Road Tripping in the USA!

You really do need to stop thinking this and actually experience a nice truck... my truck is the most comfortable, quiet and soft riding vehicle I've ever been in. Vinyl, leather, loads of space, all the gadgets.

It isn't going to be more comfortable, quieter and softer riding than a Chevrolet Tahoe though is it and it's likely you can rent one for the same money as an F150 :p
 
I'd fly. Driving in 3-5 days means you are basically just going to drive straight there. It isnt enough time to explore some of the areas you'll drive through. There will be significant one-way fees.

Consider flying to Pheonix or Los Angeles and renting from there and then driving - shorter distance and the route covers more interesting scenery and is a better use of time.
 
Book UK to Los Angeles and then Florida to UK as one open-jaw return. This means with an airline that flies to both locations (Or has codeshare partners that do).

You can use Kayak for this, but the reality is you'll end up with somebody like Virgin Atlantic so check them direct too. It shouldn't be that expensive either do to this either.

Book the internal flight to Florida separately.

I tend to find the best prices 3-6 months before travel.
 
What about Uber?

That sounds like we need to collect to collect the cars when we arrive and drop them off on the day we fly back. Something like this:

17th: Arrive at LAX - collect cars at 4pm
18th: LA
19th: San Diego

3rd: Arrive back at LAX - return cars before 4pm (probably around 2pm)

Alamo direct comes in at £628.41, £565.57 after cashback.

Virgin Car Hire comes in at £569.84.

Use Virgin at that money, never buy something thats only just the better deal due to cashback as it's not guaranteed (Even though you almost always get it).
 
Just don't forget to stop and enjoy some of the places you're travelling to. Unless the travelling is the main part of the trip. I've done over 700 miles in less than three days from Mountain View to Malibu and back which was a nice drive when on the PCH but didn't give me much time to see anything.

Exactly - what he didn't mention is that he lives in Alberta and presumably most of those miles were the journey to and from Yellowstone.

I covered 10,000 miles on my journey to and from where I drove around ;)
 
Netflights use Alamo so it's the same product you'll get with Virgin or Alamo direct. But you won't fit two large suitcases in one.

I'd be questioning the 'Impala' from autoeurope. These firms often have out of date car classifications, the rate looks odd compared ot the other and the current generation Impala is a Premium at all major firms now - historically it was always a Fullsize/Standard. So I'd be doubtful you'll get something as big as an Impala at that rate.

The MKZ is the example car for the Luxury class at most agencies. There will be no more space available than a Premium. I always rent Luxury but only to improve the car quality, typically many of the luxury cars offered are actually smaller - I almost always end up with a Cadillac ATS which is a great car but is the size of a 3 Series rather than a proper luxury car.
 
But there are quite large drives...LA to LV is 4 hours. LV to SF is 14 hours. SF back to LA is 10 hours. Are mustangs really suited to those kind of drives? i.e. ignoring the lack of boot space, are they actually comfortable cruisers?

You won't be doing those drives in 14 hours or 10 hours because there is too much to see on the way. You'll do them over 2-4 days each.
 
So, if I opt for the MKZ (Alamo) I'm likely to get an ATZ instead? the MKZ seems like an E-Class car whereas the ATZ, as you rightly say, seems more like a 3-series.

Correct - the MKZ is a Luxury, as is the ATS. The Luxury class is a bit of a mess - it contains both traditionally full-size luxury cars and also smaller but more 'posh' cars. You also sometimes get allocated Premium Elite cars as well such as the BMW 3 Series.

There is usually a choice between cars in the Luxury category but not exactly huge.

The ATS is an excellent car and the only car I'd pick over it in this class is a CTS or an XTS (Both of which highlight how random Luxury is given all 3 of these cars are included in it, though the last two are comparatively rare).

Regarding the Impala - what am I actually likely to get if it seems too good to be true for the price?

Something fullsize - Chevrolet Malibu kinda thing. Perhaps the old model Impala which they still make and is total crap.

Most importantly which of these cars makes the most sense for the intended trip? 16 days driving around, including from San Diego to Las Vegas and Las Vegas to San Francisco and back down again on the PCH. As much as I want a mustang or Camaro I almost feel that driving for hours in one of these is going to get tiring real fast when the novelty's worn off or am I completely wrong?

The convertible thing is fun once. It makes good holiday photos and it's cool to say you've driven a Mustang Cab down the Pacfic Coast Highway. I did it once, ticked the box and wouldn't rent one again - when the novelty wears off you'll find them fairly crap cars, they are very over-hyped. I now just rent Luxury each time because when covering big miles it's nice to have something well equipped and refined so you don't finish each day thinking you've been driving all day.

For a first trip though it's fun to do the Mustang thing.

p.s. Is the Camaro/Mustang same category?

Yes.

any thoughts about the Chrysler 200?

An average and generic sedan.
 
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