I always rent a vehicle I'm considering to see how I like living with it. It's one of the advantages of travelling a lot.

What I'm wondering with some of the comments here is whether others do this. I see quite a bit of disappointment that seems like a week of rental would have eliminated. The differences in the vehicles on the market are dramatic. How anyone would buy a ram after driving one back to back with a 150 is beyond me.

I'm shopping a sport coupe for the MRS so got a 2019 camaro this week. Right now I'm trying to figure out how anyone could want it after driving a mustang, or in the upper range a Q60. It's a complete POS.

Are guys really buying a 60 grand truck after a glance in the lot and ten minutes of test driving? Makes no sense to me.

 

Although I've never done it, I have suggested renting a vehicle similar to what you are interested in for a weekend, to see if you can live with it.

 

 

True in a lot of cases, but there are ways around it. E.g. I rented a Navigator and learned that I'm not really a fan of the OE power running boards and don't want to live without BLIS or adaptive cruise. Renting a Cadillac will get you most of the GM options and show that GM is light years ahead on auto stop start.

That said, renting the lower end truck models still will teach you about things like lumbar that is painful, driveline clunk, or many of the other things guys don't like about the truck. All the things I hate about the camaro I'm driving right now are the same on the higher end ones. Having the big motor and an even harsher suspension wouldn't make me like it.

 

I do it all the time. I am in a rental Ram because my Explorer is in the shop getting a bent driveshaft fixed (the shop that screwed up my Explorer is paying for the rental). I had over 240 nights in a hotel last year so I have almost that many or more days in rentals. The Dodge Charger is a comfortable ride and seems to have enough power to get out it's own way. The Camaro is uncomfortable, you can not see out of it I drove it to the exit of the rental car lot and returned it. Toyota SUV's are OK I do not like their cars nor the way they are doing all the nanny things, the beep at just about everything, very annoying. I had a Jeep SUV and that thing almost killed me with the auto start stop. After driving a Dodge Durango the Jeep must of had an issue. The Durango would wobble as we went by Semis or in a cross wind, I am thinking sway bars bad or body bolts loose, I told the the guy when I returned it, he said you are the third person to complain about that. Before I bought my F150 and my Explorer I test drove a bunch of other SUV's and trucks. I have enough hotel and Hertz points I could rent a car and have few hotel rooms for a month straight.

 

I had to tell my client that I will no longer do over 225 a year. Your experiences are about the same as mine. I would have already returned this camaro but I'm too lazy to drive all the way back to the airport. I did return a Ram after one day, it was horrible. Also really disliking the current crop of Toyotas

So what's your favorite rental? Mine is either the Cadillac ATS or the Infinity G60. Can't beat the Lincoln Navigator XL when going big. In smaller SUV the Santa Fe is surprisingly nice.

 

My favorite depends on where I end up at. In city's I like the Charger, Fusion, or smaller SUV's (never a Challenger they are uncomfortable and feels like you are driving a boat). If I am taken road trips the Infinity G60 an Explorer or Lincoln (Taurus), I have not needed anything bigger so never had a Navigator. As for Cadillac's I will not rent a GM, had three of them in the past and all three broke down, in my Hertz profile it states NO GMC.

I figure I can not talk bad about another car or truck unless I have driven one more then a few days. This Ram I am in is not so bad, I hate the Little Tykes **** and really don't like the dash layout. I will be close to 240 nights again this year, but next year I will be winding down while a few new instructors get up to speed so they can pick up the load. I retire in three years so they better figure it out quick.

 

Sometimes my wife comes and visits when I'm on the road. It's fun picking her up in a black Navigator XL. The airport parking cops all give me the evil eye because I'm not using the proper limo pickup spot.

 

 

Note 1: I misread this topic as 'Ranting while shopping' and came in because that's a topic I can wholly get behind, but alas... To your question, though...

Yes, but I've driven F150s for many, many years. Were I to go and buy something other than an F150, I'd be more vigilant in my approach.