Manisha

Hi folks:

We will be spending about 3 weeks in Utah in July. Will probably stay in the SLC and the Zion area. Visit the national parks around the 2 areas or any others. Do some stargazing visits in some Dark Sky locations. Do some hot springs. Perhaps venture into Idaho or Wyoming. There will be a fair amount of driving involved, I would assume.

I am looking at rental cars and am wondering whether I should splurge for an SUV. Or just stick with a sedan (its cheaper by about $1000 over 3 weeks). Are there any road or weather conditions that would be better navigated using an SUV?

Thanks in advance,
Manisha

mlgb

No I don't think it's necessary on most tourist routes. There are a few dirt routes in Utah such as the Burr Trail Road down into Capitol Reef but I drove it in an AWD passenger car. However in July if there have been thunderstorms or late snowmelt you should avoid the dirt roads anyways.

The downside of SUVs is that depending on who you rent it from you may not get a trunk cargo cover. Last month in Texas, I rented with Budget a standard class car since it was the cheapest. I got a Toyota RAV4. Utah is probably different though, I would imagine a higher demand for SUVs there.

tomfuller

Anything except Fox Rental cars. Rent online a compact or economy. When you get there and they are out of compact or economy, they will upgrade you to a higher class (usually at the same price as you reserved).
Years ago I rented from Fox at SLC. One of the tires was at 90 PSI and another was slightly underinflated. I took it back right away after I filled the gas tank that they said was full. The TMPS light stayed on for the whole rental but I did check the pressures in Green River. I saw no need to stay in Salt Lake City overnight. Stay off the dirt roads if there has been any precipitation in the past week.

Manisha

Thanks for all the advice and the warning about Fox. I did see that name pop up a lot!

jamie99

Check whether or not the car rental shortage has affected the SLC area. In some areas like California, Hawaii and Florida it is either difficult to rent a car or you may pay some outrageous price. My sister had to go without a car for 3 days last month while hers was getting body work and a new paint job. She finally got a rental.
Lots of rental car companies sold off many cars last year due to the pandemic and lack of demand. Now demand is back but there is a shortage of new cars due to a semiconductor shortage.
I've been actively looking at both new and used cars the last two weeks.

mlgb

I found the best rate via Priceline but you can check Costco, Expedia, Kayak, AAA etc as well a the companies.

Be careful of nonrefundable reservations.

Priceline and Expedia include customer reviews of the agency on their websites. Fox seems to be abyssmal.

You might save a bit with an Enterprise city location rental if you don't have an issue with getting there and back to/from the airport. And they tend to have shorter hours of operation.