US Road Trip Vehicle Advice

Not sure why theres so much hate for the mustang convertible, it was a great car. the lugage space was ok, we had two 90l duffle bags, two 30l backpacks please bottles of water/other shopping without any problems.
 
I am at the stage of booking a car for Florida, from what I have read on here I have narrowed it down to either a Mustang or a Cadillac ats, can anyone provide the pros and cons of both? I would like a fun car so I am leaning more towards the Mustang. Also any other suggestions?
 
Presumably you are looking at either the LCAR class or the STAR class if you have those choices. You are guaranteed neither of those cars.

I always rent LCAR now - to be honest on an LCAR reservation if you wanted to take a Mustang few locations will refuse it. My last rental was a Cadillac ATS 2.0T and frankly it was an excellent car - quick, well appointed, nice inside. I much prefer renting cars like this over the Mustang. Last time I rented an LCAR in Orlando it was an Infiniti G37.

The Mustang was fun to tick a box and drive around California but the ATS is a significantly better car in every way except for the fact the roof doesn't come off.
 
[TW]Fox;26576542 said:
Presumably you are looking at either the LCAR class or the STAR class if you have those choices. You are guaranteed neither of those cars.

I always rent LCAR now - to be honest on an LCAR reservation if you wanted to take a Mustang few locations will refuse it. My last rental was a Cadillac ATS 2.0T and frankly it was an excellent car - quick, well appointed, nice inside. I much prefer renting cars like this over the Mustang. Last time I rented an LCAR in Orlando it was an Infiniti G37.

The Mustang was fun to tick a box and drive around California but the ATS is a significantly better car in every way except for the fact the roof doesn't come off.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, need to tick the Mustang box, will have to do more thinking, which company do you normally use and which gives me the best chance of a Mustang? what was the G37 like?
 
I use Alamo - best rates, fully inclusive if booked from the UK and they are the same firm as National so the fleet is usually shared, ie if there isnt anything you want at Alamo you can just ask and take something from National.

The G37 was quick, handled well but was otherwise fairly rubbish really, felt like a good Nissan rather than a credible BMW alternative. Whereas the Cadillac ATS was every bit as good if not better than a 3 Series.

I generally pay £30 per day for LCAR reservations.
 
If it's between 3-4 of you and the amount of driving you are talking then I would either rent two cars or just suck it up and pay to get something like a Tahoe or similar. That many miles with 4 adults plus luggage in something like an Escape will be tolerable I imagine but not a huge amount of fun. :p

As Fox points out there might be a big fat one-way fee but if you're splitting it between 4 then it does make it more palatable.
 
Last edited:
I intend to drive from home (Tampa FL) over to California, or maybe fly to California and drive back, undecided yet but it should be a fair bit cheaper hiring a car as I'm a resident
 
acemastr said:
I intend to drive from home (Tampa FL) over to California, or maybe fly to California and drive back, undecided yet but it should be a fair bit cheaper hiring a car as I'm a resident
Click to expand...

Very much the opposite I'm afraid - US residentsfor some reason get a much poorer deal than we do as UK residentsYou will probably be paying up to twice as much to rent a vehicle.

As an example I've just paid £490 for 16 days LCAR rental. I went onto the same rental providers website and got a quote for the same package as a US citizen - same dates, same car, same everything. $2300! $400 of that was CDW you might not need as your auto insurance may cover it but even without that it's HUGELY more expensive. As a US resident even a quote for a Chevrolet Spark was more expensive than the Cadillac ATS or similar I'd booked.

The rates we get as UK residents booking in the US are unbeleivable.
 
Cadillac CTS, see if they do the V6 turbo, as quick as a GT mustang and is a four door! :)
I would say CTSV but way too thirsty and doubt a rental place would have one really
 
The east coast isn't that bad, we drove Washington to Orlando in 2011 and I enjoyed it. Yes not a patch on California and the West (Also done Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana) but there are some really good parts, notably Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Park Way, Shenandoah NP, Really nice scenery in Tennessee + Jack Daniels Distillery /Lynchburg, Charleston and Savannah (Ashley River Road). However there are some mind numbingly boring roads that hypnotise you. Not like empty desert roads where you can see to the horizon, roads lined with dense trees for hour after hour, especially between Atlanta and Charleston (i26).

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...1s0x89b449137bf3f181:0xf1a7e7f87dc0485d?hl=en
 
[TW]Fox;26581275 said:
Very much the opposite I'm afraid - US residentsfor some reason get a much poorer deal than we do as UK residentsYou will probably be paying up to twice as much to rent a vehicle.

As an example I've just paid £490 for 16 days LCAR rental. I went onto the same rental providers website and got a quote for the same package as a US citizen - same dates, same car, same everything. $2300! $400 of that was CDW you might not need as your auto insurance may cover it but even without that it's HUGELY more expensive. As a US resident even a quote for a Chevrolet Spark was more expensive than the Cadillac ATS or similar I'd booked.

The rates we get as UK residents booking in the US are unbeleivable.
Click to expand...

I just punched in for an LCAR for 16 days with Alamo and it comes in at £610 :confused: this is pick up and drop off at Orlando International.
 
[TW]Fox;26582298 said:
Ouch, looks like high demand perhaps?
Click to expand...

My mistake I think, coming out at £545 for LCAR and £440 for Mustang or similar, I had the free tank of fuel option thing, are there any other charges after this? will I have all the excess/insurance shenanigans covered off mate?
 
http://www.alamo.co.uk/brits

10% off. You may need to present a copy of the Brits Guide when you collect the car, but nobody else has ever been asked and they are £1-2 on Amazon if you want peace of mind.

Includes extra drivers and everything else you need with zero excess.
 
[TW]Fox;26582365 said:
http://www.alamo.co.uk/brits

10% off. You may need to present a copy of the Brits Guide when you collect the car, but nobody else has ever been asked and they are £1-2 on Amazon if you want peace of mind.

Includes extra drivers and everything else you need with zero excess.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help, really appreciate it. Coming in at £490 LCAR and £395 Mustang, you just saved me £50 thank you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom