Fun Car Rental
 

I'm going on a road trip with my two daughters and it's coinciding with my 50th birthday.

I would like to rent something potentially fun to drive and I was thinking of one of the three, if they are readily available to rent.

1. Camaro SS
2. Mustang GT
3. Challenger

I have never been behind the wheel of any those three cars but I know some of you guys have and would enjoy your input and helping me to decide.

I know it's not a fun car, but I spent the last week driving a Dodge Caravan with 6 teenagers in it. I beat the living snot out of it at every moment and secured my spot again as the "cool chaperone". :D

Legend says that on last years work camp trip my rental Caravan caught air over the train tracks in Eastern Kentucky. (Didn't really happen, but legend says it did. ;))

As far as the three cars you ask about- it won't matter which you choose unless you drive all three. Each is going to be a great car compared to what you usually drive (probably), but there will be clear preferences between the three.

We rented a Challenger with a Hemi 3 years ago in Florida and it drank more than I did, it wasnt even funny. Had my foot into the thing every chance I got though.

Thanks.

My everyday driver is a 2004 F250 with a bullet proofed 6.0 and has a straight pipe and a leveling kit.

You are correct, all three of those cars will be drastically different.

The Challenger. Neither the Mustang or Camaro have a useable back set.

I have sat in the Camaro, I could see out of the windshield sort of. As for side or rear vision, I thought I was looking through a periscope. The only direction I had fair vision was straight ahead. I like to know what is beside me, and I occasionally look for what is behind me. For that reason, I would pass on the Camaro.

go with the Challenger.

And it folds down if necessary. I own a 2015 Challenger because the Mustang and Camaro felt small and the Chally is just better looking anyway.

Rent all three...daughters get their choice of the Camaro or Mustang and you get to drive the Challenger. Gumball style 50th Birthday Run

I have a 2009 Challenger R/T and my wife has a 2006 Mustang GT. When we travel, we take the Challenger. Better comfort and a great performer with the 6 speed manual...

Challenger
 

Try to get a SXT Challenger V6, 30mpg, 305hp.
I could average 30mpg at 70mph, when I drove from Orlando to Miami this past thanks giving.Attachment 432582

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challenger all the way

camaro and mustang are small hard to enter and exit..small small small

challenger feels like a 70s car...get a hemi and a stick and torture it...especially if it has traction control..it will rip your ears off...

I've rented the Mustang in the past and didn't care much for it. My son just rented the Camaro and thought it had very limited visibility. I'd go with the Challenger.

One more for the Challenger. :drive:

Wanted to rent a camaro last vacation, but our suitcase wouldn't fit in the trunk. We went with a challenger instead.

I rented one for a San Francisco trip a few years ago, and was pleasantly surprised by the power, and what a good open highway car it was.

With it, I surprised more than one of those jerks who floor it when you try to pass. :3gears:

I've driven all three of them within the latest model years. The Camaro SS is a fun ride, but the visibility absolutely sucks.

The Hemi Challenger (5.7, not the SRT) is a really fun car. I'm sure the SRT is a beast, but I haven't had that pleasure yet. The Challenger has really good street manners. I've also had a Hemi Charger for a rental on a work trip. I had about a 3.5 hour drive to make across Nebraska. Cut a full hour off the drive thanks to the radar detector and not caring about gas mileage. That car hauls ass.

The Ford is piece of crap. I've never even heard of a new car with this many squeaks and rattles. The suspension is garbage, and the door sounded like it was full of rocks when I opened and closed it. I went over a bump, and the fuel gauge went to zero. Another bump, and it was back to normal. I don't know what kind of rear end they put in these things, but it feels unstable under a load and did not want to go straight.

i was thinking about this..and looking back..i used to travel a bunch...flew in got a rental etc..for years...and thinking back the funnest car i ever rented was...............a PT Cruiser....the license plate started with SUE so for 2 weeks we called it Sue...

it was blue and an auto...and we tortured..cruised...and enjoyed that thing..i have no reason but what a fun little sh!t box...note:they go real good in sand...we where in Vegas..and let me say...we never got stuck..lol...and it has enough height....it would jump medians easy...well..thats what i heard..cuz...id never do that..

I've rented all three on extended "road trips" for business. The Camaro (Chicago to Arkansas), as mentioned was a visibility nightmare but even the 6 cylinder was a rocket. The Mustang (Chicago to Ft. Dodge IA) reminded me of Mustangs of old in comparison to the Camaro. It was a squeaky buckboard of a car. The back seat of either car would not be a very happy place to be and neither had a usable trunk.

The Challenger (Chi to Mpls) was a nice riding, roomy car with plenty of grunt and got the most looks of the 3. I had one guy ask me what year it was and he looked at me goofy when I told him 2014 (he obviously thought it was a vintage car lol). The back seat had plenty of leg room and the trunk was spacious.

