Hi, my husband and I are trying to pick up a car in Chiusi for our stay in Tuscany and then drive to Santa Margherita Ligure and Varenna and return it at the Malpensa Airport.

We checked the Autoeurope website and realised that our choices are Ford Fiesta (Economy) or Fiat Idea (Compact), both with 4 doors and air-conditioning. The Ford Fiesta is almost USD200 cheaper than the Fiat Idea.

We are only 2, so we do not need a big car but we do worry about how powerful the car is. My husband wants a car with at least 1.4 cc and we called Autoeurope but Autoeurope said it could not guarantee whether it's a 1.4 or 1.2, be it the Ford Fiesta or Fiat Idea.

Do you think that in case Autoeurope assigns a 1.2 to us, it will be a problem for our trip? Will it be more realistic to hire from Hertz which allows us to choose by paying different prices for the 1.4 and the 1.2?

Is Hertz convenient to get to from the train station in Chiusi? (I know Autoeurope may put us through Hertz anyway.)

Please help.

I was at a trade show recently and was told by the Auto Europe sales representative that if you were not satisfied with your car rental size upon arrival that you could call the phone number on the voucher and they can do an instance upgrade for you at the prepaid rate. I don't know if I would want to try that as it is likely an overseas phone call and it would be some wasted vacation time which in my case...on a 10 day vacation would not be worth taking the chance. If you do it at the counter without calling first, you can be sure that you will pay a fortune for the upgrade. I have rented the smaller car twice in France and once in Portugal and did not find power to be an issue...luggage space however was very tight. Our luggage was visible as we had to keep one of our larger suitcases (24 inch) in the back seats. Where we have stops enroute this time around...I would not want to have the luggage visible. If you are packing with carry on size suitcases..you may have enough room but if they are in excess of 19 or 20 inches in addition to a carry on bag or two...you may be glad you upgraded to compact.

Hi Maxi,
I drive a 999cc car here in Australia and generally speaking I dont find I have a problem with power, even with 3 people in it. I think you would be fine with a 1.2 in terms of power if just the two of you, but you may need to turn off the air con going up a hill it tends to chew up the power.

THe car will be able to do everything a big one could, it is just a question of how quickly.

The Ford Fiesta is quite small, while the Fiat Idea is larger. A 1.2 Fiesta should not be really bad (the car is so small it does not need a big engine), while I am afraid a 1.2 Idea will be slow (but the 1.2 engine in Ideas is a 16 valve one, so a better engine than traditional ones).

Both 1.2 cars should be perfectly adequate for urban and suburban driving; for longer trips they are less confortable than a larger model, but the can go everywhere anyway.

I had for four years a 1.2 Fiat Punto - that I used both for everyday driving and long trips on holidays. On the plus side, it was quite cheap and petrol consumption was to a bare minimum. On the minus side, it was slow on overtaking and on steep ramps. The highway ramp north of Florence to Bologna, 30 km. long, very steep at the beginning and with a lot of trucks to overtake, was always a pain. I later switched to a 1.6 Renault Scenic and I felt relieved.

I too am debating on which car to reserve.

AutoEurope has a Renault Megane Wagon as a compact alternative. Has anyone ever driven this car? Is there a lot of legroom in the front seat? Does it have reasonable power to go up hills?

I just called Auto Europe yesterday to change the drop off depot for our car rental in May. I was told that they would have to recalculate the rate. They now have a promotion for a free upgrade from Economy to Compact which was not available before. Our car rental cost CAD$381 for 8 days including tax and insurance. You may want to check it out...not sure when you are renting.

A 1.2 is fine. Most rental cars are quite new - maybe a year old or less. Unless you are doing some serious offroad stuff you won't really need a bigger engine. We always go for a 1.2 Punto or Fiesta and quite happily barrell down the road at 100mph.

Yes indeed! I own a 1.2 litre-engined fiat panda and i can't believe i spent the first 10 years of my driving life with a V8 jeep. What fun! Small cars rock. And given that gas is up to 1.276 a litre, you're going to want that small gas talk that takes 500km to dissipate!

For those interested in smaller cars, you might want to check out Sixti,a division of Sixt. ONe of our guests got a rate of 61 euros pick up/drop off Malpensa for 6 days for a smart in May, and you can choose your insurance options online.Well worth a try.

Diana

The Hertz office is right across the street from the train station.