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VW Polo 1.2 or Citroen C3 1.2 Puretech - Car hire choice ? - Steveieb

Big choices !!

Just hiring for a week in Tenerife from my favourite company Autoreisen.

But their choice of basic cars is limited to the Polo/Ibiza with the gutless three cylinder1.2 which really struggles up hills and at junctions.

So leaning towards a basic Citroen C3 1.2 Puretech.

But is there anything to choose between these ? I intend to do a bit of travelling so your views would be welcome.

VW Polo 1.2 or Citroen C3 1.2 Puretech - Car hire choice ? - elekie&a/c doctor
I rented a Peugeot 2008 1.2 (same engine) last year in Italy . It was absolutely fine with adequate power. Sadly couldn’t keep up with the usual brace of Italian exotica .
VW Polo 1.2 or Citroen C3 1.2 Puretech - Car hire choice ? - Steveieb

Thanks Elekie doc

VW Polo 1.2 or Citroen C3 1.2 Puretech - Car hire choice ? - 72 dudes

Unless the hire company you use are different from the others, I suspect the not so small print will state "Polo 1.2 or similar", "Citroen C3 or similar".

I was a little peeved last month when we rented a hire car at Belfast International airport. I'd gone for a "Ford Focus or similar" with Budget, expecting a Focus, Astra, Ceed, i30, Megane etc etc. What we actually got was a Vauxhall Crossland X, not a bad car by any means,but not in the Focus class

In the car park, admittedly shared by Avis, Enterprise and one or two others, there were 4 or 5 shiny Focuses too

The Crossland X had the 1.2 Puretech N/A engine with 82 BHP, as in the C3 and 208/2008. At first it felt gutless (at home I have a turbo petrol, a turbo diesel and a 272 BHP V6 3.5L), but once I'd learned to rev to 3000/3500 before selecting the next gear, it was a bit more fun.

The ride was horribly lumpy at first, I took it to a petrol station to check the pressures next morning, someone had set them to 39 psi, I let them down to the recommended 33 and it was far more compliant!

VW Polo 1.2 or Citroen C3 1.2 Puretech - Car hire choice ? - badbusdriver

Maybe the Spanish market Polo's are different, but according to the info on this website, there is no 1.2 version of the current Polo. The lowest powered version is the 65bhp 1.0. With the previous shape, the lowest powered version was a 60bhp 1.0, though you also got a 75bhp 1.0. There are 1.2 versions of that model, but they are 90bhp TSI. The n/a 1.2 in the Citroen, assuming current shape, makes 82bhp. So not really able to make a call on which would be better in terms of performance without knowing exactly which engine would be in the Polo.

But another factor you might want to take into account is that the current shape C3 has all its controls on the touchscreen (that includes heating and ventilation).

VW Polo 1.2 or Citroen C3 1.2 Puretech - Car hire choice ? - SLO76
There’s plenty of fun to be had from a low powered skinny tyre shod supermini on hire. I’d have the Citroen if there was a choice but the Polo would be fine with me too. I often opt for a Panda if available too, I love wringing a tiny wee petrol motors neck along a twisting resort road. Enjoy!