A couple of weeks ago I was in Denver and needed to rent a vehicle for a few days. I was fully expecting the usual bottom-of-the-barrel stuff: Chevy Cobalt, Dodge Caliber, etc. Yet somehow I ended up with a choice of either a Subaru Impreza hatchback or a Kia Forte. Score! I went with the Forte since I hadn't yet driven one.
Car: 2010 Kia Forte EX sedan with 1,600 miles
Location: Denver, CO -- Airport branch.
Fleet: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Rental Car Pros: Big trunk (14.7 cubic feet; I could fit a large and medium suitcase side-by-side). Auxiliary audio and USB jacks. Bluetooth phone connectivity. Roomy back seat. Crisp, full nighttime illumination. Enough interior storage for all our stuff.
Rental Car Cons: Base 2.0-liter engine and tall-geared four-speed automatic transmission combined with Denver's high altitude made acceleration a bit pokey. My 30GB iPod wouldn't interface properly through the USB jack. Green "eco" gauge-cluster light gets annoying.
Overall experience: We had good things to say about the Forte SX in our test drive and comparison test, and the cheaper EX fared well here, too. The four-speed auto was a bummer, but for a rental car it was certainly adequate. Overall, this was the best small rental car I've driven in a long time.
Anybody else rent a car over his or her Christmas break that they'd like to comment on?
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
By greenpony
on January 1, 2010
11:40 AM
Rented a Hyundai Accent while my car was in the shop for a few days. Learned the "eco" gauge was defeatable. Defeated it. Could not figure out how to defeat the annoying seatbelt chime.
By tlcruz
on January 5, 2010
03:41 PM
we had a 2010 toyota camry le with 6700 miles on it when we arrived at lax the sunday before christmas. i work for a toyota/scion/bmw/lexus dealership and i know that camry's do very well. we originally had wanted a dodge challenger since we had rented one last year when visiting friends/family in AZ/CA but the rental car company had sold all their dodge vehicles in their fleet. the camry provided us with what we needed, comfort and a little bit of speed when we needed it. overall, it was a good choice!