Of the 3, the Challenger was used the most fuel, averaging around 20 mpg on mostly highway driving.

If I were you I'd probably rent the Challenger, but if you decide to buy one,
I'd get a Camaro or Mustang. I own a 2013 Mustang and my wife drives a 2010 Camaro.
The Camaro has been the best car my family has ever owned and I've owned about fifty cars. In six years and 80 thousand miles it hasn't needed one single solitary thing except oil changes and one set of tires. Even the six and a half year old battery still starts the car fine.
It's never even burned out a light bulb, and never had any flaws when new that required any trip to the dealer for warranty work.....simply an amazing car. I don't drive my Mustang
much so I can't really comment on reliability but no troubles so far. My wife's co-worker bought a new Challenger six months ago and it's been back to the dealer with problems
about fifteen times already.

I realize this is a distraction from your primary question about which car, but I think Goatless is hinting at something which deserves repeating. For those who are NOT car nerds, it is far less about the make/model and much more about the experience and unexpected thrills.

Two examples from my own family roadtrip in western US. Wife and my 2 teenagers we had rented a traverse or something. We're in the middle of nowhere south dakota and stop for pizza in small small town. We go into back for soda, luggage, etc; Someone forgets to close the back hatch. I hole shot it unknowingly at the parking lot stop sign and our entire 2 week luggage is strewn all over the intersection. 2 cops cars, numerous good samaritans amidst our new england snob embarassment. We all laugh to this day.

Next is embrace the gas station. Some are gourmet. Some, less so. But they’ve got cheap eats, classic candies, bathrooms, and fuel all in one. Stop at gas stations often, and you’re bound to hit some stellar ones. On a rainey night we had the best meal of our trip in a gas station including some 'pig pen' baked potato that for $5 the guy guaranteed we wouldn't be hungry for 48 hours. He was right and didn't sheet either.

Enjoy the trip !

I work for Enterprise and I prefer the Challenger, then the Mustang, i don't really like the Camaro. The Camaro has one helluva blind spot and GM radio suck. We have the Mustang in the V6 and Turbo 4 at most location, i like the Turbo in the Mustang. The Challenger is the most comfortable to drive and front seats have great support on a long trip.
If you get a Challenger with the radio controls on the rear of the steering wheel, your hands will never have to leave the steering wheel to change the channel. Plus with the satellite radio on most Chrysler, Dodge products, you can save you favorite bands and a alert will let you know when they are being broadcast.

That sounds exactly like the radio in my 2015 Chevy truck and my parents 2016 Chevy Trax and my friends 2015 Chevy Cruze. I can't imagine the Camaro being different.



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I too own a Challenger. On powertour my son drove and a friend rode up front. Anyone that has met me well myself and a friend the same size fit in the backseat comfortably. Way better riding car too.

I love muscle cars, but if you want to have some family fun think about a 4 door Wrangler. You can do a little off-roading with the top and doors off, which is just way more fun than anyone ought to be able to have after age 21 or so

I had a 2013 Camaro, once you learn how to mirror drive the car, the blind spot is minimal. Took me a while to stop trying to look over my shoulder though. If you want more than two passengers that are over 5 yrs old, forget about it and the truck opening is small. Hard for an older man to get in and out of and the doors are huge if you are parked next to someone, you better be skinny. It was a lot of fun to drive though. I believe I would rent the Challenger.

With a fleet of 3,000+ cars and truck in my area, I have driven them all. The GM radios are not as user friendly as the Chrysler/Dodge stuff. On a long trip I only rent them for this reason.

The Camaro is harder to see out of, but I don't think its as bad as most make it seem.

Thank you to everybody for your feedback, input, and insight.

I imediately scratched the Camaro in the Mustang GT because the road trip was about 2000 miles round-trip and my daughters are ages eight and 12 and I wanted them to be as comfortable as possible.

I ran into a financial quagmire when I found one of the few places that had the Dodge Challenger available and it was renting for about $160 a day.

Keep in mind I was going to have the vehicle my possession for six days.

So another opportunity popped up to a friend of mine for a Mercedes C class for about $80 a day and I want that direction but when I arrived they didn't have any Mercedes left but they had a BMW 328 I.

The only foreign cars that I've known over the years was a 1993 300ZX and my 2009 Nissan and my 2009 Nissan Frontier.

I must say that the performance of the BMW 328 I was much better than I thought it would be in comfort, acceleration, and handling.

It was fun to drive but I wouldn't want to have to pay for one every month.😀

I was hoping to have the opportunity to drive up there American muscle car but it just wasn't in the cards.

Anyway the girls and I had a super trip we hit Nashville, Tennessee, Lexington, Kentucky, and Louisville,Kentucky, and made some good life memories: