Discussion
Hi folks,
I've been looking at car hire in the US and I'm wondering what these things are like.
I'm assuming they're going to be big and comfy, but what are they like to drive and what's the fuel economy like? I'm not too worried about it as long as I'm not likely to find myself looking for petrol in the middle of nowhere.
I'm looking at doing a trip from LA out to Vegas, the Grand Canyon (although may do this leg as a day trip flying from Vegas to save time), through Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco and then back to LA via the Pacific Coast Highway.
Now as much as I'd love to do it in a Vette or a Camaro, they're not exactly cheap and I've seen the Tahoe come up for about the same as a full size car and they still tick the V8 box and may be slightly more useful for getting up to the Race Track in Death Valley with room in the back to kip if I completely screw up how long it takes to get between places, plus I may have a small urge to drive about like Tony Soprano
I've been looking at car hire in the US and I'm wondering what these things are like.
I'm assuming they're going to be big and comfy, but what are they like to drive and what's the fuel economy like? I'm not too worried about it as long as I'm not likely to find myself looking for petrol in the middle of nowhere.
I'm looking at doing a trip from LA out to Vegas, the Grand Canyon (although may do this leg as a day trip flying from Vegas to save time), through Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco and then back to LA via the Pacific Coast Highway.
Now as much as I'd love to do it in a Vette or a Camaro, they're not exactly cheap and I've seen the Tahoe come up for about the same as a full size car and they still tick the V8 box and may be slightly more useful for getting up to the Race Track in Death Valley with room in the back to kip if I completely screw up how long it takes to get between places, plus I may have a small urge to drive about like Tony Soprano
Using words like 'fuel economy' in reference to full-size GM SUV's can be a bit of a laugh.
I have a previous generation Suburban, which is the LWB version of the Tahoe/Yukon. Mine is a rear wheel drive version with the same motor, but with a 5sp rather than current 6sp transmission. Mine averages 16mpg - you will do well if you get 20mpg - but you are correct, it is a big, comfortable and well-appointed vehicle, with a huge amount of carrying/towing ability.
They are also surprisingly strong on acceleration for such a huge, heavy car and will comfortably cruise at 100mph all day long. The motor is very turbine-like - not at all rumbley I'm sorry to report - but it's very smooth, torquey and pleasing, nonetheless.
You sit high up, visibility is great and the more modern ones have an excellent (and much-needed) stability control. The old ones had a bit of a reputation for turning-turtle in certain conditions. I like mine - and the new ones are quieter and a little nicer inside too.
I have a previous generation Suburban, which is the LWB version of the Tahoe/Yukon. Mine is a rear wheel drive version with the same motor, but with a 5sp rather than current 6sp transmission. Mine averages 16mpg - you will do well if you get 20mpg - but you are correct, it is a big, comfortable and well-appointed vehicle, with a huge amount of carrying/towing ability.
They are also surprisingly strong on acceleration for such a huge, heavy car and will comfortably cruise at 100mph all day long. The motor is very turbine-like - not at all rumbley I'm sorry to report - but it's very smooth, torquey and pleasing, nonetheless.
You sit high up, visibility is great and the more modern ones have an excellent (and much-needed) stability control. The old ones had a bit of a reputation for turning-turtle in certain conditions. I like mine - and the new ones are quieter and a little nicer inside too.
You're right it's probably not the best term to use and something I'm not too worried about, after all the $2.70 to $2.90 a gallon (according to various gas price websites) at 16mpg is still going to be cheaper than the $7.16 at 25mpg I'm paying here, it's more me being able to get between places without finding myself running on fumes miles from anywhere that I was thinking of as I can't find anything to say how big the fuel tank is.
