Car rental , which size did you rent?????????

Since your interested in Dan Dooley Im assuming you're going to Ireland.
I didn't find much difference between the economy and compact. What I did notice was this. We went with two other couples, we all had our own cars because we had different things planned and were only meeting up in a few spots. Anyway, they both had the tiny compact/economy car- which the luggage your describing should fit fine. We ended up with a Nissan Qashqai- MUCH bigger then what they had BUT an automatic AND it had these awesome warning buzzers all over the car- even told us when we were driving across the lines, not just when we were getting too close to something. Those didn't come on the smaller cars they had and they BOTH ended up hitting things (it is hard driving on the other side of the road). We did fine- yes the buzzers went of A LOT but we did not do any damage to our car- and it was a really fun car to drive. Im glad we ended up with it. Hope that helps.

The VW Up is 12 ft long ( similar to Fiat 500) The Ford Focus is 15 ft.

Get a measuring tape and compare it to what you have in your garage.

Another issue is how tall are you and how much leg space is there in a tiny car?

Are you doing a few days of driving or 10+ days? Making do for a few days in a tiny car may be OK. For longer duration, the larger car makes more sense to me.

Don't loose the spring winding key!

Yes, we are going to Ireland. I will be doing the driving and I am 5' 7.5" I guess my main concern is the width of the car. Everyone says the smaller the better due to the narrow roads. We will have the car for 21 days going from Dublin to Dublin. The longest days driving will be from Dingle to Doolin, Westport to Derry and Portrush to Trim. We have a Prius and a Lexus SUV at home. We have taken the Prius on 8 hour drives and it is fine. Obviously the Lexus is more comfortable but you can't beat the gas mileage on the Prius and once you are in the car for hours it really doesn't matter a long drive is a long drive. If I meet a tour bus on a small road I would probably be wishing for a small car :) I have heard that no matter how long or hard you hold your breathe while passing a bus the width of the car does not change :)

I wanted the smallest I could get after struggling a few years back in Scotland with a midsize. I actually got an economy (listed as a "city car") this time. City car meant really small BUT we told them we needed a four door and it worked perfectly for Ireland, two of us, each with a suitcase, each with a backpack, and also one extra bag. Not much trunk room but the bags easily fit in the covered boot/truck area and the back seat. The car was a "Seat" brand and worked wonderfully and had all the room we needed. We also got the automatic which was a good idea. The car had more than enough pep and we cruised all around the west coast and back to Dublin. Two weeks worth. We got the car from Hertz but rented thru auto Europe I believe. I think for two bags two persons even a city car that is a four door works perfectly.

We rented a small SUV, the Nissan Qashqai (it's called Rogue in the U.S.) and it was not a problem anywhere. I liked sitting up a bit higher than I would have in a small car as we found our way-it was great.

New to this forum, not sure if I should start a new thread or add on to this one? Renting a T VW TOURAN Standard van for a family of 5 adults. Driving from Dublin around to Kilkenny, Adare, Dingle, Waterford for 8 days and my biggest worry is how much trunk space and how will the luggage fit?? Looks to me like no room in the passenger compartment so all suitcases and carry ons have to go in the back? Anyone rented a van of that size? I am not good at packing light! Oh and how about driving on the left??? (I imagine there are plenty of posts about that so I will keep reading!) Thanks for any advice and if I need to start a new post let me know!

I always get a compact, including on the trip my wife and I took to Ireland a year ago--our second visit. Be aware that trunks can be very small, and even a 21" bag will sometimes barely fit in the trunk of a compact, if you also want to put your backpack, etc. in the trunk. We had trouble with a mid-sized car (they "uprgraded" us which we ended up needing) on our 2013 England trip where our 25" bags barely fit in the trunk (an if fact it was a hatchback and strictly speaking, a thief could have told there were bags under the cover). After England, I told my wife we need to go with smaller bags. I find the narrow roads think in Ireland to be overstated, but get the super CDW--we needed it on this last trip as "new" scratches showed on the underside of the front bumper. Might have happened on my watch, might not, but with the super CDW it did not matter. Otherwise the Hertz guy said they could charge "whatever we want" even though the scratches were minor enough there is no conceivable way they would have gotten it repaired.

