Five of us are going to Ireland and plan on doing some traveling around. We're trying to decide if we get two small rentals, or one bigger car. Two sm rentals would be $325, one station wagon would be $805. But we don't know how to factor in gas and we plan on doing some driving during the week. Any suggestion???? Thanks, Deb

I assume that the $325 is per car. Even so, the differential between two small cars and the station wagon would more than cover the possible extra cost in fuel. How far do you think you will be going in a week?

If you want all five to travel together, a station wagon won't help (except with luggage). What you would need would be a PEOPLE MOVER class vehicle, and unless one of those five is a SMALL child, you will need to look at a 7 passenger people mover (Kia Sedona, Renaultic Scenic, Ford Galaxy class). The 5 passenger is typically an Opel Merriva ( a Toyota Matrix on a WEAK dose of steroids). It's a nice vehicle for 4 adults, but at the cost of luggage space.
The other advantage of people movers (we would call them small mini-vans)is that the rear seat passengers' viewing benefit from all the glass and the (usually) taller vantage point.
They are rarely available in automatic and they ARE pricey, though.
Bob

Yes, it is $325 per sm car. We're not sure, but I suspect we will travel at least 400 miles. Thank you so much for your speedy reply!

I would think about your group dynamics. If you expect that some of your group will often want to do different things, then having two cars could be usefull. The small cars will also be easier to park. On the other hand, trying to keep two cars together on strange roads and various stops, and trying to find two parking spots together could create a fair bit of stress. Don't worry about the gas cost; it's not cheap, but it won't make that much difference either way. Do think about whether you will want/need an automatic transmission; availability of those is definitely limited (shifting with the other hand doesn't bother me, but it would my wife, for instance).

400 miles is 20 gallons of gas per vehicle. At ~$6 a gallon, that's $120. Not insignificant.

Ahh, but are they diesel cars? We had a diesel in Ireland and we went FOREVER on a tank of gas. Definitly ask for one.

I wouldn't worry about a hundred bucks here or there, I would be concerned about comfort. Two cars would be easier with luggage and less crowded, but driving in Ireland is hard. You are on the other side of these tiny, narrow roads, and you have to pay a lot of attention. Do you have two drivers that will be willing to do that? And you will probably need some type of communication between vehicles and the U.S. walkie talkies I believe are outlawed there.

The other thing is when you are driving, you are viewing the scenery. Do you want to be all together or in seperate cars? Or will being together at all times drive you all nuts and a little time apart in seperate cars be a good thing? And will the group ever feel the desire to bifricate and go two places at once? Do you have shoppers vs. museamers, etc?

Only you can answer these questions.

>400 miles is 20 gallons of gas per vehicle..<

Only 20 mpg? We got double that in a Peugeot 307.

Ah... That's right. I underestimate the mileage. I got about 33MPG with a Renault Scenic Megane. So, expect ~$70-80 for fuel.