Diesel or gas powered car?

Is that a total of $15, or $15 per day? For a total of $15 I would go with the diesel. For $15 a day, for me it would depend on how many miles I plan to put on the car. Diesel does get better mileage.

I agree with Andrea. She was a couple of days behind me in France this year. We were both in rental cars. The diesel does get better mileage. Also, you will most likely get a stick shift instead of an automatic. Even if you arrange for an automatic, you sometimes will end up with the stick shift.

Thanks, everyone for the advice. The price I was seeing was $15 more for the two weeks, not per day. I thought diesel probably got better mileage but I wasn't sure how much better. If memory serves, last fall in Italy diesel was about the same price at the pump as gas. But it sounds like diesels probably the better choice anyway.

I just talked to auto Europe. They said reserving the economy diesel Renault Clio (or similar vehicle) would not guarantee me getting diesel. They said I could request diesel at the counter and if they have it available they would give it to me. I also got them to put "request diesel if available" in their comments box. So I left my reservation for a car that does not say it is diesel and, hopefully that will work. But should I just pay the extra $15 or so to reserve this Renault Cleo diesel "or similar vehicle"? Do I have a better chance of getting a diesel that way?

Diesel without a doubt.

Definitely diesel. We have never been guaranteed in advance as to getting a diesel car or regular gas. We are always pleasantly surprised to get one and there has never been an extra charge. We rent through Europcar lately but used Hertz many times in the past.

The first car we rented in Germany was a Fiat diesel. It got such good mileage I began to wonder if the fuel gauge was broken!

I've even found that when you reserve a diesel with one of the big companies like Avis/Hertz, there is no guarantee that they won't stick you with a different vehicle. I've had Ford Focus Diesel Wagons several times, with great storage capacity (no, I don't leave luggage in there if I can avoid it!) and unbelievable mileage. Too bad Ford refuses to import them to the USA.

The diesel car we rented in Spain was fantastic. Rarely needed fueling and so much PEP that we merged on the highways with ease and zipped around the cities. We did take our GPS from home, that extra was priced at $18E per day - OUCH!

Diesel

I just talked to the right person at Auto Europe (if at first you don't succeed try, try again...) and found out that this particular car, the Renault has a reservation code that guarantees you will get a diesel car. So I switched my reservation. Now I have a guaranteed diesel car for only $15 more! I'm happy, my husband is happy, life is good. I swear by auto Europe. In all my years of travel I have found only one time where their rates were beaten and they more than matched that when I called it to their attention. They've also help me straighten out mistakes by the actual car rental companies in Europe. That said, sometimes it takes several tries to get exactly what you're looking for. Once again, my thanks to all.

The car I recently rented for 10 days in France was also through AutoEurope. I reserved the diesel Renault Clio (or similar) and they gave me a diesel Renault Megane. It was slightly bigger than a Clio and was an excellent car. The electronics were a little confusing, but I had no trouble driving it. I brought a Garmin GPS from home. I highly recommend using a GPS.

Hi Andrea we, too were fortunate to get up graded to a Renault Megane on a trip to France. Wonderful car. And I agree with you about bringing the GPS from home. Plus maps. So here's hoping we get upgraded again but if not we'll still have the diesel.

If I have a choice, I choose diesel with manual transmission. You save some per liter and put fewer liters in. There is no noise, smell or vibration that we often equate with diesel engines. Obviously, the US has different rules for vehicles than Europe does. We would have better efficiency overnight if we allowed European cars to be sold here. I believe many models aren't sold in the US because of our different safety and environmental standards - though European cars are perfectly safe and, with their great mileage, better for the environment IMO.

Requested a Peugot diesel, assuming that's what they would give me anyway (promoting their own cars). That's what I got in the past. Totally shocked when they gave me a Ford Focus. Diesel. GREAT CAR. Would sell well in US, but that makes too much sense & diesel isn't politically correct. Proven dependable diesel, easy & reasonable to maintain, especially when compared to a Prius.
I would like to know the politics preventing this.

One of the hottest cars on the market in the US is the VW diesel Jetta Wagon.