I am beginning to think that whether we get an economy or compact it might still be a surprise as to whether our luggage will fit or not. My husbands says we can always use the back seat for luggage, which is true, but I would rather not leave everything in full view if we are touring a site, Not that I think the Irish are thieves but I would not leave luggage in full view here (California) either.

VS, have you recently been to Ireland? From your post it sounds like you did not think the roads were as bad as most people say they are. On the Dan Dooley sight under FAQ it talks about how the Irish government has spent $$$ on improving the road conditions over the last years. Just wondering if that improvement extents to the R roads as well.

KSE I just got back from Ireland two weeks ago. The road conditions are good. We were out on the west coast, Cong, Doolin, Dingle, Kenmare, Castlebere and found nothing that I would describe as "bad road conditions". But, many of the roads in the rural areas are in great condition but by their nature are very narrow, very windy, bordered by rock fences, and steep. If this is your first "drive on the left" it will be a challenge but one I learned to enjoy. For me, as I stated before, a car most folks would describe as a wind up toy was perfect for us, it had pep, it had much more room than it appeared from the outside. Don't be afraid of the smaller car but go for the 4 door automatic if possible. The car we got was made by Volkswagen and is a Seat brand. We had a suitcase and backpack in the back seat and had no issues, you just don't witness much thieving over there.

swcw-yes, by all means feel free to start a thread. Give it a unique title like "5 Adults With Luggage in Van Rental?" and you will get more input.

To your question, here's a pic of the van I think you mean, looks like lots of room:

https://www.google.com/search?q=T+VW+TOURAN&tbm=isch&imgil=XqOjLXRjzM9EIM%253A%253BnudxqoKL_RCR1M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.autoexpress.co.uk%25252Fvolkswagen%25252Ftouran%25252F11766%25252Fvolkswagen-touran-pictures&source=iu&pf=m&fir=XqOjLXRjzM9EIM%253A%252CnudxqoKL_RCR1M%252C_&usg=__exj19ROATNoBiNpo2q7TKxPGhYo%3D&biw=1219&bih=626&ved=0ahUKEwjAsIbhl6zUAhUJhlQKHRVrBMcQyjcIOg&ei=Ay44WYCjMYmM0gKV1pG4DA#imgrc=XqOjLXRjzM9EIM:

Thank you Dave you found better pictures than I did, I still need to find the measurements, etc., and figure out which combination of suitcases we have will fit in the "boot"! Great suggestions here about measuring our own cars, etc. And of course leave room for shopping!

You bet. Do your best to lose the "I can't pack light" theme, your trip will be more enjoyable for it! Cheers.

swcs, I second Dave's comment about packing light. Once you do it you will never go back to lugging around a bunch of suitcases. I wear clothes more than once, don't take any jewelry and as far as the shopping goes (and I am a woman) I have to really want it cuz there isn't a lot of extra room to bring things home. Oh, and I don't souvenir shop for everyone either.

Just wanted to drop back in and thank everyone for their comments on the car rental. We will probably go with the economy since the compacts are more (and the price of the economy is already pretty high) and they will both obviously get us to where we want to go.

I think the thing about Irish roads being bad/excessively narrow is overstated by a lot. They certainly have a lot fewer potholes that in the SF Bay area, too. We were there the first half of May 2016. Bus from Shannon to Galway for a couple of days upon arrival, then bus back to Shannon to pick up rental car. Stayed in Ennis for a couple of nights, then Dingle (drove the Slea Head loop), Kenmare for just a night, down to Kinsale, a night in Kilkenny, night in Trim, then dropped the rental car at Dublin airport. The only really scary part was entering Kinsale, when the tide was really high and there was water over the bridge, probably about 3" deep. The area on the waterfront in front of our hotel was also somewhat flooded. You are right to think it's random whether the bags will fit. A compact with 21-22" bags should be fairly safe, but you never know.

We had a midsize/intermediate and had no problem anywhere. That being said, there are some country roads where 2 cars going in opposite directions will not fit, no matter what their size. In those cases, someone has to move aside and let the other pass.

And by "move aside", you mean drive into the bushes?

Never had to go into bushes, but have had the drive backwards to find a move aside spot.

Neither driving in the bushes or having to back up for who knows how far sounds like fun. However, I am thinking that either of them would be easier in a smaller car.