Hire Car

While Mondeo was knackered, I ended up getting a hire car from Enterprise for a couple of weeks.

As it turned out, they gave me a brand new (as in 9 miles on the clock) Renault Megane, which was interesting.  Not great, but interesting.

Personally, I really didn’t like the car – I found it deeply underpowered (dangerously so, when it came to overtaking) although once it got up to speed, it stayed there. I’m actually really surprised by it, having looked at the spec and the pricing.

From the look of it, the engine isn’t much less powerful than the one on the Mondeo – so frick knows what it’s doing with it, because the acceleration on it was dirt-poor. When overtaking, you could actually watch the digital speedo click up mile by mile, and by God it took it’s time.  The fuel-consumption was also well below the advertised/specced 40.9mpg – the best I got was an indicated 36, which is the same as I’m getting on the Saab.

Finally, it’s been a long while since I felt actively nervous driving a car, but this one managed it. In particular, the drive back from Stockport on Tuesday was decidedly nerve-wracking.  The weather was vile, and the car itself felt like a skittish little lightweight tin can, with no protection or security.

I’m glad I’ve tried the car, but I’m also massively pleased to have given it back.  I certainly wouldn’t consider buying one.