The lack of a rumbling v8 isn't the end of the world, it sounds like there's plenty of fun to be had riding the wave of torque
My only experience with cars in America has been a Dodge Stratus hire car I had in Florida back in 2002, which, whilst comfy, was dull, dull, dull (mind you I've had plenty of hire cars in this country that fit into that category) along with being a passenger in a couple of Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car taxis - I remember the Crown Vics seeming alright from the back seat, but I was glad to get out of the Town Car as it was a bit too bouncy on the suspension and probably not helped by the Indian driver who insisted on driving it like he'd stolen it.
So I fancy something a bit different/interesting for a change and it sounds like the Tahoe may fit the bill without breaking the bank, thanks!
I remember there being loads of adverts on the radio for lawyers specialising in SUV rollovers when I was in Florida, after 2 weeks of hearing at least one on every ad break I was a bit dissapointed that I didn't see a single SUV on it's roof!
The lack of a rumbling v8 isn't the end of the world, it sounds like there's plenty of fun to be had riding the wave of torque
My only experience with cars in America has been a Dodge Stratus hire car I had in Florida back in 2002, which, whilst comfy, was dull, dull, dull (mind you I've had plenty of hire cars in this country that fit into that category) along with being a passenger in a couple of Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car taxis - I remember the Crown Vics seeming alright from the back seat, but I was glad to get out of the Town Car as it was a bit too bouncy on the suspension and probably not helped by the Indian driver who insisted on driving it like he'd stolen it.
So I fancy something a bit different/interesting for a change and it sounds like the Tahoe may fit the bill without breaking the bank, thanks!
I remember there being loads of adverts on the radio for lawyers specialising in SUV rollovers when I was in Florida, after 2 weeks of hearing at least one on every ad break I was a bit dissapointed that I didn't see a single SUV on it's roof!
Edited by BigS on Thursday 8th April 09:36
BigS said:
Hi folks,
I've been looking at car hire in the US and I'm wondering what these things are like.
I'm assuming they're going to be big and comfy, but what are they like to drive and what's the fuel economy like? I'm not too worried about it as long as I'm not likely to find myself looking for petrol in the middle of nowhere.
I'm looking at doing a trip from LA out to Vegas, the Grand Canyon (although may do this leg as a day trip flying from Vegas to save time), through Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco and then back to LA via the Pacific Coast Highway.
Now as much as I'd love to do it in a Vette or a Camaro, they're not exactly cheap and I've seen the Tahoe come up for about the same as a full size car and they still tick the V8 box and may be slightly more useful for getting up to the Race Track in Death Valley with room in the back to kip if I completely screw up how long it takes to get between places, plus I may have a small urge to drive about like Tony Soprano
Having done what sounds like a very similar trip a number of years ago, I'd highly recommend a 4x4 of some sort. The higher up driving position will be very welcome.I've been looking at car hire in the US and I'm wondering what these things are like.
I'm assuming they're going to be big and comfy, but what are they like to drive and what's the fuel economy like? I'm not too worried about it as long as I'm not likely to find myself looking for petrol in the middle of nowhere.
I'm looking at doing a trip from LA out to Vegas, the Grand Canyon (although may do this leg as a day trip flying from Vegas to save time), through Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco and then back to LA via the Pacific Coast Highway.
Now as much as I'd love to do it in a Vette or a Camaro, they're not exactly cheap and I've seen the Tahoe come up for about the same as a full size car and they still tick the V8 box and may be slightly more useful for getting up to the Race Track in Death Valley with room in the back to kip if I completely screw up how long it takes to get between places, plus I may have a small urge to drive about like Tony Soprano
A Tahoe is big, but it should be comfy, which is what you'll want as some of the distances are staggering compared to driving anywhere in the UK.
And don't scrimp on the engine. Some of the steep hills at altitude will really take their toll on the car. We had a 3.2 litre V6 Isuzu Trooper, but higher up even juggernauts were out dragging us.
Have a nice time over there
EDIT:
If you're going to the Grand Canyon, look up http://www.papillon.com/ seeing the Canyon from helicopter is simply the best way.
