I am interested in anyone's experience in booking a rental car in France and ensuring that it has an automatic transmission. My requirement is complicated further by the fact that I want a vehicle which will carry 7 passengers. I would be booking from Australia but that is probably incidental.

Don't know about the 7 passengers, but just ask. If you ask for an automatic car, the rental agency will tell you whether or not they are available -- that has never been a problem any time I have been to France.

Hi David. I haven't had any trouble renting an automatic in France, either. You must be prepared for the cost however. They are usually about twice the cost of a manual transmission. It is only slightly more to rent from an airport location in France than a city location (unlike Italy). I am renting a station wagon in May for seven days for $256 US. I can also get it for $341 inclusive (all the insurance) if I choose. I do not know if there is a difference because you are a resident of Australia. There have been a couple of posts about renting automatics in Europe and getting to the rental counter where they are out of automatics. I have rented them three separate times and never had a problem. You will probably need a van for 7 passengers.

Only problem with a van is that some of the roads in the tiny villages are really SOOsmall that you may have a problem negotiating and also it is much more difficult to find a place to park.

Hi <BR>When booking car request a Renault Espace or similar, and you will get the seating plan you need.You will have problems parking but only in the few big cities which are few and far between.

You can get a Renault Espace with AT for around $1800 US for the first 17 days at Renault Eurodrive, http://www.renaultusa.com/ I'm betting that's substantially less than any of the majors - if they have AT vans at all (Auto Europe doesn't). The good thing about the Eurodrive program (which is a lease-back program) is that the price includes all insurance etc., rather than playing the usual dumb game with the regular agencies.

SERIOUSLY consider two cars; we were 8 women, and we rented two cars. 6 of us rode from the airport in a van for 7, and we were NOT comfortable. I can't imagine every day in those conditions. Luggage capacity was also very limited in the 7-person van. <BR> <BR>Parking spots seemed to be designed for small cars, and there are few spots for van-sized vehicles; add to that the very narrow and twisty roads in parts of rural France, and the van becomes less palatable.

I've tried to do the same and can say that it is not that hard for a mid or large size car at a major city/airport, but it is very difficult to get a small car with AT. Aside from that, I will warn you that you will probably only be able to get one at major cities/airports. It may be diff. for vans, but for regular cars with AT, Avis for example only has them at Marseille in Provence, not at Avignon or Aix. You don't say where you are renting from, if it's Paris, it should not be a problem. I also would recommend you consider two cars as your options will be limited otherwise. Avis France does not even rent vans with AT, only manual. I have not found cars with AT twice the cost of manual, not within the same size and other amenities category, that is the problem. Don't know how accurate it is but Avis web site quotes about twice as much for a manual than AT within the midsize car category, with may be brand name (Fiat is more expensive even though manual vs Renault Clio with AT), or could just be wrong. They also quote only $200 a wk for a midsize Clio with AC and AT and $570/wk for the Renault Espace van with AC (which is only manual anyway), so two AT cars are cheaper than one manual van.