Gasoline vs Diesel

Karen, in my experience last year in France and this year in England, I was provided with diesel vehicles on both occasions. I wasn't offered any choice.

Whichever vehicle you choose, be sure to check Rick's Guidebooks for the "local words" for either petrol or diesel, so that you don't add the wrong fuel by mistake. When I was at the rental dealers in England this year, they mentioned that the previous customer added the wrong fuel, resulting in an expensive repair bill!

Also, are you concerned about manual or auto transmission? Most rental firms will supply manual unless the customer specifically requests an auto. Most vehicles in Europe are standard including Taxis and Police vehicles. I don't mind manual transmission when driving in Europe, but so far have always opted for auto in the U.K. (makes things a BIT less complicated).

Happy travels!

European Diesel vehicles get amazing mileage over their gasoline counterparts...in my experience. It seemed that we could drive forever on a tank of diesel.

Hi Karen, on our last trip into Munich I reserved a car from Hertz, it was supposed to be gas. When we arrived, the only thing they had left was an Audi A4 Avant diesel. This was clearly marked on the dash and by the fuel (gas) cap. Some rental companies do charge more for a diesel. Make sure to ask when checking prices. Diesel is readily available and is priced less than gas. I lost my reciept when we got home but I recall the price being roughly 1.34e a liter. Like here in the States the price varies from town to town or from one station to the next. If you want to know the differance in mileage you can search a manufacturers website out of the UK. Good to use if you don't know German.

We were in Germany in November and rented a diesel fuel car from Hertz. It did not cost more because it was diesel and we prefer the diesel but sometimes you can't request ahead for one.

In Germany by the locals Diesel is prefered over regular gas. More than 50% of us drive Diesel cars as the price for a liter of Diesel is about 20 cents lower than for regular. Converted into US-$ and Gallons this means more than §1 per gallon less then regular. Plus you get MUCH better milage, more than 40% more miles per gallon. The only thing where Diesel is more expensive than regular is the annular car owner's tax but that's something for you not to worry about. And I know no rental car agency that charges more for Diesel than for regular. Sixt.com e.g. have got twice as many Diesel cars in their all Mercedes, BMW, Audi fleet than regular ones just because of the level of demand. There is no gas station in Germany that does not have Diesel pumps!

Thanks everyone! At this point I've ended up reserving a car with Hertz because we can use our AAA discount to get it cheaper and they didn't let me choose. And we have no choice but to choose automatic's, I can't drive a manual.

Thanks again!
Karen

Karen, make sure you get some practice driving a stick before you go if you're not super comfortable with it. The roads in Germany aren't as straight as in the US. You're going to spend quite a bit of time downshifting unless you're on the Autobahn the whole time.

Many european automobiles us a "turbodiesel" technology now. What dose this mean for a casual US traveler? If your only prior experience with diesel was the old efficient but slower models that were temporarily popular in the late 1970s, the improved acceleration of the new diesels will be a pleasant surprise. And the technology has become much cleaner as well.

Karen, go to the autoeurope.com web site and check out their rates for the same type of car. (It is easy to cancel and re-book auto rentals.)

Then book and pay for your car here.

They are reccomended by Rick Steves and have wonderful service and rates. They are a broker that represents many of the majors (Hertz, Avis, Europecar, etc.) but their rates will likely be 20 to 40% less than the majors!

Also note what Andreus is saying. Make sure that you rent a diesel car, if you plan upon doing much driving. We normally get 46+ mph with 4 of us when we rent a mid size diesel wagon in the EU. Many rental agencies automatically give you the diesel; others may offer it as an option. "Make sure you know before you go"!

Also, don't rent without getting a GPS. Check to see what the rates are for your rental agency, or buy your own here and take it across the pond with you. We bought one for our XMass trip to Germany and Portugal, and it made this our best EU/foreign road trip ever!

Hertz, too, have got a fleet that consists of at least 50% Diesel cars. In my experience local Hertz reservation centers do not necessarily know all the details about the cars in other markets. So upon pick up of the car ask them for a Diesel automatic. Very popular. Every Volvo, Ford, Mercedes, Opel, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, French and Italian car comes with it. Only expemtions: Asian manufacturers. BTW The Dodges and Chryslers sold in Germany only come with stick if Diesel. Too funny...