Which vehicle?

[Marc_767]

Hello again, I need some help choosing a car for our 4-week roadtrip from NY-San Francisco. There will be 4 of us (all adults and kind of tallish) making the trip and everyone has 1 piece of luggage and 1 backpack.

I have had quite good offers for 3 different sized cars and now I'd need to choose one. They are: Pontiac Grand Prix 4dr auto a/c, Cadillac DeVille 4dr auto a/c and Chevrolet Blazer 4dr auto a/c.

Last one is obviously the biggest one but it's also the most expensive one, so what do you guys think, will we fit in the Pontiac or should we pay the extramoney and get the SUV?

Thanks in advance

Marc

[Midwest Michael]

I guess it would depend upon the price differences and what your budget is, but I think I would lean towards the Cadillac.

The Cady is considered a "large" car, so all of you should be able to fit comfortably with room to spread out. Plus, since it would be considered a luxury sedan, you'll likely have some other advantages, like a smoother and quieter ride. I believe that model has a V-8 engine, so you'll have plenty of power and get slightly below average gas milage - probably about 20-25 miles per gallon.

I don't think you'd need something as big as a Blazer. If you only have suitcases and a few backpacks, I think you should be able to fit into a regular car. It is basically a truck, so you'd have a much rougher ride and take a hit with gas mileage, probably only getting about 15 mpg.

If money is an issue, the Grand Prix would work just fine. Its a little bit smaller than the Caddy, but most mid-sized sedans are now plenty big for four 6 foot tall adults. You'd get better gas mileage than the other options, but you wouldn't get quite the same features of the more luxurious Caddy. That said, its pretty much the protypical American Sedan, so you'd be driving something that's exactly like what most Americans have in their driveway.

Hope that helps you make your decision.

[Marc_767]

Thanks for a quick answer! So I think that we'll give up the idea about Blazer and choose between Caddy and Pontiac.

The difference between prices is about 570$ for the time of rental.

What do you think, could it be a good idea to book the Pontiac first, and if we decide that it's too small we could upgrade it to a bigger one when we arrive to NYC, or is it going to be more expensive that way than booking the bigger car via internet in avance? We are going to rent the car via Holidayautos, which is a rentalcarbroker that uses National's cars if Im right.

[Midwest Michael]

If it were me, I think I would be just fine in a Pontiac if it ment saving $600, but I'm cheap and generally keep my costs as low as possible. There is also the chance that if you reserve a standard sized car like the grand prix, you could be upgraded to a larger vehicle depending upon availablity.

Its really too hard for me to say what your price difference will be if you change your mind about car size. I'd suggest contacting your broker directly to see what their specific policies are.

[PNW Judy]

Do all of you live in the same area? If so, I'd take part of a day and go to local Pontiac, Cadillac and Chevy dealers and take 'em for a test drive and see how you all fit. If you don't all live in the same area, I'd offer to buy some tall friends lunch if they'd come with me for such a test. And then I'd suggest to your friends that they do the same wherever they live. Of course, check out the trunk space as well! This seems the best way to make a decision to me.

If you rent the Pontiac but decide to upgrade to a bigger vehicle once you get there, they may not have a bigger vehicle available. I have no idea if a last minute change would effect price but it wouldn't surprise me. I'd really do the test drives first so you know what will work and not have to deal with that issue once you get to NYC.

[Marc_767]

Well, the main problem is that we all live in Europe, so I have never seen these cars live, and only the SUV in movies and pictures. We tried to book the Caddy, but now the rental agency said that it is not available any more, so we'll probably have to take the Blazer since I still fear that we won't be able to fit in Pontiac with all our stuff although it would be a lot cheaper than Blazer.

Marc

[Quebec Gen]

Hi Marc,

Well, if you are used to drive small cars and pack them to full capacity, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to all fit in a Grand Prix with your luggage. It's not that I have anything against Blazers, I personally used to drive one and always loved it, but these vehicule cost a fortune worth of gas, especially in these days.

If you're willing to restrain yourselves to smaller pieces of luggage, even if it means going to the laundromat once in a while, I'm sure you'd manage to fit everyone and everything in. I went on a recent trip with 3 other women and we managed to fit all of our bags (including the complete monstruous make-over kit of one of them) in a much smaller car (Honda civic) so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do the same!:-)

Good luck!
Geneviève

[Midwest Michael]

I'm going to agree with Gen on this one, If you thought the Caddy was going to be big enough for all of your stuff, I think the Grand Prix would work just fine.

The two cars probably aren't that different when it comes to cargo room, although the Caddy would probably have had slightly more leg room for the back seat. Both cars were built to comfortably move 4 people, including luggage, so as long as your bags and backpacks are of average size, you should be just fine.

If you want some more details about the car, I've always found Edmunds to be a good resource. Its primarily set up to help people looking to buy a car, but you can find reviews and details about the exact specifications of most cars there. In fact, a quick look at that link shows the Grand Prix to have a 16 cubic foot trunk.

The Blazer's a perfectly good vehicle, but as long as you've only got your baggage, and aren't looking to add in things like camping gear, I don't think you'll need to spend the extra money for that much vehicle.

[Marc_767]

Thanks alot both of you. That Edmunds proved to be pretty great site to get information concerning US cars. I checked out the specs on all 3 cars and the Pontiac doesn't look so "small" car anymore. The trunk is some 3 cubics smaller than the one in Caddy but there isn't so big difference between the interiors of these cars.

The only difference between Pontiac and Blazer is the trunk, the interiors are almost the same sized.

And difference between the consumptions seems to be quite big for these 2 cars:

Pontiac GrandPrix: EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway)
Automatic: : 20 mpg / 30 mpg

Chevrolet Blazer: EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway)
4-speed automatic: 16/21

We'll still have to do some re-consideration.....

Marc