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Hiring a car in France (and a few other thoughts)	Please Register to enjoy additional Member Benefits

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routemaster1 United Kingdom

Tue Nov 03 2015, 10:07am

Member No: #574

Joined: Jul 08 2007
Location: Dorset

We have just returned from a trip to the French Riviera, travelling to Marseille from St Pancras by Eurostar. Great for avoiding the fog!!!

As we arrived I wondered what car we would get, as we had reserved a diesel Polo or similar. This is what we got.

It is a 1.5 95bhp diesel with ~24,000km on the clock. I tried to find out the spec. It appears to be a Zetec, although it had projector headlights and climate control, neither of which seem to be available in Zetec level. Also the 95 bhp diesel isn't available on Zetec in the UK. Here the signature Candy Red paint is £745 extra, which is £250 more than a 'standard' metallic paint.

The car went OK, but unlike a Citroen diesel, you could always tell it was a diesel due to a constant deep diesel knock under light throttle, although it was OK with heavier throttle and on over-run. Also I thought it rather undergeared as it only did about 27mph per 1000 rpm.

When you hire a car abroad, as you all probably know, you have to go onto the DVLA website and get a code which you give to the hire company. So of course I did that. Did they ask for it? Of course not.

And when you take your car to France, what do you need to take with you? Yellow jackets, bulb kit, warning triangle, bulb kit, fire extinguisher, breathalyser. (well some are compulsory, some are not). What did they supply? Of course, nothing. We did take breathalysers with us though, as they take up virtually no space.

One last thing. I bought my first C4 Picasso after 2 Renault Espaces as I didn't like the last version we got in the UK. They stopped selling the Espace here a few years ago, and have just brought out a new version which will not be available here.

I think is an ugly great brute, and I certainly wouldn't be interested if it were available here. The tyres on this one are a huge 235/60 R18

1 User said Thank You to routemaster1 for this Post :
Honest (03 Nov 2015 : 12:07)

FrankBullitt United Kingdom

Tue Nov 03 2015, 03:19pm

Member No: #19238

Joined: Apr 12 2011
Location: Cambridgeshire

We spotted an Espace in France but the colour and wheels made it look much nicer. Seems curious that the MPV market which Renault had sewn up they seem to have left although the Espace, Kadjar and Captur look good in an ever increasing crossover market - I liked the Captur models we drove (0.9tce and 1.5dCi) but all of the budget was spent on the outside; the interior is dull and the quality poor, awfully so in the case of some elements.


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