Our company has a deal with some yellow-and-black car rental mob, and whenever we go anywhere, we get to drive Nissan Almeras.
I always thought it was a gutless piece-of-rubbish when I travelled inland (ie at very high altitude) where there is a marked effect on performance due to the thin air.
At times, you had to change down to 4th or even 3rd to get any 'poke' out of the engine when travelling up inclines, and the airconditioner running was also like having a sack of weights in the boot ...
Yesterday, I managed to drive one at the coast - and though the performance was slightly better, it was hardly the quickest thing about, and left a lot to be desired when overtaking, etc.
What i wonder about, is HOW Nissan hopes to impress people, and make them buy these cars, when it is obvious to EVERYONE I've spoken to who's driven them, that they are a bland, underpowered lump, with few redeeeming features?
If I hire a car, onew of my first thoughts is always going to be: "Mmmmm, this is nice, I may consider buying one?" OR "This is trash - not for me ever!"
Surely Nissan should realise this? Or are they just trying to shift units?
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if i worked for you and was given one, i would take the air cleaner off . strange thought i know ,but hey .
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Nissans are usually driven by octanegerians with 3 coats and a hat on, at a maximum of 42mph. When you overtake them on an A-road, they shake their head too.
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What engine size is in the hire car and what are you used to?
If the hire company are saving money by getting 1.2s for their fleet, and your own car is a 2 litre, it's hardly surprising that you find it gutless.
I have no liking for Almera's, but there has to be a fair comparison.
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Ian,
I was informed on Friday that to attend a course, I was expected to drive a Smart hire car for the forty mile round trip....words fail me. 25th November a black day in PU's Diary.
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trust me you'll enjoy it - won't be able to wipe the grin off your face at the end - they're a right giggle to drive!
I'd rather have a smart car as a hire car than something dull and nasty like a fiesta or a corsa!
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Almera 1.6 - 2004
My Astra 1.8 - 1995
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Nissans are usually driven by octanegerians with 3 coats and a hat on, at a maximum of 42mph. When you overtake them on an A-road, they shake their head too.
I know one or two owners of Skylines, 200sx's and 350Z's who might disagree - but why ruin a nice stereotype?
I wonder if the hire cars in question are 'adjusted' in some way (e.g. on the throttle segment) to limit performance.
I once hired a van to go up to Yorkshire and back - it was dreadfully slow and I complained when I returned it. The hire company told me that the engine had been 'restricted'.
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How representative are hire cars in general?
The reason I ask is that I had a Focus 1.6 auto to get down to Portsmouth and back last week, and while it performed fairly well, the fuel consumption was a lousy 33mpg for a 550 mile run, mostly motorways and A-roads at 70-75 (55-60 on A roads)
I know it's a bigger car, bigger engine etc, but the Yaris would have been knocking on 50 for this journey...
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I have always found hire cars to be much better than the ones I own. Hire cars rev to much higher limits in all gears, the brakes get well used, they bump up very high kerbs quite easily, super things hire cars.
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My parents' manual Focus would struggle to see 40 mpg, even after 45k miles. A tighter, newer engine would be slower and probably get even less to the gallon so 33 mpg doesn't sound that unreasonable.
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Hire car companies buy what the manufacturers offer them cheap. This means that they will inevitably be the field full of base model, bottom engined tat that no private punters would look at.
Whoever is making the decisions about buying ( the rental fleet) and renting (your transport manager) these cars isn't thinking about how much fun you'll have driving it. They just want you to get from A to B at the lowest possible cost.
If your company has a contract with the rental company then you can be sure that when your transport manager needs a car he will be supplied with a top of the range 4WD for the same price as he pays to keep the rest of you in gutless Almeras.
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Had an Almera in Ireland for a week - a 1.6 and gutless isn't the word. Dropping from 4th to 3rd to effect an overtaking manouver resulted in very high engine revs and no increase in acceleration. I had a Focus at the time and thought the performance would be comparable, not so.
As for the smart car comment - don't knock it 'til you try it. I still love driving ours after three years of ownership. A 250 mile trip poses no problems to us, so 40 should be a doddle.
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The last loan car given to me was a Rover 200 of some sort. It seemed to be missing something. Specifically, an engine. I prodded the accelerator pedal, but nothing seemed to happen.
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Is this a bad time to mention that I had a 3.2 V6 Vectra as a hire car for 3 days (I had to give it back because the tax would have been £250 per month)
I drove it carefully, and managed to get 25mpg out of it!
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I prodded the accelerator pedal, but nothing seemed to happen.
By comparison with a 150mph front Porch, most cars are going to feel pretty anemic ...
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Ian
When I lived on Jo'burg (alt 6,000 feet) twenty odd years ago my Dad always used to remark on how well the trusty Pug 504 performed when we went down to Cape Town or Durban. Thing is, if someone buys a car in Jo'burg and runs around that area, they won't realise how much the altitude affects performance.
I dread to think how poorly the vehicles performed that Michael Palin used on his Himalaya journey that is currently on the BBC in Blighty. They were running at 15,0000 feet above sea level!
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