Last year was probably a record for car launches – around 170 new and improved cars were introduced and many of these will find their way into rental fleets next month with the arrival of the new registration plate.
In the past, the composition of a car-rental fleet owed as much to the discounts being offered by manufacturers as it did to the wish list of the business traveller on the forecourt. In addition, because the image of rental was poor, some brands didn't want to be associated with it: for instance, when Audi UK was separating from Volkswagen in the mid-Nineties and trying to build a premium image, one of its first initiatives was to pull out of rental altogether.
Fortunately for the traveller, those days are largely past. Manufacturers have begun to appreciate that rental can act as a showcase for their new models. For a maker to arrange a customer demonstration of a new car can cost hundreds of pounds, yet a rental car allows many potential customers to try out the latest model. And because rental companies are finding the market highly competitive they are offering ever-wider ranges and extra services at very realistic prices.
Another innovation is at the top end of the market. In the past couple of years, the makers and rental companies have added prestige fleets to the rental companies' standard offers. These fleets can include such exotica as Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari and Bentley, and often have the advantage that the specific model chosen is guaranteed. Needless to say, the cars must be booked in advance. Audi for one is now happy to have its cars included in these fleets as are BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar, as well as Lexus and Range Rover. And it's not just the top models. Avis is the first company to offer a specific-vehicle guarantee on non-premium cars with its Choice Fleet, available on Volkswagen and Peugeot cars at eight UK airports. No doubt the rest will follow and no longer will you be "generously" upgraded to an Audi A3 when you wanted and needed a Mondeo estate.
Even at the lower end of the rental market there are some interesting cars to look forward to. Seat, often remembered by older readers for its Fiat-inspired basic hatchback renta-cars in Spain and the Balearics, now produces some excellent products. National, Europcar and Thrifty will be offering the new Leon FR Golf-sized hot hatches. With 197bhp petrol or 167bhp diesels these cars really shift and the diesel is particularly economical. They are Volkswagens in all but name and will also be offered with the wonderful DSG automatic gearbox originally developed for the Audi Quattro rally cars.
Readers looking for space for colleagues or kids will find lots of great MPVs (or minivans as our American friends call them), including a radically different seven-seat Ford Galaxy with a very stylish yet still practical interior. Hertz is now offering optional DVD players with screens which can be hooked over the headrest to keep the little ones (colleagues or kids) quiet. Citroën has also recently launched a new Picasso with seven seats which is a great improvement on the old model.
At the upper end there are even more new cars to look forward to: Audi is in the middle of a product offensive and will have doubled its product range to 44 models by 2010. Some of its new cars are already on the prestige fleets including the new TT Coupé, the all-road Quattro and the Q7 luxury SUV, and hopefully the recently launched TT Roadster will be joining them later in 2007.
BMW has had a quieter 2006 but still managed to launch two new coupés, the Z4 and 3 Series, both of which should be available from the prestige sections of the rental companies. BMW also launched a much-improved version of its somewhat lacklustre small SUV, the X3, which again should be available at some rental outlets. Mercedes-Benz seems determined to launch a car for every sector of the market – and every letter of the alphabet. One that will be of interest to bigger-budget hirers with kids or colleagues is the all-wheel-drive, seven-seater R-Class, a sort of cross between an MPV and an SUV – in other words a car which can go anywhere carrying lots of people in luxury.
Toyota's premium brand Lexus is now getting on terms with the German triumvirate, having added a new S-Class contender, the LS460, to its recently launched IS and GS models. There has never been any doubt about the Lexus quality and reliability, but the models are now far closer to European tastes; its larger cars have always pleased North American drivers. After a long tiring flight, nothing is quieter or more relaxing than a Lexus LS460, which is soon to have a hybrid sibling, the LS600h. A Lexus to look forward to in 2008 is the V8-engined IS-F, designed to take on BMW's M3 and Audi. That will be some car.
For more information, go to avis.com, hertz.com, nationalcar.com, europcar.com, thrifty.com.
Other new rental cars to look forward to in 2007:
Alfa Romeo Brera
Audi S3
Bentley Continental GTC
BMW M6 Cabriolet
Citroën Picasso
Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet
Ford C-Max
Ford S-Max
Honda Civic Type-R
Jaguar XKR
Land Rover Freelander
Mazda MX5 Roadster Coupé
New Mini Cooper S
Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Turbo 180
Vauxhall Vectra 2.8i V6
Vauxhall Signum 2.8i V6
Volkswagen Touran
Volkswagen EOS Coupé Cabriolet
Volvo C30 and S80
