Ron's Rental Review

Okay, sorry, I have lots of photos of Russell but they're all on my cameras at home. The only pictures i can access are on my phone so these 'on the road' updates will have some other themes... And i guess I'll try to take more Russell pics with my phone on the weekend.

.....So its my 3rd week in Rhode Island and I'm in the line at Hertz to get my car. There's some semi distinguished looking guy at the front of the line and he's talking with the Hertz guy. It sounds like he's not too keen on the car he's getting and I think I over hear the Hertz guy say "PT Cruiser". The semi distinguished guy makes some gesture, lifting his hands, palms up, in an upward motion... sort of like asking for something a little more 'distinguished' you might say. So the Hertz guy puts the keys back and I think he mumbles "Outback" to the guy. The semi distinguished guy looks much happier and takes the keys and I get one step closer to the front of the line.

I now see how the game is played, and I'm ready for an upgrade. For the last two weeks I got a Pontiac G6. The G6 is an pitiful effort at designing a car. It's really not worth the effort of describing how awful it is. Honestly, if Oprah Winfrey game me one of them, it would be on craigslist before you could spell TTC.

So I get to the counter and there's no way i'm taking a G6 this time, however when the Hertz guy brings the keys over, it's only a small block, with no cut metal part sticking out. I first thought it might be a Volkswagon, with the switchblade key but it was black plastic on all four sides. No brand logos, only 3 buttons, lock, unlock and red one I assume is panic. The Hertz guy tells me the space number the car is located at but doesn't mention the type of car. Well, i know this is no G6 with this key so I take it and haul my stuff to the spot.

I get to the spot and the first thing i think is "cool, they rented me a golf cart" because before me is a white Toyota Prius.


I unlock it, place my bag in the back, and get into the driver's seat. I plug the key block into a slot in the dash, then start looking around to figure out what to do next. There's a button on the dash labeled "Power", I press it and the dash lights up, but nothing else really happens. I can't get the car in drive and can't get the AC going because it's hot. I push the power button again, now the little light behind it goes from orange to green... still can't get the car in gear. So i push the button again and everything is off again. Finally I push the button a 4th time and its back on and green. Foot on the brake, and I get the car in drive. I can finally adjust the mirrors, set the A/C and figure out how to get radio going. It now feels like it's been 10 minutes since I got into the car.



So I'm now off for the 20 minute drive from the airport to the office. First thing i notice is the brakes are really 'grabby', which I like. Sort of reminds me of when I had the track pads on the S2000. It might be uncomfortable if your driver is a little hard on the brake but it suited me fine. Accelerating is pretty much what I expected... on par with the G6, sort of like doing the 1/4 in a cruise ship. Aside from that, the interior is spartan but nice. The dash and doors look some kind of recycled rubber/plastic product textured to look like a tatami mat. Looks and feels 100 times better than the G6.

So after a day off work, I get back into the Prius to get to the hotel. I back up and all i hear is "beep..... beep......beep.....beep...." OMG!!! I am driving a Golf Cart!!! It was good for a laugh.

So what about the gas mileage? There's a big screen in the middle of the dash that shows the current mileage, and where the power is going between the engine, the motor, and the battery. It's really distracting and all I can say is that sometime the mileage is good and sometimes its not.




In fact, my very favorite show on the planet had a segment last week comparing the fuel consumption of the Prius against of all things.... a BMW M3. What a coincidence!!



So as the days progressed, I noticed that the fuel gauge was still on full. I started to flirt with the idea that i might get to drive and not have to refill the tank before i returned the car. (you're supposed to return the car with a full tank of gas) It's Thursday and I'm heading back to the Airport to return the car and the tank is still 8/8 bars full. I get off the highway and just before I turn into the airport, bang.. one light goes out, 7/8. Bugger.... now i detour to the gas station, with the intention of putting in just enough gas to get that last light back on. I start filling, I get just past a gallon and i'm ready to let up and pump clicks closed. Must be totally full. I'm just put in slightly over $5. I get back in the car, start it up to head back to the airport, pull away and notice that it's still at 7/8ths. Now I'm second guessing myself, did the pump stop or did I stop early? I pull around to another pump just to make sure. I reinsert my credit card and start filling again. This time..... 52 cents of gas before the pump stops again. It's definitely full. It's full but the gauge is still showing 7/8ths... which is just another quirk because the car still had trouble starting where I have to 'reboot' it get it in gear every so often when starting it up. I have my 52 cent receipt ready for the Hertz guy if he says anything about the tank not being full, but just as I pull into the Hertz lot, the final 8/8ths bar re-lights and is showing a full tank.

I drop off the car and I ask the guy, how far I went. He says 120 miles. Pretty good, 120 miles on less than 1.5 gallons of gas! Maybe they are on to something here!