I will be spending 7 days in the Dolomites. I assume the roads to be winding and hilly. Which of the above cars can handle the driving conditions in the Dolomites better? It'll be in the mid-September time, if that makes any difference.
thanks in advance!
The Fiat 500 and the Lancia Y are basically the same car. The platform is the same, just the styling is different. Be aware that these are very small cars, and the when you rent a car there is no guarantee you will get what is shown. It is always "BrandX, model Y, or similar". I don't think I have ever received the exact car selected during the booking.
I would get a bigger car. The roads are big enough for busses and trucks, so you do not need a small car.
I'd go for the Lancia if you can get one. It may be the same platform as the Fiat 500, but I would expect handling and overall performance to be a bit better.
As I read this article--
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46789155/2024-lancia-ypsilon-revealed/
the Lancia is a battery powered car.
You really want to be dealing with that?
For 1 or 2 people, and as long as you are not trying to mimic the Pikes Peak Rally, it would do the job.
Personally I would want a bit bigger.
And as Wengen noted all they guarantee is the 'or similar'
I'm not sure the Lancias that are currently in rental fleets are likely to be the newly announced electric models. But I wouldn't rent any electric car unless I already owned one and knew the challenges of finding a charger in unfamiliar places.
The description Avis give on the Lancia Ypsilon or similar is: 5 doors, 4 seats, manual, AC, 2 large bags. The Fiat 500 Hybrid is still a petro-electric hybrid, right? I should not be relying on electric charging station, or did I miss something?
Ok, so basically the "Lancia Ypsilon" category will get you the smallest 4-door hatchbacks, and the "Fiat 500" category will get you the smallest 2-door hatchbacks. It makes no difference if you do not have passengers in the back. Both will probably get you very small cars (If you pick the Fiat 500 category, a Fiat 500 itself is very likely in Italy) with barely enough trunk space to fit 2 pieces of cabin luggage, and limited power. I would go a size up, if I were you.
I would choose something bigger and more powerful. It’s hard work driving up mountains in a low powered vehicle. You’ll be in first and second gear a lot.
Thank you all for the advice! It looks like I have quite a few options to choose from.
- Peugeot 208
- Opel Corsa
- Fiat 500X / Tipo Estate
- Fiat Panda
Any recommendations?
Wow, Keddy has a Jeep Renegade for $50 per day. Has anyone rented from Keddy before?
I haven't been to the Dolomites, but I have rented a Fiat500. It was blast to drive. And it was coral colored and had houndstooth upholstery. I'm very tall, and it had a surprising amount of head room. Last time I tried to get one, I got a Toyota Aygo, which was fine but not fun. Have a great trip!
I live in the Alps. Unless you have a lot of luggage, or intend to do a lot of motorway driving, a smaller car is a much better option.
Having owned a few Fiat 500s for work, I would choose just about anything else. I found the ride quality to be very poor
I live in the mountains in Italy. Every 3rd car is a Panda and they get around just fine. It’s the drivers that don’t. We call it “being Panda’d” when we get stuck behind un’anziano who crawls along at 45 km/h in his ancient car. But the new ones, driven with some attention to actually depressing the gas pedal, move right along. Note that the back hatch area will hold a couple of grocery bags and that’s about it.
Your Fiat 500X option is a good one for being a reasonable size to hold some luggage and to move up and down the hills without a tow. On my last trip to the Dolomites, I had a Fiat Tipo Estate (wagon). It’s too long to park comfortably a lot of places. I’d skip that one.
These will of course all have standard transmissions unless they are hybrid or electric. A plug-in hybrid won’t be too useful since you’re unlikely to actually bother charging it for the 50 km range it gives you. All-electric should be ok, I have one and can always find public chargers when I need one. And that’s in Abruzzo, the north of Italy is likely ahead of us in charging stations.
I agree with others that you’ll likely be more comfortable in something a bit bigger than a 500 or an Ypsilon but they’ll all work. Pick the size you want and don’t worry too much about the model.
Are we talking about the Fiat500 or the Fiat500X. Those are two totally different cars. The Fiat 500X is a crossover that is larger, with adequate cargo, and much more powerful that a Fiat500, which is basically a toy city car for commuting, and not really adequate for any luggage larger than a briefcase.
I would put the Fiat 500X and the Jeep Renegade in the same category as small compact SUV/crossover. The Fiat Grande Punto is also in the same category, although not a crossover and it is out of production so you won’t get it anymore. The Punto Estate is a larger station wagon. All of the above are adequate for mountain driving (have enough power) and have luggage hold sufficient for at least 2 or 3 if you fold the back seat half. I was able to fit 4 people with carry on luggage in a Renegade and in a Compass. The punto estate is large enough for 4 with luggage.
The Fiat Panda is a piece of krap in terms of torque in my book. No power at all. It has a small cargo hold, but enough for up to 3 people by folding half seat in the back. But can a Panda climb the Dolomites passes at over 25 miles per hour? Doubtful.
I don’t have experience with the Corsa or the Ypsilon or even the Peugeot208. They are small however.
Personally if there are two or three people traveling I would go for the Jeep Compass, Jeep Renegade, Fiat500X, or Fiat Punto. The Compass and the Punto have the largest cargo of the group. If you rent in the Compact/Small SUV category the above are cars that you are very likely to get, because they are all manufactured in Italy by Stellantis Group, which is big in Italy (Stellantis is the conglomerate born from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot-Citröen in 2021).
To rent a car in Italy I use a broker called www.AutoEurope.com then select the best deal in the Compact/SUV category (which I recommend for the Alps) usually with Hertz or Avis or Europcar. You are not assured of the exact model you will actually get, as they can give you anything similar in that category, but so far it has always been either a Fiat 500L, 500X, Jeep Compass, or Jeep Renegade, all of which are manufactured in Italy. Once I also got a Opel Mokka, Opel is another Stellantis brand, and the Mokka is manufactured in Spain. The Punto Estate is probably a step above, because it is a larger station wagon. Rental companies like to have cars in their fleet that are easy to resell in the used car market, and the above models are all very popular in Italy. If they give a diesel you will have even more power and torque for the mountains, however rental companies are getting away from diesel cars since local governments have placed a lot of restrictions on diesel,cars in the city centers because of environmental concerns.
Thank you all for taking the time to provide the really valuable advice!!!
I booked a Jeep Renegade by Keddy. I've read some customer reviews regarding Keddy, but most of them are in the UK. And the main complaints have been about the daily mileage limits. My reservation clearly states that it's unlimited miles. I am to pick up the car at Bolzano airport. The only thing that makes me feel less easy about is that the reservation shows "phone: not available", "hours of operation: not available" ... Keep my fingers crossed, hope everything goes smoothly.
Many thanks, again!
I think Keddy is a product by Europcar that is bookable only thorough brokers? Did you get it through AutoEurope?
In any case, since Keddy is a rental formula part of Europcar, check the telephone numbers and hours of the Europcar office in Bolzano. I’m pretty sure that will be the office you will rent the car from.
I booked through Chase Travel, along with my airline reservations.
The Jeep Renegade category is a good choice. You'll get something that is still compact and manageable, but actually able to hit the road and hold your stuff.
Cool! That's the hope ;-)
