How to rent a car quiet on the inside - Netherlands

Question

We are renting a car to go on holiday. As we will be driving about 3500km total, large parts of it in one go, we would like it to be somewhat quiet(1) inside. Rental companies offer a specific size of car, but not a specific car. So we don't know what car we have until we pick it up.

What makes things more complicated is the organisation of rentals, for example last year we:

• rented a car through ANWB (a 'tourist' organisation)
• via Hertz (large rental company)
• handled by a local car-rental garage (so not Hertz itself).

And to make it more complicated, when we called Hertz, we could not rent directly through them because they had no more cars left for that period. So somehow they found more cars, through some other supplier.

In other words, there are maybe 4 different companies involved in the renting of 1 car. So who can I call to ask for a quiet car?

Note1 If you never drove on the highway in a car that has poor sound insulation, you may not understand the question. But it it really tiresome to spend 8 hours surrounded by noise. We have a small son who is affected by this even more. An hour in our Fiat Panda is doable, but 8 hours would be too much.

Edit:

Two reasons to go with ANWB and not rent directly:

1. Herz was 'out of cars', one other big name we tried botched the retal deal. ANWB renting process is smooth.
2. The deal is much better (second driver is free) and the info in their website is clear and up-to-date.

Concerning getting a bigger car, last year we got a station wagon. A really nice spacious Toyota Corolla Hybrid, which turned out to be only slightly less noisy than the Panda. But on the upside required about the same amount of fuel per km.

Answer 1

Here are a few things you can do:

• Rent a car in a higher category (a Fiat Panda is typically the cheapest one you can get). There are still differences between different makes and models but generally speaking a compact car (and anything larger like a station wagon or SUV) is likely to be quieter and nicer on the motorway than a city car.
• Rent a car with automatic transmission (except in the sub-compact category, lest you get a Toyota Yaris). There aren't that many of them in Europe. With Avis, I got a Volkswagen Golf or even an upgrade to a much higher category (like a Mercedes Class E) because a lot of the other vehicles in their catalogue all have manual transmission. Unlike the other tips, this one works best at smaller locations.
• Rent a specific make and model. It is in fact possible but you have to look for them. For the big networks (Avis, Europcar, Hertz), you will mostly find them at large locations like airports, with a specific branding (like “Avis Select Series”). Those are typically high-end cars and therefore cost quite a bit more but I have sometimes found great deals (Volvo XC60 for a week for ~€300 with Hertz in Venice). Since you commented that even a Toyota Corolla wasn't up to your standard, renting a Mercedes might be your only option.
• Rent directly with one of the big networks and build status. You will be entitled to an upgrade and can therefore hope to get a larger quieter car even if you only paid for a mini or compact car. Using price comparison websites or third-party like ANWB would undermine this strategy as you wouldn't build status that way.
• If you rent with the big networks, go to a larger location. Franchisees in small towns can be hit-and-miss, you will have more choice in airport locations.
• Just ask. You can always ask staff if anything else is available if you have some concerns about the car you are offered. It works best at large locations and if you have some status with the brand but it's not unusual for them to have several cars available.

Incidentally, the Avis app (don't know about the other big brands) now has a function where you get to pick from a handful of choices shortly before the rental starts. In my experience, it seldom works as advertised so I wouldn't really consider it a solution at this point.

Answer 2

Just some thoughts:

I would get a Mercedes E, but the BMW 5xx are the same class when renting. The Mercedes is optimized for comfort and silent, the BWW is trying to be a sports car, so the tires and suspension are very hard. I think we had a Volvo XC40 once and it was very silent. Volkswagen is maybe in the middle.

Rental cars often run on winter tires all year, which are louder than normal ones.

And the new cars have runflat-tires, which are also louder than normal ones, but that's something you cannot change.

If you really want quiet you can try the Mercedes S-Klasse, but that usually costs double.