Rental car for driving in the mountains

As to whether a compact or intermediate will handle and accelerate best it all depends on the car model. And you can never guarantee what model of car a rental place will give you.

l would get a manual compact if travelling alone. With a manual you have more responsive acceleration and you can use your gears to assist with braking by changing down.

First of all use a consolidator to save money on rental:
www.kemwel.com or www.autoeurope.com (same company but check prices on both sites). They work primarily with Avis-Budget, Europcar, Hertz.

In terms of size of car, if you know how to drive a manual, then go for the smaller segments. No reason to spend more on a larger car if you are alone. Actually you could also go for the Mini segment (likely a Fiat 500), but trunk space is very limited.

European cars may be small, but are peppy. If they give you a diesel, even better, as diesel engines have more torque, therefore they climb mountains like missiles. However the smaller the car the more likely it's going to be a gasoline engine, rather than diesel. If you rent a compact (or larger) it's likely a diesel. If an economy, more likely gasoline (although there are diesel models in this segment as well). Most European models are diesel as diesel fuel is slightly cheaper (lower fuel tax) and diesel engines get at least 20% more miles per gallon (or km/Lt).

We've always rented a Compact size class and have never had problems handling either autobahns or mountain roads. We usually specify wanting a VW Golf and have been very happy with our choice.

Smaller cars tend to have smaller engines, but they're lighter weight and hold less people & cargo, so that tends to even out. A manual transmission is helpful for picking the right gear for ascending, and for staying in a lower gear for descending. A super small car will likely be front-wheel drive, and we had one that worked very well in the Scottish highlands last summer, though I've never driven in the Dolomites. Front wheel drive should work in adverse weather too, unless you expect to be driving in really snowy/icy conditions, where all wheel drive could provide more control - hopefully not a problem in October. Only accept a car with tires in outstanding condition in any event.

Thanks very much for the responses, everyone.

Fiat Panda 4 x 4, a tiny car with four wheel drive is very popular with mountain residents; the original model was very simple and was even more popular.
Italian cars are often underpowered as taxes and insurance fees are proportional to engine displacement measured in cubic centimeters. Usually motors at 1200 cc and under have poor performance (diesels are better than petrol). A 1400 cc motor on a small car is likely to be quite brilliant. A 1600 will serve a large car already.

I usually choose Economy (just a few dollars more than Mini). Occasionally, the rental agent will "upgrade" you to a larger car that they happen to have in stock, and there should be no additional charge, in that case.

We always get an economy car, similar to a Ford Fiesta, which we wound up with recently, for our trps to the alps. We've driven over almost all of the Dolomite Passes with these compact rental cars. Also drove the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. Believe it or not, a small car with a 1.4 liter engine and manual trans. will get you everywhere you want to go.

We've rented cars through www.gemut.com (Andy Bestor) for our last few trips.

Paul

Some of the roads in the Dolomites, especially over the high passes, are very narrow and winding. A small car is car easier to maneuver in my opinion.

and high alpine driving is not for the faint of heart. I know I don't want to do it again...at least not in a Mini Van like I was in the one and only driving trip.

in France last year we rented a Ford Fiesta, diesel with manual trans. That car was VERY peppy and got outstanding gas mileage. Wish I could have brought it home LoL