Car Rental for One/Smartcar

Get out the darn horns and drums!!! Of course I use a car for solo travel, I'm too stupid to figure out trains. And if I could, I'd still stick with a car. I've never see a smart car as a rental. I've seen them chugging on long hills on the freeways. I get the smallest thing available (Seat Punto or something) and it works fine.

A few years ago I rented a Smart Car For One in Marseille and drove it in southern France and then to Nice. I enjoyed it greatly. No problems. It is for ONE, and one ONLY. I kept my suitcase, regular size, in the passenger seat beside me, buckled in, and my briefcase and camera case in the "trunk"- The trunk was filled with those. The suitcase would not have fit in the trunk!! The car was very suitable for my travel. And, you can park in places where no one else can possibly park, and still have room!!! I was on some of the major highways, and also the back roads in the mountains as well. No problem at all. Make a photo on your phone or camera of all sides of the car when you rent and when you return for your own safety. I had no problem. Rent and drive - you will enjoy it greatly.

I've rented a car for solo travel several times, but in Ireland. The last time I had some flavor of Opel, and the time before that I had a Nissan Micra. The mountains aren't very big in Ireland, but the little Opel had some trouble with a couple. The Nissan was fine.

How about favorite rental car companies?

I have had good experiences renting through gemut.com. Worth checking along with autoeurope and some of the major companies direct to compare rates. With Gemut and I imagine autoeurope as well they will quote you rates in U.S. dollars and will hold that rate even if the dollar weakens against the Euro. I have not been solo but if I did I would take a GPS along with a good map. We take a gps even though my wife stays on top of our trip with a map but I would think the gps would be even more important driving solo. We typically rent a small car but sometimes are offered an upgrade at no extra cost and sometimes have accepted the upgrade and other times not depending on where we were going. Standard transmission with diesel engine will be more economical.

Frank II, DON'T go for a Smart. They are uncomfortable to drive at any speed above 80km/h. They are bad on mountainous roads, and have bad thermal insulational. And are expensive. Any compact car will fit easily in any marked parking space and will not get you in any trouble. If you really want to small, choose a Punto or other subcompact.

Thanks, Andre, I actually have been giving second thoughts to a Smartcar. The way I figure it, if I'm driving a Smartcar in Italy, and get hit by one of those Vespas......I'm a goner.

Frank II, I have to agree with Ed and the others. Stay away from the Smart for Two. I doubt that you'd find it comfortable for the type of driving you're planning, and as others have noted they're seriously "underpowered". You might have a look at Something Like This (again as Ed suggested). Having a slightly larger vehicle will make the ride a bit more comfortable, and provide room for your luggage. Of course for driving in Italy, don't forget the I.D.P. Cheers!

The smaller cars just won't have the "oomph" that the bigger cars do. But, on the other hand, they're easier to park and use a lot less gas. We weren't going up mountains with our recent rental in Germany, but we were on the autobahn in our little Ford Fiesta. We were nervous passing cars, knowing full well a Porsche could come running up on us any minute. It took a bit, but it'd finally get up to speed.

Frank, I've rented from AutoEurope and Kemwel. With AutoEurope, you can cancel your contract at any time. Kemwel charges a percentage for last minute cancellations. However, last year, we got the best rate with Kemwel. You can check their rates online. They are associated with each other, however, with a few different policies as mentioned above. I like to rent a diesel for the best gas mileage. You can request one, however, you are not always guaranteed to get a diesel. You will have a better chance of getting one if you are renting at an airport versus a small town. All of the gas stations carry diesel. As others have mentioned, you may want a car with some power for the mountains and autobahns. For this reason, I would not rent a Smart Car, or similar. I like to rent a hatchback so that I can store my luggage under the cover. Last year we had a stick shift which is a lot less expensive, however, if you are going to drive in the mountains, it gets very tiring to drive. My husband had a very sore back from all of the shifting he had to do through the mountain passes. If you want an automatic, request it. Again, it's easier to obtain at an airport. Have fun driving. We love it!