So I'm going on a trip to New Zealand for 2 weeks and looking at car hire.
Looking at going to Mt Cook, Te Anau, Queenstown, Franz Josef, Hanmer Springs and was wondering if anyone who has done a driving trip around NZ can recommend a car to hire. I am not sure of the terrain if an SUV would be a better option or if a hatchback or sedan would be fine.
Thanks everyone
How about a campervan? I am going for 10 days next week (South Island only)
I have always found quality hotels in New Zealand to be quite cheap, while campervan hire is quite expensive.
Hiring a car and staying in nice hotels has always appealed to me more than having to stay overnight in a caravan park.
But each to their own. :)
With good planning, it could be quite affordable. Booked my camper van quite some times ago when they are having an early bird rate.
I have never done any camper vanning before so it would be good first experience.
Who knows I might ended up hating it and next time I'll go back with car hire & hotel.
And yes, each to their own :)
i think it's quite cold to live in a campervan- or make sure it's got like a gas heater etc which is not powered by the car's battery.
The camper van that I booked has both gas & separate battery options, so hopefully that would be enough in keeping us warm. I will be doing mostly powered camping ground sites and freedom camping in between.
I have done a few driving trips around New Zealand, both North and South island, including all the places you have mentioned (except Hamner Springs), and on all occasions I drove a standard hatch (eg Corolla) with no problems.
The roads are very well maintained, and there was no real off-roading that required an SUV. Even through the mountain passes etc.
However, I have never driven while it was snowing, or when there was significant ice or snow on the roads. So perhaps check the weather conditions and adjust accordingly.
Did a road trip around NZ a couple years back. I did it in a sedan (just an ordinary Toyota Camry) and I'd actually recommend a sedan over an SUV - there are long stretches of straight flat open and windy road that I'm not sure would be so fun in a higher vehicle like an SUV.
You do get better views out of something higher.
True - if I'm driving, I can't enjoy the view so why should the passengers get to?
Did the exact same trip in a Nissan Tiida about 3 years ago. (Myself and the missus)
Depends on how much luggage you have. (Kids etc.)
No problems at all!
did a similar trip 2 years ago, hired a hybrid camry, good option if you want to save money on fuels.
Any recommendations on hire companies? Seems the prices can range from like 200-800 for the 2 weeks of which I have not heard of 90% of the companies :P
check apex car rental and their reviews on tripadvisor.
I have also used apex with no trouble.
Apex also allows you to take the car across the inter-island ferry, which is easier than unpacking one car and repacking into a new car when you get there, which is what some of the companies make you do.
We're heading to the South Island next week :) Booked a rav 4 through Ezi Car Rentals NZ - I think atm they have a 40% off sale
where did you see that?
I use vroomvroomvroom to quickly check all the operators and what is available, comparison costs, etc.
As others have said, a sedan / hatch would be fine as long as you cater for your luggage and people numbers with the car size.
I used hitched for 2 weeks.
Got a 2016 Mazda 3 non base model.
It was great. I only paid $230. There was a discount on choicecheapies.
I would avoid AceRentals Queenstown. I got a bomb. The battery failed when we were in Teanu. The mechanic said that the car hadn't been serviced correctly and the battery was older than the hulls
avoid europe car, they will sting you for a cracked windscreen etc when you didnt even do it
they are *********
toyota highlander
disclaimer: Did a 7 days road trip in the south island with 4 people onboard. Was very comfortable. You spend most of your time in the car so don't go too cheap on it.
Get a Rav 4 from Go Rentals, great car for NZ, very comfortable.
Just got back from a week around queenstown/wanaka doing the snow resorts. 4 out of 5 days, road access to the snow required chains on 2WD but not 4WD. I hate putting chains on cars, so I was glad I had the 4WD (with chains as well). I'd recommend a suv/4wd, barely more expensive than a smaller car to hire.
Just be weary of not following cars / campervans too closely with the loose road surfaces; it seems quite likely to end up with chips and cracks if you do as I saw from from the rental I had.
We used Omega for around Nth Island last year no problems, Nissan Xtrail 2 adults 2 teenagers and luggage was great, spent 3 hours looking this morning for a 7-8 seater for early January for a week, thrifty ended up being the best deal with NRMA discount, ins and sat nav. Also no stuffing around with a shuttle needed for pick up/drop off at Auckland airport.
Corolla was fine for us. 2 adults and 2 kids. It's a surprisingly good car, with ok boot and not too thirsty.
Fuel is expensive in NZ (NZ$2.5 per L), so keeping fuel costs down is worth it.
Yep. Spent twice as much on petrol as we did on car hire.
You'll get the fastest car in the world!
Take into consideration how much luggage you will have. I found a hatchback too small for all my stuff when I did my last driving holiday in Tasmania (including kids stuff). Ended up getting an SUV for this reason mainly.