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Hi Judik,

I fully agree with Saraf. Thats why we bought ourselves a Nissan Hardbody. It is really great to have such a car in SA!!

Ruud

Sorry to hear that. Was it a diesel??
We have a Nissan Hardbody 3.3 V6 and you almost don't hear the engine while you are looking at animals. We are very pleased with it. Just back from 2 weeks Kruger but I can't wait till the next time....

Ruud

yeah , a Diesel... but there was something wrong with the brake/steering wheel.
each time we pushed the break , when restarting, the right wheel produced a regular "squiick" "squick" "squiick". Birds flew aways , animals also.
They list you 5possible cars , even telling you , that you can put a request for one of the 5 modls .. and they give you one not even listed...aaargh ,; these people..

As above, 4x4 not required.

A Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, VW Touran or Nissan X-Trail provides ample height, but not all rental companies have them on offer.

I only use www.thrifty.com. The prices are the same as from the .co.za site, but when booking from the .com site, you get unlimited mileage!

From Thrifty, a decent vehicle is the Toyota Verso, very economical, seats seven at a push (but with luggage constraints) or five plus luggage comfortably. Rates would be ±R2200/week.

If you are a larger party, they offer the Mercedes Vito which is a luxurious car with plenty of space. Of course it will probably come in at over R4,000/week.

Hi, as a very new boy -or at least one who hasn't posted since my last trip to The Kruger (2007), I'm trying to struggle with which vehicle to hire. Seems there is a much better deal for four of us on a Nissan Double Cab than on a Toyota Hilux but as a uk driver of Ford Focuses, I'm out of my depth here. I want a vehicle we can all see out of that is higher rather than lower in seating, and does not require folk in the back seat to remove their legs! Can anybody advise me?
Max

Hi Max,

I'm not up on how much space is in a bakkie double cab as the only one we have had was a single cab. Not as much space as you might imagine and we couldn't just reach through and grab something from out luggage if we needed to as it was locked away in the back. However for height it couldn't be beaten and if there are 4 of you then luggage space isn't an issue.

We have had a SUV Hyundai Tuscon (usually described as an X-Trail or similar on hire car sites). We loved it, it had the height we needed and was spacious in the front. As there are only 2 of us though I can't say what it was like in the back. You should (just) be OK with luggage with careful packing and loading.

Thanks for that; Hyundai Tucson seems very similar hire price to the Nissan Double Cab so.......................

Split from here.

Max,

Find a Hyundai dealer in the UK and go and have a look around a Tucson. I've seen a few around so it is available in the UK

In October we were with four of us and we hired a Hilux with a canopy (closed bakkie). On this way we could easily take four big suitcases. My father is a 2 m tall guy and he could easily sit at the backseat. In July we have a Tucson, but that is only if we are with 2 of us, otherwise our suitcases wouldn't fit.
But, there is a difference within the Toyota Hilux class. Mostly they can't guarantee you a 4x4. It's not that you need a 4x4, but the car is much higher than a 2x4. Just search for a good price. We never book directly with the rental company, some (how do you say that, companies that sell others products) are much cheaper. Our Tucson went down from € 1150 to € 800 for 2,5 week.

So, good luck finding a cheap deal for a wanted car.

Heeeelp!

Does anyone know of somewhere in Pretoria that hires out VW Combi's or similar for reasonable rates?

Our usual hirer has sold his stock - we have used the same one three years running now and it was perfect for Kruger - it was very cheap also

Any advice would be gratefully received. Please PM me if it's against the rules to post details.

Thanks.

Hi Max,visited kruger last september and hired a Hyundai Tuscon.There were 4 of us and we found that the interior was comfortable and game viewing was fine.Only drawback was that there was limited room for 4 peoples luggage.We used soft holdalls rather than solid suitcases and we found that if you removed the rear luggage cover the space was adequate,but when the 2 SO's went food shopping the space became a little tight.This led to us discovering every available space under front and rear seats,ideal for cans of food and BEER.
Another tip is if someone is short and sitting in the rear seats we found that game-viewing was more comfortable if you borrowed a pillow from your room or you could use a cheap blow-up cushion(from the pound shop in the uk) or a rolled-up fleece.
Hope this helps,pm me if you wish for more information.

Take care wherever you are.

PF.

Actually, while the Nissan double cab looks to be nice and large, the backseats do require a vertically challenged person if he/she is to sit in the back all day.
We used one in Namibia, which left me in the back for days in Etosha and KTP. I am around 1.85~1.90 and sort of had to sit like a girl wearing a short skirt. (Both legs to a side.)

I'm assuming the person in the back is due to photography?
Then I would go for another car. The windows go all the way down, that's not a problem. But due to too little space between the frontseat and the seat of the backseat you'll have to contort yourself quite a bit to get the shots, usually by putting both legs on the backseat. And bumping your head against the handhold above the window. (Found that wearing a cap did lessen the bumps a little, a hardhat could be better.)

That said, on the trip we are planning in Nab we will be hiring one again.
But for Kruger I would rather have a Touareg. It's way more comfortable, and probably around the same price?

Have booked a car with CarHire 3000 and paid the full amount...has anyone had any experience with this company?!

Yes we used them in USA in 2006....they were excellent. Very good rates and all was in order!!

Have booked with them for our trip to SA this year as well, so hope they are still OK!!