Vehicles that surprised you (for better, or worse)

[Oillover]

Recently I was reflecting on a car rental I had last summer.
With the crazy rates and availability, I got stuck with a 2022 Chevy Spark.
It was black, fully loaded and I really wasn't looking forward to the 4 hour each way trip in it (all highway).

Once behind the wheel I was amazed at how comfy it was (for an econobox).
The interior layout of all the controls were easily within reach. The drivers armrest also helped with this.
It handled the high speed curves reasonably well.
The frugal fuel consumption was the icing on the cake.

The only downsides I have were obvious for a car in it's class - no power on the highway for passing and noisy engine.

Aside from those items, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[atikovi]

People have preconceived notions about cars they have never driven based on outdated thinking and internet chatter. 99% of the people who say a Smart car is a bad thing to drive have never driven one.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Most rentals I get are fine, not great and not bad. A few I can think of:

Nissan Juke - rented one, it was a fun economy car. Bought one for the wife soon after.
KIA Soul - not made for tall people, the headrest was unbearable, forced my neck into a weird position. I removed it and put it in the trunk. Still not comfortable and made for a miserable trip.

Ford Flex- drove fine and plenty of space but the interior felt incredibly cheap and outdated. 20k miles and showed a lot of wear too. I know it's a rental but definitely stood out as worse than average. Dash and controls felt 15 years out of date.

 

[Joel_MD]

My 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 was surprisingly bad. I ordered it from the factory so I could get the G56 manual transmission. It was the first year with the new 6.7L Cummins, which had the upgraded pollution control systems plus a water cooled, variable vane turbo with integrated exhaust brake. It was my first diesel, and I was expecting a relatively reliable and trouble-free vehicle.
- Within a few months the clutch started slipping during acceleration. Seemed to be a design flaw, but dealer would not address it. Spent $2K on an aftermarket clutch upgrade.
- Turbocharger had to be replaced under warranty at 30K miles. Cause was high EGT due to the smog nonsense. Spent $1K on new exhaust and new engine tune so I could delete the smog crap without the engine going into limp mode.
- Head gasket failed at 90K miles. Spent $2,500 on head studs and rebuilt the cylinder head.
- Head gasket failed again at 115K miles. Spent $1,500 to have a different shop replace it.
- Rear body panels began rusting through at ten years old.

I liked driving this Ram, but it was ridiculous to have so many problems with a stock engine. I've heard the newer 6.7L Cummins with the DEF system are better.

 

[oggb]

2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Had one as a rental in Seattle and it had great power, handled well, and got over 40mpg.

Hyundai Elantra GT rental. Ride was punishingly stiff and rough for something that wasn't at all a sports car. Loud. Garbage at any price. Surprisingly bad.

 

[Hermann]

A 2008 RAV4 V-6. Fast frugal and comfortable. In that era it was very fast. Did I say fast. Scared the poop out of the late Mrs.

 

[PWMDMD]

Most rentals I get are fine, not great and not bad. A few I can think of:

Nissan Juke - rented one, it was a fun economy car. Bought one for the wife soon after.
KIA Soul - not made for tall people, the headrest was unbearable, forced my neck into a weird position. I removed it and put it in the trunk. Still not comfortable and made for a miserable trip.

Ford Flex- drove fine and plenty of space but the interior felt incredibly cheap and outdated. 20k miles and showed a lot of wear too. I know it's a rental but definitely stood out as worse than average. Dash and controls felt 15 years out of date.

I'm 6'5" and 275lbs and have been driving the Soul all week (17 year old is skiing in Park City). Tons of headroom and space inside and while the seats are a little snug in the lat area I love driving that car. I was going to pick the Soul as I read your comment.

 

[oggb]

A 2008 RAV4 V-6. Fast frugal and comfortable. In that era it was very fast. Did I say fast. Scared the poop out of the late Mrs.

Test drove one and the salesman told me I wouldn't believe how quick it was. He wasn't kidding. It felt every bit as fast as my WRX when it was stock.

 

[99Saturn]

Not really sure I was surprised but drove a 95 ford aspire that a family member “gifted” to my now wife. By far it was not worth the upkeep and I should have just bought a different car sooner. Learned a lot of PM and simple stuff trying to keep it running so silver lining.

