The year 2018 marked the first time I made heavy use of rental cars. Having only rented once years ago, and used Zipcar back in college. They were all interesting in their own ways too.
The National site said that this class "Premium" would mean a car "like a Nissan Maxima". Lo and behold, the first car I got, was indeed a Nissan Maxima.
Was not a fan of the CVT, but it was never left wanting for power. If it was slow I didn't notice because that naturally aspirated V6 made me smile too much to notice.
I also have to admit that I always liked the look of them.
This car has a color that's a bit too outgoing for my personality. And it had an engine that was a bit too weak considering it was a yellow muscle car.... It sounded good, I have always been a fan of 6 Cyl. engines. It just felt like it was in need of more torque. And less weight. And less yellow....
Having said that, the transmission was really good. When you hit it, it knew what do to. And it definitely worked to make it happen.
The car was far from bad, it just wasn't as fast as I was expecting I guess. And it felt big. The Camaro further down felt big too, but it had the engine to compensate for that. This Challenger did not.
This thing was a GoKart. Which is to say it was decent off the line and at slow speeds, but it was clearly lacking the power to pass a vehicle on a 2 lane road. Unless you had alot of empty road..... Ask me how I know that one.....
Having just knocked it, it did "Car" well enough. And it got me to and from the beach for a wedding in one piece so I can't complain.
I'll be honest, when the guy at the Rental counter said I could rent a Mercedes, it took everything I had to hold in my smile until I was out of the rental office. Because this was full of firsts.
My first luxury car. My first AWD car (Having learned how to drive on 4WD body on frame SUV's). My first Mercedes. My first Turbo 4. So yeah, I really liked it.
It even did this thing where when you locked it, the side mirrors would fold in automatically! I know, it's the smallest thing, but it made me smile. As did the handling, because on the trip to and from, and then back to and from western PA to pick up and drop off a roommates niece, it handled it perfectly. There was a major rainstorm that I drove us through, and it felt incredibly composed.
Not sure if that was because it's German (Autobahn ready), or the AWD, but it was very confidence inspiring. It also was fast enough to do whatever I asked of it. It's a German luxury car, so I don't know if I'd get one used if I could afford it, but I can definitely see the appeal!
Up until this point, this was the fastest car I'd ever driven. My first RWD car. And it was my first experience with a Mustang. In this case, the EcoBoost.
This one took me to a wedding in DE. And while getting there, I definitely accidentally got the tail out a bit taking a turn..... I held it when I backed off the throttle, but I'm sure the car next to me thought I was trying to show off..... Little did they know cold tires + lots of low end torque = surprised but relieved he held it Stephen. So yeah, I learned to respect it real quick.
And after the wedding, me and my roommate went for a drive. Like me, he'd never been in a car like that before. So yeah, many good surprises were had that night.
Also, Red is my favorite color....
Just like before, I loved this car. This time I got it to take my roommate to the airport. I forgot what the options were, but the Mustang easily won.
And I especially liked it when I was by myself on MLK and Kelly Drive around 4AM....
I wouldn't get a convertible, but I would get an EcoBoost Mustang. After two trips in them, it's fast enough to be fun, without being expensive, thirsty, and so fast you get yourself in trouble.
In the final edition of 2018 rental cars, we have the current fastest car I've ever driven, a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro SS. It even had Android Auto. Which was the first time I've ever had a chance to use it. And having now used it, if I let myself / could afford another car, I'd want it included. I've been spoiled and there's no going back.....
This car turned gas into speed, noise, and smiles. Despite the 450hp, it was actually not bad on gas (When you weren't doing the three aforementioned things...). Gotta love cylinder deactivation. And when it kicked in, you could hear the difference. Although it didn't take too much throttle input for it to just give you the full V8 again.
Even when it was only idling and sitting still it felt powerful. It would rumble and move just enough to hint that it was no toy. And when you did finally hit it, the rear tires would often struggle to keep up. With the speedo effortlessly rising to levels beyond the speed limit.
Everyone that sat in it smiled, even non car people. And I'm beyond happy I choose it over the other options (Chevy Malibu's....). Having said all of that, I wouldn't buy one. It's a little bit too thirsty, and a little bit too tail happy lol
