What size car is comfortable for us Americans? My car in "real life" is a Crown Victoria, but I'm willing to downsize. Don't want to end up a human pretzel!

Get the smallest size car you can fit into. In my case, that's about Peugeot 206 size or similar, and I'm 6'3".
You'll be driving it down some fairly narrow tracks, and it also needs to be economical because the cost of fuel in Europe is fierce. Further, parking spaces seem to be smaller than I'm used to.

Where are you going?
How many are traveling?

yes, we need more information. it's very important where you are going as some places accomodate larger cars (eg size of roads, parking spaces, etc) much better than others. you will get around much better in a larger car in germany than in italy for example.

A few things to consider before you rent a puddle jumper with no power.

You will be stopping along the way before you get to your hotel. You may do this several times on your trip. You want a car or van that can hold your luggage in a trunk and out of sight. Anything left in the open in the car is subject to theft. Never leave anything in the car in sight as you go touring...especially a lot of maps that tells the crook you are a tourist.

Second thought: Europe has a lot of hills. Get a car with a real motor that can climb these hills. I have had a small car before that could barely climb them. This again depends on where you are going. We have rented all size cars from vans to a giant Ford Transit that held 6 of us and never really had any big problems...especially in Germany. Sometimes you have trouble on the turning, but we always got where we wanted to go.

If it's autobahns and other high-speed routes, who cares, but if it's countryside and villages in the UK or Italy for example, the smaller the better, no kidding.

WK

I've had no problems with a Peugeot 206 or equivalent in the Alps and Pyrenees. But both cars had standard shift. I am not sure that an automatic would do as well.

If you want to take a spouse AND your luggage, I can only steer you away from the SmartCar.

Jules

We just returned from Ireland and as suggested on these boards we rented the smallest automatic car. It was big enough for the 2 of us, we put the back seats down and had more than enough room for 2 large suitcases, small pieces of luggage and odds and ends.Are we ever glad we listened, the roads are very narrow, Buses, trucks and heavy building equiptment are extremely intimidating especially when one is not use to driving on the left side.In most of these narrow winding roads the posted speed limit was 60 - 100 kilometers per hour !!!!So you have to contend with vehicles passing you.While driving the scenic routes as the Ring of Kerry etc you'll find almost single lane roads that are used as 2 lanes with hairpin curves.We did a lot of driving and there wasn't a day we weren't thankful we had rented a small car.

i always rent very small cars and never had a problem with power. most recently i had a opel corsa (my least favourite car) in switzerland. i drove through some of the most mountainous roads in the world and it would have been nice to have a bit more power but it was not a big deal...just had to take some stretches in 2nd gear. there were a lot of similar cars driven by locals so i didn't feel at a disadvantage.

if you have 4 adults + luggage in something like a corsa or clio and it is automatic then you may have some problems but two adults in a 5 speed anything and you can handle anything in europe.

itemtwo, you specified Ireland when you posted this (but you didn't put Ireland in your message). Is that where you're going?

If so, then adeben is absolutely correct. Get the smallest car you can squeeze you, your fellow travelers, and your luggage into.

I had to smile thinking about your Crown Vic on the tiny, tiny little roads that take you to the places you'll most want to visit in Ireland.

How many of you are there? How big are you - 6' or over? How uch luggage do you have? How long will you be spending in the car?

Everyone talks about how narrow the roads in europe are- and II have not found this to be tur except in the centers of some very small towns. (Yes - local roads are narrower then the giant lanes on superhighways - but few are so narrow that you actually have rouble getting a car throgh - provided you know how to drive.)

We always take a mid size or larger to get something with an engine big enough to be comfy getting on and cruising on high speed highways. Yes - gas is expensive - but as a part of your total budget - it's minimal unless you plan on driving several thousand miles.

Just be sure you can parallel park in a space only slightly larger than the car - and that you can drive through a space about a foot wider than the car (tuck in mirrors if necessary).

Another thing to consider is how you pack. It's harder to fit several rigid suitcases (either hardside or softside) in a small trunk than it is to fit one rigig + one soft bag like a large duffel.

We're traveling around Germany at the moment in our Renault Laguna (except for a too brief test drive in the Audi A8 kept for guests at the Baden-Baden Dorint/Sofitel). It's a good compromise car--gets decent mileage, comfortable for long drives, big enough back hatch to handle luggage for a few people, enough power for hills and maneuverable on most country roads and village streets.

We've had very little trouble navigating 7-passenger "people movers" or MPV (minivans in the USA) on even the smallest backroads of England and Scotland (which I assume are very similar to those in Ireland).

Actually, in reality, I'm not convinced that these vehicles are much "bigger" than the tiny cars mentioned - a little longer, but probably only a couple of inches (if that) wider, which is the biggest issue on the back roads.

When we haven't had a minivan, we've had an "estate" type vehicle - sort of a station wagon in US lingo.

Both of these have fit 4 adults in comfort...with one medium to large suitcase per adult, plus a variety of carryon bags (camera, tote, etc.), and miscellaneous results of our shopping expeditions along the way.

I don't know how many are in your group, but there is no way that we could have fit more than one additional person in the vehicles we've rented.

When my husband and I have traveled on our own, we've just rented a midsize or similar (I can't remember the exact vehicle right now), and we're fine - with our two medium/large suitcases and the misc carryon/camera/purchases.

I'm sure that others will say that we take too much stuff (our suitcases are too big), but we like the way we travel and haven't had any real difficulties....(well, there was the one time that we drove off the side of the road and got stuck in the mud....see my Scotland report from September 2004...).

Good luck!

Gayle

Hi
We just came back from Germany and our primary request was for an automatic trans. We were given by Avis a very good sized [I drive a Mini at home] Mercedes mini van the A150. My wife and I are both seniors and it was an extremely comfortable car to be in. If it were sold in the US, we would consider buying one. The size was good, handling was good, it was a 4 cyl. with a covering over the rear for storage. It held its own on the Autobahns. We drove from Berlin to dresden and back up to Potsdam and then Berlin. It was built for european streets and freeways. You don't end up like a "human pretzel"

Just returned from Italy having requested a Mercedes Station wagon for 4 adults. In venice the car was not available. We were offered a tiny FIAT which we refused leaving us with a Mercedes VITO. This was a 9 PASSENGER VAN!! It was huge but we had a blast trying to fit into tiny parking areas and little streets. It was a conversation piece with the locals. Don't worry, go with the flow and enjoy.

We always get a 5-speed, and usually NOT the smallest one available. Every time I've rented a car in the past 5 years or so, it seems like we've been upgraded to a larger model when we get to the reservations desk. The last times we were in Italy and France we ended up with Opels (don't remember the model names) that were "midsized" -- which to me means big enough for 4 adults and their luggage. One was a small station wagon. We ask for diesel powered cars as the fuel efficiency is much better, and not only are the cars easy to navigate small streets in hilltop towns, but we are comfortable driving them on the highways.

Hi LadyOLeisure! Sounds like a NiceLife to me!

itemtwo: when you say "us Americans" you paint with a mighty broad brush. some of us are pretty tiny and don't mind tiny cars. Some are not so tiny and need bigger vehicles.

how many in your party and how many bags?

nytraveler,

As for the roads not being all that narrow, where in Ireland have you driven?

In my experience, nearly every road in the Southwest, West, and Northwest of Ireland that was not a motorway (divided, multi-lane highway) was much more narrow than what we are used to in the states.