My car has been in the shop for 6 weeks with an unknown electrical problem. I have reluctantly asked friends to haul my tired old butt around town for errands. I had a trip planned and needed my ride, but locating the problem has been troublesome for my mechanics. So I had to rent a car for my trip. I haven't owned a car since 1970 that gave me less than 30 mpg so I wanted a rental with that same criteria. I called my local Enterprise Car Rental and was told that the only vehicle that met my criteria was a Toyota Yaris. I had been wanted to test drive that car and knew that cruise control was not standard equipment for that model. I asked my Service Lady if the Yaris has cruise control. She was not certain. I also required a pickup from my home. An employee met me at my home 5 minutes later than planned but that was not a problem. Customer pickup is service that is provided with no charge. I was happy to be picked up; I received my rental one day before my departure. The driver was driving a 2013 Nissan Sentra. As we drove to the office I was hoping, in my mind, that I might rent this vehicle rather than the Yaris. I wasn't looking forward to a long trip that didn't include use of cruise control.
I scanned the lot, as we arrived at Enterprise, for the Yaris and didn't see one in their lot. Inside completing the paperwork my Service Lady asked if the Sentra would be okay rather than the Yaris. I agreed. I am writing this review prior to surrendering the vehicle primarily because most of my driving has been completed. Over the next 2.5 days I won't drive the vehicle more than 50 miles.
My use of the Sentra Wednesday through Friday was a pleasant one. This vehicle mostly is pleasant to drive. I noticed some outside wear on the right front tire as my Service Lady and I were doing a walk around inspection of my rental prior to my taking possession. I was thinking maybe an alignment problem. When I left the lot I felt the steering pulling right but that may have been due to taper of the city streets. Once I left the city driving and began highway/Interstate driving it was apparent that there was a slight pull to the right. I had to counter steer most of my highway driving but it was acceptable for my trip to Illinois to get my Grandson, then back to Mansfield, OH so we could visit my Son, then back to Illinois to return my Grandson to his Mother, and back to OH to return home. Once to Illinois via Ohio Turnpike/Indiana Toll Road/Illinois Toll Road and twice back to OH using the Illinois Toll Road/Indiana Toll Road/Ohio Turnpike. There was too much construction going west from Ohio to Illinois. The trip normally take about 6 hours. Due to slow down in construction zones the trip from Ohio to Illinois took 9.75 hours. When I left Wednesday morning the air was cool so I didn't need A/C, but when I passed South Bend, IN it was time to turn it on for my comfort. Driving east from Illinois to Ohio I encountered about one fourth the construction I encounter going the other way. My 2nd trip from Ohio to Illinois I used SR 30 from Mansfield, OH all the way to Naperville, IL. A much nicer drive. I drive a 1999 Saturn and use the cruise control a lot. One thing about Saturn's CC I dislike is the way that the transmission drops down a gear and the engine rev's up on inclines. I didn't experience anything like that with the Sentra. The Sentra was very enjoyable to drive. The A/C worked flawlessly. There was very little noticeable highway or engine noise inside the passenger compartment. Purchasing the Nissan Sentra would be outside my range, but if I could afford this vehicle I would probably buy it, even if my first preference is the Toyota Prius. MPG's were consistently in the mid to high 30's. Much better than my 1999 Saturn. This Sentra had 31k+ miles on the odometer when I picked it up, so the engine is broken in just fine.
I am very happy with my rental from Enterprise Car Rental, Kent, OH. This is my second rental experience from this establishment. read more