Hiring a rental car for a road trip is a given, but how do you ensure that you end up with a car that keeps you safe and comfortable on the road? Choosing a rental car is not as simple as heading into the offices of anAvis Car Hire, or any other rental company and selecting the cheapest option. If you want to avoid inconveniences on route, there are things you can look out for in a rental car.
What Makes for a Decent Rental Car?
If you want to know how to pick the best car rental for your travels, look for a few good features that make a rental car the rental car to travel with. Here’s what to look out for:
- Low fuel consumption and emissions
Unfortunately, many rental cars will not offer the same fuel economy and low emissions as your own car back home.
There is a common myth that if you want to reduce your carbon footprint and save on costs, you need to opt for a budget or entry level car with low fuel consumption. The good news is that many of the more modern and even luxury cars are being designed with both fuel economy and low emissions in mind. You just have to ask.
Once you know what cars are available within your budget, grab your phone and do some research. Choose the one that ticks all the right boxes in terms of your carbon footprint beliefs, while still offering all the conveniences such as manual v automatic, and safety features you insist on.
- Safety features
When traveling in an unknown area, in an unfamiliar car, there’s always a heightened risk of having an accident. You are out of your comfort zone and this can create nervous or hesitant driving techniques. To ensure that you are safe on the road, choose a car that includes a variety of modern, reliable safety features such as automatic braking, lane departure warning system, reverse camera and sensors, forward collision avoidance system, park assist, and side view assist to name a few.
- Charging ports
When traveling through South Africa or in a new area, you will want to have help close at hand. These days, this help is usually best found on a mobile map app. For this, your mobile phone needs to charged and ready to use. Check that your rental car offers ports to charge your device.
- Hands-free or Bluetooth
It is illegal (and unsafe) to be on the phone while driving, unless you are using a hands-free or Bluetooth system to do so. If you know that you are going to need to make and receive calls while you are driving, choose a rental car that offers hands-free or Bluetooth capability.
- Storage space
When on a road trip, it’s not ideal to leave your luggage on the passenger seats. This is an invitation for theft. No matter where your self-drive holiday takes you,always stow all luggage and valuables out of sight, so choose a vehicle that has a covered boot area that locks. For instance, if there are three or four passengers each with their own suitcase, hiring a Suzuki Jimny – notorious for its tiny boot space,and no roof racks for luggage is probably a bad idea.
- Anti-smash and grab window film
There’s always a chance that an opportunistic criminal will notice that you are lost and hesitant, and will takea chance of smashing your windows and grabbing your valuables. Many of the cars available at Avis Car Hire and other leading rental companies have anti smash and grab window film for this very reason.
- A vehicle that matches your trip type
It’s important to keep the nature of your specific trip in mind when picking a car rental. If you are traveling from one city to the next, you can get away with a standard vehicle, but if you want to do a bit of off-road traveling, you need to select a vehicle that is built for the terrain. In much the same way, the power of the vehicle is important. If you are planning to travel up steep roads into mountainous areas and you choose a car with a small engine, it could take you much longer than planned to get your destination.
Choose the Best Car Rental Right Here
Whether you’re a loyal Avis Car Hire supporter or like to support any rental company that has the best deals on offer at the time, we have just what you need for your upcoming road trip. We feature great car rental deals from all leading hire companies right here. All you need to do is use our quick car hire search feature above to search, compare, book, and securely pay for the best rental car for your trip.