Edited by 300bhp/ton on Friday 9th April 08:04
300bhp/ton said:
Having done what sounds like a very similar trip a number of years ago, I'd highly recommend a 4x4 of some sort. The higher up driving position will be very welcome.
A Tahoe is big, but it should be comfy, which is what you'll want as some of the distances are staggering compared to driving anywhere in the UK.
And don't scrimp on the engine. Some of the steep hills at altitude will really take their toll on the car. We had a 3.2 litre V6 Isuzu Trooper, but higher up even juggernauts were out dragging us.
Have a nice time over there
EDIT:
If you're going to the Grand Canyon, look up http://www.papillon.com/ seeing the Canyon from helicopter is simply the best way.
Thanks, I'm hoping to go over the Tioga Pass if it's open, I'm looking at going the beginning of June so hopefully it will be by then, so will be putting it to the test at altitude A Tahoe is big, but it should be comfy, which is what you'll want as some of the distances are staggering compared to driving anywhere in the UK.
And don't scrimp on the engine. Some of the steep hills at altitude will really take their toll on the car. We had a 3.2 litre V6 Isuzu Trooper, but higher up even juggernauts were out dragging us.
Have a nice time over there
EDIT:
If you're going to the Grand Canyon, look up http://www.papillon.com/ seeing the Canyon from helicopter is simply the best way.
Edited by 300bhp/ton on Friday 9th April 08:04
Should hopefully be sorting out the bookings this weekend and that link for Papillon has helped enormously - I found their site a while ago, but forgot to bookmark it and then forgot their name too and have been wading through the many websites offering tours trying to find it again recently.
I've bookmarked it on my work pc now and emailed the link home
I had a Tahoe in Canada last year, awesome car:
Surprisingly the V8 engine (sounds great) averaged around 18mpg, which for US gallons I thought was pretty damn reasonable! It's by no means 'fast' but it's not sluggish.
It came with more toys than a high-end BMW too. Bear in mind it's a big car, even in a land of big cars -- needed a spotter to get it into the hotel car park at first as it would clear the entrance corner with only a couple of inches to spare.
Driving-wise it was a lot of fun, yes it has extremely soft suspension and weighs a *lot*, so you're not going to have much fun trying to hustle it along the PCH, but on freeways and in town it's very commanding, extremely easy to drive, and very comfortable.
Edit: The fuel tank is big and range isn't an issue, but don't be tempted to run it low when doing the PCH -- driving around the US you get into the habit of expecting there to be a gas station on every corner, which led me to have to drive a Mustang for 50 miles with the petrol light on when I drove the PCH due to significantly overestimating the frequency of gas stations on that road.
Edit 2: The one I had was Flexfuel too, so it accepts E85 gas as well as normal unleaded. Not much use in Canada as there's only about 10 E85 gas stations in the entire country, but in California I think there's quite a few, and it can be about 25% cheaper per gallon than normal unleaded.
Surprisingly the V8 engine (sounds great) averaged around 18mpg, which for US gallons I thought was pretty damn reasonable! It's by no means 'fast' but it's not sluggish.
It came with more toys than a high-end BMW too. Bear in mind it's a big car, even in a land of big cars -- needed a spotter to get it into the hotel car park at first as it would clear the entrance corner with only a couple of inches to spare.
Driving-wise it was a lot of fun, yes it has extremely soft suspension and weighs a *lot*, so you're not going to have much fun trying to hustle it along the PCH, but on freeways and in town it's very commanding, extremely easy to drive, and very comfortable.
Edit: The fuel tank is big and range isn't an issue, but don't be tempted to run it low when doing the PCH -- driving around the US you get into the habit of expecting there to be a gas station on every corner, which led me to have to drive a Mustang for 50 miles with the petrol light on when I drove the PCH due to significantly overestimating the frequency of gas stations on that road.
Edit 2: The one I had was Flexfuel too, so it accepts E85 gas as well as normal unleaded. Not much use in Canada as there's only about 10 E85 gas stations in the entire country, but in California I think there's quite a few, and it can be about 25% cheaper per gallon than normal unleaded.
