Our family of five adults will be driving in Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and the Netherlands. We are trying to decide between renting a SUV (Mondeo) and being slightly cramped versus renting a Minivan (Ford S-Max 7 pax )and perhaps having more difficulty with driving on the highways and in the cities. What advice can you give us?
Thank you very much.
Make sure your luggage fits. Not sure why you would want seven seats for five people; you are going to use the space of those two extra seats for luggage anyway.
Driving on the highways (or even in the cities) shouldn't be an issue, but parking may. The larger the car, the more time you are going to spend finding parking space.
I have not been in a European city yet in which I would want, or need, a vehicle. The trains are wonderful, relaxing and convenient so use them as much as possible and rethink the need for a car.
I would say go with the S-Max. To verify or disprove my recommendation get your group together and go to a Ford dealer. Decide who are the three who will be riding in the back seat of the Mondeo, put them in the back seat of a Fusion (Same basic thing), close the doors, leave them there for 15 minutes and then ask them how many HOURS they would like to ride like that. Auto mobile seating is packaged around slim trim manikins representing adults who weight 150 pounds just like all of us.
Also find out how much luggage room the S-Max has when the third row seats are up or even when they are down for that matter. You will need to have a heart-to-heart Come-to-Jesus meeting about luggage size.
Also don't forget your IDP.
Also don't forget your IDP.
Not sure if you really need an international one, but one thing is for sure: You absolutely need to take along your national license. The international one is valid only in conjunction with the national one.
An international license isn't worth the paper it's printed on if you don't have your national license with you. Learned that the hard way!
I have been able to find interior dimensions for the Mondeo but not for the Ford S-Max 7 which is the next size suggested by the rental company. Neither of the links included in the prior response have interior dimensions. The issue will be decided on the basis of interior space in the back seat. Any suggestions?
No answer to your question, sorry, just a suggestion.
As stmurray2 points out, cars can be a handicap in cities. Trains go nearly everywhere throughout Germany, which offers very low fares for groups of 5 using the regional trains. The German trains tend to have good luggage storage above and under the seats as well as special cars for overloaded passengers and those with bikes or strollers (which you won't need if you follow Rick Steves' packing guidelines.) Here's a photo:
http://www.bahnbilder.de/1200/blick-auf-mehrzweckabteil-eines-bybdzf-1017272.jpg
Many have seats facing each other in places, which makes it easy to enjoy each other's company, often with a little shelf for drinks:
There are day passes for 5 for all of Germany and for individual states (Länder) like these:
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/regional/weekend-ticket-for-germany.shtml
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/regional/regional-day-tickets.shtml
There's a day pass for Bavaria that includes Bohemian Cz Republic.
http://www.bayern-fahrplan.de/de/tickets/regionale-tickets/bayern-boehmen-ticket
You might want to just check your itinerary and see whether these will work for you. They can all be bought as you go in Germany, so that you needn't have a strict itinerary if you don't want one.
I would add that the issue of exterior size is also important. The indoor garages I've used in Belgium, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands have much smaller aisles and stalls than do American garages. I've often had to empty the car before pulling into the space because the doors won't open far enough. If you have a CDW product, I guess you don't have to worry about scratches.
You also have to confront the danger of parking the car (before you get to the hotel for the night) with visible items to be seen through the window. This is unwise, all over the world. Now, most sedans at Euro rental companies don't have "real" trunks anyway, but you have a lot of passengers ...
Thanks so much to all you who have replied. You each have given me alot to think about.
I appreciate your input!
Ian
We traveled with a small group of 5 last December. We used AutoEurope and reserved a VW Sharon 7 passenger, figuring we would need to turn town the very back row to fit our luggage. What we got instead was a super nice (and bigger) van that had way more room. They had substituted a much larger vehicle and though we had no trouble driving it on the highways, we did have problems parking it in the towns. It was too tall for every parking garage. At our last hotel in Munich we had the front desk vallet park it (they seemed to know a good spot, somewhere on a side street) and hoped for the best. So be aware if they give you a different vehicle!
Thank you so much! We will heed your warning.
All best,
Ian
I was sort of surprised at your precise descriptions of those cars anyway. Most rental companies will not tell you the exact make of the car you are going to get, much less guarantee a certain car, but only the general type of car. They will also reserve the right to upgrade you to a larger car in case the booked one isn't available - which you may not even want even though it's a free upgrade, considering parking issues and gasoline prices.
Also, beware of costly "upgrades" you may not want. We have usually rented a car in the U.S., but since the companies oftentimes are the same ones, they may have the same policies for their agents to act by: aggressive pushing to upgrade the car to a larger and more expensive one plus selling you additional insurance that may simply be redundant with what you have already bought at home.
Given the jetlag, the line of impatient customers behind you getting longer and longer, plus possibly negotiating in a foreign language, it may take some adamance to resist that.
In the States at least, that seems to be the standard policy for car rental agents, and we have experienced some extremes: At one airport, a really nasty agent, in reply to our staunch resistance against upgrades and additional insurance packages, tried to give us a car that was, plainly speaking, a wreck, and I'm not exaggerating. When I tried to start the car and noticed the brakes weren't working properly, even his more sensible colleague out on the parking lot stopped us and said "you can't take that car".
At another airport they gave us a free (!) off-season upgrade to a car that was large enough for us even to use for some simple camping.
I am with Anna here. It is not guaranteed that you will get exactly this particular car/brand that you mention in your first posting. It will be likely one similar to it.
I would look into renting a station wagon. Those are very popular in Europe as they give you good space for passengers AND luggage. At the same time, the exterior dimensions still allow you to find parking.
Ford uses the Mondeo name worldwide for sedans NOT vans. The models called Mondeo varies. In some countries it is a big sedan. In others a sporty Euro style sedan.
A van can be a pain in some cities but Germany seems a lot vehicle friendly than some other places. Vans are the best people/freight movers when you have a party as large as yours. Still the group needs some stern lectures on packing as small and light as possible, While the van may be luggage friendly your hotel may not. Park with care; vans provide an easy preview to persons wanting to smash a window and grab some luggage.
Thanks so much to all of you who responded. We just returned and found driving the Ford S-Max to be a great choice. We found
your information to be very helpful.
Ian
