Mucking around in hire cars

I confess. I broke a hire car.

No, I wasn’t doing any Top Gear-style malarkey. I was just pulling out onto a roundabout. A busy roundabout. During rush hour. Okay, so I had to pull out quickly, but you don’t expect the car to die of shock. :-/

Yep, earlier this week, I was out of town on an all-too-rare business trip. A colleague and I took an 05-plate Golf diesel (non-turbo) from the company’s pool of permanent-hire cars. The trip to our top-secret destination was pretty uneventful, but when heading out from the hotel for an evening meal and entertainment, things all went pear-shaped. The eventual verdict from Mr RAC was that the fuel pump had gone. The following day, the hire firm supplied a replacement car — a Vauxhall Astra. Bastards.

Still, for someone who rarely changes his car, it was a nice opportunity to remind myself of the motoring landscape beyond the Mini. The Golf was actually pretty decent until it broke down. I wasn’t too keen on the slow steering — actually, it freaked me out — but the rest of the package was ideal for motorway cruising. The extra torque made it a very relaxed journey, the car regaining speed with consummate ease after waiting for lorries to overtake each other.

The Astra was the exact opposite. I surprised myself by liking its steering, but the seating position was pretty nasty. I couldn’t get comfortable at all. And the engine... oh, the engine... it was awful. Absolutely gutless. So much so, I began to feel empathy with lorry drivers who will avoid braking at all costs.

In summary, I can’t see myself ever getting either car, as they’re both far too relaxing. However, if I had to plump for one or the other, I’d take the Golf. Even with its dodgy fuel pump.