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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
1410 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.

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