Edited by snoopstah on Sunday 11th April 20:10
snoopstah said:
I had a Tahoe in Canada last year, awesome car:
Surprisingly the V8 engine (sounds great) averaged around 18mpg, which for US gallons I thought was pretty damn reasonable! It's by no means 'fast' but it's not sluggish.
It came with more toys than a high-end BMW too. Bear in mind it's a big car, even in a land of big cars -- needed a spotter to get it into the hotel car park at first as it would clear the entrance corner with only a couple of inches to spare.
Driving-wise it was a lot of fun, yes it has extremely soft suspension and weighs a *lot*, so you're not going to have much fun trying to hustle it along the PCH, but on freeways and in town it's very commanding, extremely easy to drive, and very comfortable.
Edit: The fuel tank is big and range isn't an issue, but don't be tempted to run it low when doing the PCH -- driving around the US you get into the habit of expecting there to be a gas station on every corner, which led me to have to drive a Mustang for 50 miles with the petrol light on when I drove the PCH due to significantly overestimating the frequency of gas stations on that road.
Edit 2: The one I had was Flexfuel too, so it accepts E85 gas as well as normal unleaded. Not much use in Canada as there's only about 10 E85 gas stations in the entire country, but in California I think there's quite a few, and it can be about 25% cheaper per gallon than normal unleaded.
Having just seen the file name of your picture in the quote, I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets the Canyonero music in their head when I look at it and going on the comments on here I can't wait to pick up my squirrel squashin', deer smackin', driving machine! Surprisingly the V8 engine (sounds great) averaged around 18mpg, which for US gallons I thought was pretty damn reasonable! It's by no means 'fast' but it's not sluggish.
It came with more toys than a high-end BMW too. Bear in mind it's a big car, even in a land of big cars -- needed a spotter to get it into the hotel car park at first as it would clear the entrance corner with only a couple of inches to spare.
Driving-wise it was a lot of fun, yes it has extremely soft suspension and weighs a *lot*, so you're not going to have much fun trying to hustle it along the PCH, but on freeways and in town it's very commanding, extremely easy to drive, and very comfortable.
Edit: The fuel tank is big and range isn't an issue, but don't be tempted to run it low when doing the PCH -- driving around the US you get into the habit of expecting there to be a gas station on every corner, which led me to have to drive a Mustang for 50 miles with the petrol light on when I drove the PCH due to significantly overestimating the frequency of gas stations on that road.
Edit 2: The one I had was Flexfuel too, so it accepts E85 gas as well as normal unleaded. Not much use in Canada as there's only about 10 E85 gas stations in the entire country, but in California I think there's quite a few, and it can be about 25% cheaper per gallon than normal unleaded.
Edited by snoopstah on Sunday 11th April 20:10
Hopefully the size of it shouldn't be too much of a problem, I had one of these for a month with work
visiting RAF bases around the country and had to take it down a few country lanes where both mirrors were brushing the hedges on either side, plus I think most of the places I'll be going to have got plenty of parking space, except for San Francisco, where I'm still trying to work out where I can park it for a couple of days if I go for a hotel without any parking - I've seen one with their own multi-storey car park and valet parking and from what I've been able to determine so far, it only cost about $5 a day more to use that than to park in a normal multi-storey in the city so leaning towards booking that and letting someone else worry about parking the beast there.
I suspected it would probably roll about on it's suspension, but by the time I get to the PCH I'll have a fair few miles under my belt, so should be used to it's handling by then, besides I find there's a certain satisfaction in driving something big down a twisty road and it's a damn sight smaller than what I was originally planning for this trip when I first started looking at it and a there were going to be a few of us going, which was one of these:
Do they have anything on them to say they're flexfuel? I'll keep an eye out for E85 if it's cheaper and I get a flexfuel one.
