rental car - do they provide a cover for hatchback cars?

Every hatchback we have rented has a tonneau that covers trunk contents -- they are frankly useless as anyone who makes a living robbing cars know that a tonneau signifies that there are goodies within. But yes they are pretty standard in our experience. I strongly suggest not touring with valuables in the car and if you must stop with a trunk full of luggage, make it your practice to carry electronics, meds, IDs in a backpack or bag you carry with you even to lunch or the restroom.

Thank you @janettravels44 for the reply.

We don't like to travel with carry-on luggage in the rental car but just wanted to check and be ready in case.

All hatchbacks, and there are a lot in Europe, come with a cover. That the cover is closed means nothing about the contents of the boot. I have driven a hatchback for over 20 years, and the cover is always closed, irrespective of what is in the boot. During those years, over 1000 days have been spent in Italy living in a family apartment, car always parked in the street. Car was never broken into. For me, a hatchback with closed cover does not attract robbers more than any other car.

I agree with veerle3, a cover is standard in hatchbacks and estate cars and it has nothing to do with what's in the boot. Claiming that the existance of a cover means that "there are goodies within" has nothing to do with reality. In smaller hatchbacks it's not uncommon to have a hard cover that can take a few seconds to remove. Usually not that complicated, but why bother with it if you don't need to? Or the estate car I'm most familiar with, the cover is used 90% of the time, no matter if there are things in the boot or not. (Well technically the boot is never empty, especially this time of the year, as there is always a fire extinguisher, a small shovel and some other things in there.)

One time, maybe it was in Spain, not sure, our contract had a comment pre-entered in it saying "no cargo cover." It had been lost. No other cars we wanted were available so we took it. BTW, don't forget to look for and count country-required equipment like reflector vests or triangles.

I agree that the cover does not scream break into my car. I know a lot of people in the United States have had SUVs broken into - every one of them who had their computer in the bag did not have a cover because you know we don’t need those things on rental cars the United States. (which is why I generally refuse to take an SUV when I rent a car in the United States.)

Now, I do remove the giant sticker on the bumper that says enterprise or Avis or whatever. They’re pretty easy to remove because the rental car companies don’t want to use the really sticky kind because they want to resell the cars. And everything is hidden when we park. But we park in places that people claim are high crime areas and so far we’ve been lucky. No I’m not carrying my laptop when I go hiking, but I do have insurance and if something gets stolen, I’ll deal with it.

Our rentals have all had covers and have never been broken into. We almost always stop at places between our lodging locations.

Thank you for everyone's feedback

Thanks @Carol for the bumper sticker removal tip.

Thanks @Tim about counting the country-required equipment like reflector vests or triangles. Where would I get a list of what the car should have before picking up the rental car?

for a list - check somewhere like AA or RAC in the UK because they expect members to drive on the continent, or US Military guidance for similar reasons. The RAC: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/country/france/

I drive through many countries and carry the following, each required by one or many of the usual western / central European countries:

• Hi-vis reflective vest for every person in the car. If you break down or have an accident everybody out of the car must have one on. In France it must be put on in the car before stepping out on a highway.
• Spare set of light bulbs - France
• Fire extinguisher
• Warning triangle - check each country for distance behind to put
• First aid kit - Germany
• Environmental stickers if you intend to drive in built up areas of France or Germany
• Registration online for driving in built up areas of Belgium and UK
• IDP in many countries for each driver

You should also understand the rules of the road - different in most countries, signage - different in many, national speed limits,
understanding of implications of ZTL - Italy (now a few in France), if you don't learn about any different sign understand the meaning of the yellow diamond.

A rental car should have the required safety equipment in the trunk/boot for the country it’s rented in. Check to ensure it’s there before driving off the lot.

A rental car should have the required safety equipment in the trunk/boot for the country it’s rented in. Check to ensure it’s there before driving off the lot.

Eh, "should", but it's never a given. I've had a rental with a missing insurance sticker in France last year. I noticed a day later, I was furious - fineable if stopped, but thankfully I was not stopped.
I've also had a rental with expired inspection certificate in NY, and I got a fine while parked in a lot in a village. I did not pay it, and Hertz never claimed it from me, so I guess things got sorted, but still annoying!