
- Ford Mustang Mach-e
- Tesla Model 3
What additional services to hire when renting a car?
Generally, when renting a car, they offer us a series of additional services that increase the daily rate to pay. Sometimes we let ourselves be carried away by the fear of something happening to the car, and we hire full coverage, and other times to save a few euros we do not opt for features that could be useful during the trip, such as being able to split the driving between two people if We are going to take long journeys and we don’t want to arrive at the destination more fatigued than the rest.
What insurance coverage to choose with a rental car
The usual thing with a rental car in summer areas is to take road trips, between towns or cities and move through sparsely populated areas, if we are going to do rural tourism, or park in private parking lots when we arrive in a large city, just for the peace of mind that it gives us not to be fined in low-emission zones, restricted access or time restrictions. Therefore, basic insurance that covers simple damage to the car, such as a scrape on the bumper, can often be more than enough. Let’s see when to choose something else.
Basic protection
- No extra cost
- Coverage in case of collision or theft
- Advisable if we are going to use the car on routes with little traffic, in non-dusty areas or stony roads where a stone may fly onto the windshield or where a lot of traffic around us can easily expose us to rubbing against a car for which we have not taken the measurements.
- The deductible is high, around 1000 euros generally, but we will pay for damages up to that amount
Medium Protection
- About 25-30 euros more
- Adds coverage for windows, tires and headlights. As well as driver and passenger.
- Advisable if we are going to drive on highways with high traffic density or at high speed (for example, in Germany) or we are going to go on off-road excursions, where it is easy to puncture a tire
- The excess can be around 300 euros, acceptable in any case if we break a headlight (with that damage we would already reach the maximum in any modern car)
- Driver and passenger insurance may be fine, but if we have travel insurance, we generally already have that coverage contracted for occasional accidents.
Total protection (comprehensive insurance)
- About 30-35 euros more if we take advantage of special offers
- For the difference with the intermediate, it is worth it because we get rid of the franchise completely
- Add personal and luggage insurance to the intermediate, useful in case (hopefully it doesn’t happen) we suffer an accident with material and physical consequences.
- If we are willing to pay extra insurance coverage, all-risk coverage is usually more profitable than intermediate coverage due to the small difference.
When to choose an extra driver
They always charge us additionally for the extra driver because the person behind the wheel is insured. This is only useful if we are going to take long trips in which we want to take turns with another passenger to share the hours of driving. Otherwise, the interesting thing is to agree on a driver for the entire trip and, above all, prevent another person from taking the controls, since they will not be covered by the insurance even if it is comprehensive.
Drivers under 25 years of age
It is the extra that rental companies penalize the most due to the higher accident rate of this type of profile. Therefore, if you are a young group, with all travelers under that age, you will have to pay for one who assumes responsibility and add, approximately, between 50 and 80 additional euros per day for the rental. If, on the other hand, several people with a type B driving license are traveling in the group, make sure that the rental is made in the name of someone over 25, and that it is always the same person driving.