BigS said:
Do they have anything on them to say they're flexfuel? I'll keep an eye out for E85 if it's cheaper and I get a flexfuel one.
Mine had a badge on the back like this:http://www.acarisnotarefrigerator.com/Impala_FlexF...
I think it also made it pretty clear on or near the fuel cap.
snoopstah said:
BigS said:
Do they have anything on them to say they're flexfuel? I'll keep an eye out for E85 if it's cheaper and I get a flexfuel one.
Mine had a badge on the back like this:http://www.acarisnotarefrigerator.com/Impala_FlexF...
I think it also made it pretty clear on or near the fuel cap.
Well I arrived in LA last night and after standing at the pickup point watching an endless stream of Hertz and Avis busses go past the Dollar bus finally arrived and took me to meet my transport for the next 2 weeks.
They've given me a Suburban instead of a Tahoe - obviously thought me and my 2 bags would struggle for space in a Tahoe
First impressions from driving it the couple of blocks to the hotel (whilst singing the Canyonero song) in the dark are that it's a big ole beastie, but the seats seem comfy and there's plenty of room in it (haven't tested it for echoes yet), I could barely hear the engine or any road noise and I didn't notice any body roll but then I don't think I went faster than 30 and had been awake for nearly 24 hours by then.
Oh, and it still smells new
I think today will be when I get a proper impression of it and also my first look at it in the light (I think it's the same colour as the one snoopstah posted a pic of, but wouldn't swear to it) but so far it seems to tick all the boxes for what I was looking for and I couldn't help but grin when I saw it in the car park.
They've given me a Suburban instead of a Tahoe - obviously thought me and my 2 bags would struggle for space in a Tahoe
First impressions from driving it the couple of blocks to the hotel (whilst singing the Canyonero song
) in the dark are that it's a big ole beastie, but the seats seem comfy and there's plenty of room in it (haven't tested it for echoes yet), I could barely hear the engine or any road noise and I didn't notice any body roll but then I don't think I went faster than 30 and had been awake for nearly 24 hours by then.Oh, and it still smells new
I think today will be when I get a proper impression of it and also my first look at it in the light (I think it's the same colour as the one snoopstah posted a pic of, but wouldn't swear to it) but so far it seems to tick all the boxes for what I was looking for and I couldn't help but grin when I saw it in the car park.
Took a few pics whilst I was up on Mulholland - worth the drive up there just for the views, but the loop around Mulholland, Laurel Canyon, Sunset Blvd and Coldwater Canyon is a fun drive too.
Click picture for full size:
I've since worked out how to fold the 3rd row of seats so have loads of room in the back now
The helm, complete with my navigation system - laptop running MS Streets and Trips (Us version of Autoroute) and a USB GPS receiver on the roof (visible in the 1st pic just above the windscreen on the passenger side)
And finally... I had to have a look under the bonnet when I got to the hotel earlier
After today's driving I've noticed that it does roll if you overcook a corner slightly, but otherwise goes quite well and handles quite well, especially considering it's size and weight.
I'm a little disapointed that there's no cover for the load space in the back, but the height of the rear windows and the fact that they're tinted makes it pretty hard to see if there's anything in there.
And the rear vision pretty limited, but overall I'm quite happy with it.
Click picture for full size:
I've since worked out how to fold the 3rd row of seats so have loads of room in the back now
The helm, complete with my navigation system - laptop running MS Streets and Trips (Us version of Autoroute) and a USB GPS receiver on the roof (visible in the 1st pic just above the windscreen on the passenger side)
And finally... I had to have a look under the bonnet when I got to the hotel earlier
After today's driving I've noticed that it does roll if you overcook a corner slightly, but otherwise goes quite well and handles quite well, especially considering it's size and weight.
I'm a little disapointed that there's no cover for the load space in the back, but the height of the rear windows and the fact that they're tinted makes it pretty hard to see if there's anything in there.
And the rear vision pretty limited, but overall I'm quite happy with it.
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