Extended Test Drive 2019 Volkswagen Passat Wolfsburb Edition

During our Tucson, AZ trip this was our rental. It is a 2019 Volkswagen Passat Wolfsburb Edition, where the Wolfsburb Edition is apparently is the base model. I find the name a little pretentious.

Appearance is generic German sedan. It will neither offend anyone nor be considered a proper looker.

Test Drive 1998 BMW Z3 M Roadster

For Thanksgiving we took a trip to Tucson, AZ. Holly's Uncle has a fun little car we took for a brief spin. It is a 1998 BMW Z3 Roadster.

This may be the first convertible I have reviewed? It being a convertible was perfect for driving around Tucson in early December.

Extended Test Drive 2019 Infiniti Q50 3.0t AWD

We were down in Florida for a family event and needed a rental. I like to rent cars of varying types to keep the rental reviews interesting and different, and my wife accommodates me. We rented a "Luxury" tier vehicle through Budget, which was stated to be a Chrysler 300 or similar.
We ended up with a 2019 Infiniti Q50 3.0t AWD.

In summary, it was nicer than our normal rental, but did not make a compelling argument for ownership if I was looking at this market segment.

Extended Test Drive 2018 Ford Fiesta ST

We made a trip down to Atlanta, GA for Holly's grandmother's birthday and got another rental car. We were originally trying to rent a manual Dodge Challenger but none were available and Holly said no to a Chevrolet Camaro (plus the Corvette was too expensive for our liking this time); we rented the second cheapest car they had at $113 for 4 days (not including taxes and fees). The cheapest car was $111 for the same time span and an automatic Toyota Yaris hatchback.
Needless to say, we were pleasantly surprised.
The manual Ford Fiesta variant we rented was a Fiesta ST, the performance version of Ford's smallest econo-hatch. Also, it was orange:

Starting with styling, I rather like the front grill on this. I also think that the headlights are too large for the car though. This is especially true on the profile show below. Also, it would have been nicer if it used HID or LED headlights instead of non-projector halogens.

Extended Test Drive 2018 Ford Ford Explorer Limited

We took a trip to Vermont. One of the objectives was to drop off an air compressor and a shelving unit we previously cleared out of our storage unit. These do not really fit in the BRZ so we decided to rent something a bit bigger.
It should be noted that we had an issue with the tires on this rental, this is discussed in another post.
Our first challenge was figuring out whether or not a Ford Explorer would have sufficient space with the rear two rows down for a 78" shelving unit piece. This proved really hard to find. Apparently the dimensions with seats folded down were not published for this generation of Explorer. Holly and I spent roughly 1 hour 15 minutes collectively searching for this information and came up with some board dimensions (kind of) off a Ford Explorer forum. Just to contrast we then searched Subaru BRZ cargo dimensions and found full dimensions (rear seats up, down, and removed) within 3 minutes. Funny how difficult it is to find anything except cubit feet of cargo volume for a vehicle that people might actually haul lumbers or other stuff in.

Rear of the SUV loaded, plenty of space for the air compressor. Just enough space for the shelving unit.

Penske Ford F-350 16' Truck

We finally emptied out our Public Storage Unit. We drove from Glen Mills, PA to Chicago, IL in a Penske Ford F-350 16' moving truck. We liked it a lot more than most of the moving trucks we have rented. We moved a lot of parts for Nausicaa, our 1993 Honda Prelude project.
Basically, captain's chairs and cruise control plus a suspension that is not ridiculously bouncy makes for a much better driving experience. We had no problems at all and were as comfortable as we have ever been in a moving truck.

I found this one rather easy to maneuver (going forward or backward). I think I am starting to get used to driving things this big. I am not sure if I like that...

Extended Test Drive 2019 Ford Mustang Ecoboost

We took a trip to Atlanta by way of PHL flying into ATL. We rented a manual transmission Ford Mustange EcoBoost from Budget. It is unusual but very nice when we are able to rent a manual transmission; they are especially uncommon to rent in the US.
This was an interesting car for us. The EcoBoost Mustang, which uses a 2.3L turbocharged four cylinder engine, has received a lot of compliments and accolades from car reviewers about its improved handling. Their rationale is that Ford has improved the handling in general and that the reduced weight over the front axle (200+ fewer pounds) supposedly greatly increases steering feel and responsiveness. There have been reports that this brings the Ford Mustang EcoBoost closer to being a true sports-car (sporty handling) instead of just a pony car (fast in a straight line). We were therefore rather enthused to get a chance to try it in manual form as this is something we would consider cross-shopping in the future or if Subaru kills the BRZ.

