Hybrid Tip: Rent Before You Buy

A little more than two years ago, we were surprised to walk from the Hertz shuttle bus in Las Vegas to our designated #1 Gold parking spot and find a Toyota Prius waiting. We had reserved a compact car for scouting photo locations and the Prius was a welcome addition given the miles we had to cover. We found out later that Hertz was in the process of rolling out its new Green Collection. Even though we hadn't reserved the Prius, Hertz apparently upgraded our rental to spread the word about its new premium program.

On a similar business trip to Vegas this past November, the choice was an easy one: a few clicks online and another Prius awaited us at Hertz. Today the Hertz Green Collection includes 35,000 cars at 50 major airport locations across the country. This is important for more reasons than the obvious. For the hybrid curious, a weekend Prius rental provides a great way to see how the car fits your sensibilities and lifestyle. The same holds true for a variety of "green" cars you might be considering for a future purchase.

While the Prius is the only hybrid in the Hertz Green Collection, other environmentally conscious choices include the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Buick LaCrosse, and Hyundai Sonata. These cars are green by virtue of their fuel economy since they all achieve 28 mpg or better. A total of 105,000 cars in the Hertz fleet are EPA SmartWay certified, with 64 percent offering 28 mpg or better and 42 percent delivering better than 34 mpg. Last summer Hertz announced a $68 million investment to buy 3,400 Toyota Prius sedans for the fleet along with a $1 million donation to the National Parks Foundation as one of its environmental initiatives.

Enterprise, which also owns Alamo and National and is the world's largest rental car agency, has over 4,000 hybrids in its green fleet. It also offers more than 440,000 vehicles that get better than 28 mpg, 237,000 with EPA numbers of 32 mpg and higher, and 73,000 flexible-fuel cars and light trucks that can run on E85 ethanol. Taking its environmental commitment a step further, Enterprise offers an optional carbon offset program that enables customers to pay $1.25 per rental to offset the carbon emissions of their car rental. The Enterprise charitable foundation has also pledged to match customer contributions up to $1 million.

Hybrids are hot - particularly the Prius - and most larger rental fleets sprinkle them in with their premium rentals. Budget, for example offers both the Prius and Nissan Altima Hybrid at select locations. Alamo has a midsize hybrid class it describes as a "Toyota Prius or similar." Avis, the "We Try Harder" people, also list a Prius as a specialty vehicle.

Not surprisingly, rental car agencies that specialize in hybrids are starting to pop up. This trail was blazed early on by EV Rental Cars, which bills itself as "the nation's only environmental rental car company." Since opening its doors in December 1998, the company has grown to seven locations on the West Coast with a fleet that now includes 350 cars. Its hybrid line includes Toyota Prius and Highlander hybrids, and the Honda Civic Hybrid, along with others.

Today's high fuel prices add significantly to the cost of a rental, impacting both business and vacation budgets. Some rental agencies are now listing EPA fuel economy figures along with the number of seats and luggage capacity in their vehicle descriptions so customers know what to expect. Rentals in general, apparently, are evolving intelligently. This evolution is exposing an ever-larger number of drivers to hybrids and higher efficiency vehicles for the first time. This is a real opportunity for those who have been considering a hybrid purchase but haven't quite made up their mind, since renting a hybrid or other "green" car allows a "try before you buy" experience to ensure it's the right fit for you.

After driving to Lake Mead and other scenic photo locations during that first experience with the Hertz Prius, a pleasant surprise awaited us as at the gas station before its return. The Prius averaged nearly 50 mpg and a $20 bill was all we needed to top off the tank. This kind of experience is available to you, too, with just a bit of planning ahead of your next trip.