ClubCJ - The CJ Lancer Club

Howdy all,

Sent back a customer survey regarding a hire car I had for a week recently up in North Queensland. I`m not looking for sympathy but simply relaying a fact that rental companies are a law unto themselves. I wrote this in the comments space..........


"We booked a "large car" online (Ford Falcon XR6 or similar) and received a VW Jetta that would not let my 14 yld son sit in the rear seats comfortably.

As I own a Ford Falcon (recently sold) myself and am very familiar with driving such a car all over Queensland, this small car was not acceptable for my family.

The road noise was also an issue (tyres??.....lack of soundproofing??) with the Jetta being noisier than our recently purchased Mitsubishi Lancer (new) which is not the quietest car in the world but stood out over the Jetta in all but interior refinement.

When I queried your Townsville employee regarding the car size, he answered that the Jetta was classed as a large car because of its boot size. If this is the way that your company now justifies smaller cars being called larger cars then I will be looking at other rental companies in the future.

For your records, I am a small business owner who flies around the country approx. once a month and uses rental cars 100% of the time."


It was a piece of crap but I reckon I was nice about it.

Cheers
Mick

I wouldnt classify it as a car period... rental places are dodgy as

Jetta is not a large car. Passat yes. Not a Jetta - it is a Golf sedan.

I've never really rented alot of cars, but I do recall reading somewhere that car storage capacity as well as number of passengers are determining factors with regards to the size of the car.

They do classify small, medium, large by the number of luggages and people the car can fit. For most cars of Jetta size, it would not be a large car. However the problem lies with Jetta does in fact has a boot size that is very large for it's size, thus there lies the issue with the rental company classification.

definitely not a large car,...... who are they kidding!

i read somewhere that the toyota prius is classed as mid sized car while the lancer is still classed as a small car, despite the fact the cj lancer is bigger. who determines these things...

I think the Lancer is a 'light' car, and the Colt would be a 'small' car. Of course, the lines blur, but the new Lancer is definitely far roomier than most 'small' cars.

Regarding the Jetta, would you say it was as big as or bigger than the Lancer? I was in a really nice Lexus the other day as a rear passenger and it was one of the most uncomfortable rides I've had, head touching the roof basically.

Regarding the Jetta, would you say it was as big as or bigger than the Lancer?

I would say that the Lancer has more room but less luggage space than the Jetta so that puts the Jetta at a disadvantage in my book because of rear seat comfort. (I did sit in both to compare)

Lancer is now classified as mid-size by most rental companies, often coming above Corolla/Elantra. I think that's about accurate because the interior is pretty spacious.

I rented an FG XR6 "or similar" when I was up in Brisbane and much to my initial dismay, I got an XT. Forgot all about it when I drove it, I am rarely this impressed with a base model!

The Jetta is the same size as the Lancer, withing a inch or so is almost every dimension.

I would class it as a medium sized car, the same as the Lancer.

The Jetta's boot is a lot bigger than our Lancer's though. Easily. It is very long. From the outside you wouldn't know however.

As for road noise, it is on par with my Lancer (MY08, no extra deadening) but the tyres do have a lot to do with it. The standard Continentals are very chunky and noisy.

The rear seat is definitely comfortable enough for 3 passengers for long trips, we'v done it with no complaints. However, of course, a Commodore/Falcon would be more comfortable, but they are in the next size category, LARGE.

I have a great deal of experience with the Jetta, as my parents have owned one since they came out in late 2006.

Hope that helps