One thing we were surprised by was how large it was. It is a two door coupe. It is not small.
We did not feel small in this car compared to other cars on the road.

U-Haul Ford F-350 15' Truck

We rented a U-Haul Ford F-350 15' Truck to move stuff from our storage unit to our apartment. It was less bouncy than the International TerraStar 22' Truck we drove as our last moving truck.

A 15' truck was more than we needed, but it was not too unwieldy / drive-able.

Test Drive 2018 Toyota Yaris iA

Both of my siblings have bought the Scion iA and the Toyota Yaris iA (both the same car, when Toyota rolled Scion up it brought the iA in as the Yaris iA). I strongly recommended this car to both of them because it is a rebadged Mazda Mazda2, comes with a manual transmission (what my immediate family drives), and because one of the best cars in a price and size category above this is the Mazda Mazda3. So far both siblings are happy with the purchase.
I apologize for the photos on this, we were facing west down a street in the late afternoon.

Styling:

Extended Test Drive 2017 Ford Focus Titanium

While traveling for a friend's wedding we got a 2017 Ford Focus Titanium as a rental.
We got to drive this car on both highways and some more fun curvy roads. My ultimate conclusion for this driving experience is that it would be good to drive a Ford Focus ST or a Ford Focus RS to see if the handling capabilities are similar or better but with more communication, feedback, and feel.

Now, I will admit, my review of this car may be more positive than it perhaps would be if we did not get to drive it on the roads on and around Mount Penn in Reading, PA.

Extended Test Drive 2017 Hyundai Accent

My wife had a 2017 Hyundai Accent as a rental that we used shortly after moving to MA.

Starting with the positive:

Test Drive 2017 Ford Focus SEL

My wife and I had a 2017 Ford Focus SEL as a rental for a day. Unfortunately we did not take any photos or have a camera with us, so, if you want photos you will need to search for them yourself.

Here are our observations from our few hours with the car:

2010 Mazda Mazda3

My wife and I took a trip up to the Boston area for her grandfather's birthday. We got to drive a 2010 Mazda Mazda3 with an automatic transmission. There was an awful lot of snow fall over the weekend, so much so that our flight home was cancelled and we had an extra day up north. So, lots of snow and ice driving in the Mazda3.

2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited

When your car is in and out of the dealership for repairs you end up with a lot of dealership rentals. As I own a Subaru this means a lot of Subaru rentals. I have a wind noise / door seal issue that should soon hopefully be resolved. This last time around I was given a 2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited for the day.

I have previously reviewed the Subaru Outback.

Moving with 2015 Ford E-350 16' Truck

Last in the current large vehicles related to moving series.

Unfortunately no snubbed or slanting nose here so visibility over the front was rather limited and it was rather hard to tell where the passenger side of the vehicle was from the driver's seat.

2003 Dodge RAM 1500 4x4 SLT

A first for me. This is certainly the first pickup truck I have reviewed and quite possibly the first that I have driven. If I recall correctly all that I have driven in the truck / van category is moving vans and moving trucks.

2016 Subaru Legacy 2.5i

My BRZ was in the dealer for some warranty service regarding the door seal so I got a rental from the dealership, a 2016 Subaru Legacy 2.5i.

The car is styled in an any car style. As opposed to the older Subaru's which were more distinguished if also more polarizing. Gone is the aviator style grill.

Test Drive, 2013+ Ford Transit 250

Sometimes owning small cars you need to rent larger cars. This is especially true when you are moving a significant amount of your possessions into storage.

And the van holds a lot of stuff quite well.

Test Drive, 2016 Subaru Forester 2.5i

Got a 2016 Subaru Forester as a dealership loaner as my 2014 BRZ is having some driver side wind noise issues following that crash and repair so many months ago.

So I got to drive a 2016 Forester for around 45-50 miles.

Extended Test Drive, 2016 Ford Fusion (Memorial Day Camping)

Another one for the A to B but not driver cars.
My wife and I were going camping with members of our running group for Memorial Day again. As opposed to last time where we used my Subaru BRZ which was a tight fit we decided to rent something bigger that we could fit our stuff in more easily and that I wound not feel like I was risking the paint on by mounting the bike carrier.
So we rented a Ford Fusion from Budget and actually got the car / size of car we prepaid for this time! (Much rejoicing!)