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Better to Rent Small Car or Small SUV for Isle of Skye?

Posted by (Rocky Mount, VA) on

I have questions about renting a car that I will be driving for 4 days on the Isle of Skye and for 6 days in the Aviemore and Ballater areas in mid-September.

I have a choice among compact/economy cars such as a Vauxhall Corsa (or similar) or a Ford Focus (or similar) versus a compact SUV such as a Nissan Juke (or similar).

I’ve been searching the forum descriptions of my destinations, and I’ve seen mention of road conditions on the Isle of Sky being hard on smaller cars, especially some of the potholes challenging the lower clearance height of small cars.

Here’s my question: Do the driving conditions on Isle of Skye warrant renting a compact SUV versus a small car? Would a Nissan Juke (or similar) offer much more clearance than the small cars?

As background:

I’ll be doing some day hikes, so I’ll drive to trailheads and will also be driving to explore the scenery.

Typically, I rent a small car such as the ones described above for the mpg economy to save on gas/petrol prices and the convenience of driving it on small roads, and I drive a Corolla and Forester at home.

I don’t need a larger car/SUV for luggage, extra passengers, etc.

I’m familiar with driving in the UK on small roads (last year in Yorkshire) and driving a manual, so that’s not an issue.

Also, I’ve checked out several rental sites such as Arnold Clark and Celtic Legend plus the standard rental sites.

After spending several days in Edinburgh, I plan to rent at Edinburgh Airport or Stirling and drive to Fort William/Glencoe area for a one-night stay, then to the Isle of Skye where I’ll be based in Portree. No specific itinerary, yet, and it’ll be flexible with several choices based on weather conditions.

After 4 days there, I’ll drive to Aviemore to hike and explore that area for several days; then it’s back to public transportation.

I’ve read some past forum posts on the road conditions such as this one:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/isle-of-skye-suv-or-don-t-bother

And I’ve found the Facebook group about the road conditions:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/850482519517785/

All the best,
Raymond

Posted by
1468 posts

I live in Skye. Definitely go for the small SUV. The roads are terrible. Some potholes are more than 9 inches deep. They need to be taken very slowly. They crop- up unexpectedly even on main roads - be prepared to slow down very quickly and try not to swerve on to the other side of the road (obviously - as there is likely to be fairly fast moving oncoming traffic). Single tracks are particularly poor. The tyre replacement trucks of the two local garages do a lot of business and charge around £300 for one tyre including call out fee. Ensure your rental insurance includes tyre coverage.

Posted by
303 posts

Skyegirl,

Thank you for your reply. I decided to go with a small SUV for the better ground clearance and will plan to drive slowly as I develop my itinerary.

I've appreciated your many posts and replies about Skye; they've been helpful as I plan.

I haven't been to Scotland since 1983, so I'm looking forward to a return visit even though my hiking speed has slowed a bit.

All the best,

Raymond

Posted by
5 posts

Same questions i had and also travelling to isle of skye in mid-September. 3 adults with three 24" suitcase which means we will need a mid-size SUV? Still checking out the car rental prices. Saw Arnold Clark has Nissan Qashqai and Toyota CHR to choose from.
Hopefully it wont be too difficult to manoeuver around. Glad to find some answers here.

Posted by
837 posts

Nissan Qashqai is a better choice, although sharing a lot of parts with the Juke it is a more sensible design, especially rear doors and headroom which the 3rd adult will appreciate. It also has noticeably better luggage space, partly to do with the shape of the rear rather than the actual size. But fun fact, these solid reliable Japanese cars are actually built in northern England. The Toyota C-HR has a similar quirky design as the Juke and the same rear access and luggage negatives.

Posted by
5 posts

Thank you so much for the advice. We were undecided between Qashqai and CHR. Now we are.
Besides ensuring there is sufficient car boot space for 3 luggages, we also want to make sure it is not difficult to manoeuvre on the single lane at Isle of Skye.

Posted by
9880 posts

For what it's worth, many of the main roads on Skye are double-lanes so you shouldn't have any problems there. I'm talking about the road going from Armadale up to Portree and some of the others.

Posted by
837 posts

just for clarification, the Juke and C-HR do have rear doors, but they are victories of styling over practicality!

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