Oh and annoying as heck to fill the tank every 200 miles.

Edit: Guess I should add I was driving it in the mid 2010s. Probably paints a more complete picture.

 

[ecotourist]

Rented a car on Kauai. I was very disappointed to be given a Chrysler PT Cruiser. They had a bad reputation. But I really enjoyed driving that car.

Rented a small Ford in Scotland and really liked it. So when the Ford Fiesta came to Canada I was quite excited to get one - my first new car. The power train was fine but the ride was rough and everything broke off (interior door handle, window crank, radio knob, heater controls) and it was unlucky besides. Many body panels were dented, someone shot at the back window (while I was working at an inner city hospital) and dented the lift-back, someone rubbed one end off one of the bumpers in a supermarket parking lot, and someone sat on the hood denting it - all within 2 years. Yikes. What a disappointment. The only thing good about it was that I got a good price for it because it was still so new,

 

[GON]

I rent a lot of cars and generally like all of them.

Kind of a like a new girlfriend, they all are nice in the beginning, until one learns their quirks, which often don't fully show up on the first few dates.

 

[wings&wheels]

My Wife's 2019 Golf R. Yeah, synthetic engine sound and touchy brakes, but the car just feels great and much simpler and basic than it is and on top of that it just fits me well. Smile generating machine and a sleeper at that. Funny, when we took delivery of our new to us 993, my first impression was it reminded me of the Golf R!

 

[Passport1]

Vehicles that surprised you​

A long time ago an aged Pontiac sedan that unexpectedly veered right into me during a Chicago snowstorm and totaled my precious

mine was just like this but copper colored.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Forbetter would be my son's 2016 VW CC. It is solid as a rock, and seems to have more Audi DNA than that of VW. Yes, I know they are the same company, but this car feels like it was designed from the get go as an Audi vs a VW. The headlights are the best, and cruises on the highway like cars that are twice it's size.

 

[Bud_One]

2006 Pontiac Solstice
I worked at a Pontiac dealer in the service dept at the time.
Was so excited for this unique vehicle to be released , I was wanting to buy one as soon as I found out about it.
The sales dept signed me up for the dealer test drive that was coming to Houston Raceway park to test drive it along with the Pontiac Torrent being released .
I drove it pretty much half day and was not impressed at all .... was a total let down.
Ergonomics was terrible , nothing was where it should be , felt like an after thought and it was severely underpowered.
Needless to say , I never bought one.

 

[ArcherDriver]

Toyota Tacoma, circa 2009, V-6 engine, 4 FULL liter powerhouse. Pushing 321,000 miles with no weaknesses evident. Nice boring silver so the fuzz never really see me when I'm speeding.

 

[dishdude]

I had an Encore GX a few weeks ago that really surprised me with how comfortable and roomy it was. The latest Nissans are a huge improvement too, I really like the current Rogue and Altima.

These aren't performance vehicles, just nice daily drivers for commuting.

 

[mrsilv04]

I had a 'last year' 2012 Mitsubishi Galant as a rental. It was horrid. It was tinny, it was cheap in every single way, it was loud.
Never did I realize that a "new" car could be so bad.
It was well beyond its prime, Mitsu had been building it way longer than they ever should have.

And a bad one that I knew better and didn't have to suffer with... I had reserved an SUV... and National tried to put me in a Dodge Journey.
I said "no" right away. I refused to sign the paperwork or touch the keys. Ended up with a GMC Acadia Denali.

 

[4WD]

I request the AWD Ford Focus with winter tires for 4 week rentals …
And if they have a Titanium with the 4T (instead of 3 cyl) - really like them …

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I'm 6'5" and 275lbs and have been driving the Soul all week (17 year old is skiing in Park City). Tons of headroom and space inside and while the seats are a little snug in the lat area I love driving that car. I was going to pick the Soul as I read your comment.

I rented one years ago, 5-7 years? I never wanted another. They must be better now.

I should have mentioned, I rented some random Kia something car in Cancun. It was just fine for the area. The Yucatan is "flat as a tortilla" and speed limits are pretty low. We drove all over the peninsula. Low powered manual but got great MPG or Km/lit. Or whatever. A powerful car would be a total waste there. Different world for sure. I would have hated it in California but was great there.