[chicagox7]

We’re heading to Ireland this summer (family of 4- kids are between 9-6). We will be doing a bit of driving around and don’t mind longer drives (have an X7 here). I used an X3 for a day as a loaner once and it didn’t leave an impression on me (good or bad). Now I’m looking at options for us to rent a car and it seems to be down to an X3 or Mercedes E Class sedan. Two things are important- overall comfort and ability to securely fit 4 carry ons and 4 backpacks (securely- out of sight).

I figured I’d post on the X3 forum to see if anyone has experience with both vehicles to get a sense of which direction we may want to go. I don’t think SUV vs Sedan matters much for the trip- again it comes to overall comfort of ride and ability to fit the luggage securely (we’ll be bouncing from hotel to hotel so will be parking with a full load at some sights; prefer to have a full load when we return from the sights!).

(Not to complicate this too much- though an Audi A6 also pops up on some rental sites… oddly the companies we’re looking at don’t offer a 5 series (other companies we’re not looking at indicate they may offer those). My working assumption is that the E class woudl be better than the A6; though happy to hear if that is a materially uninformed assumption).

Any thoughts/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Florida-X3]

I would think your most comfortable drive would be the E class and way more tech than the X3. If you feel like rolling the dice on the Audi and run the risk of some warning light coming on :-)

Not that the X3 is an uncomfortable ride or not fun to drive, the E is just a more plush vehicle. Only been a passenger in one (350) and it was comfortable. Not sure what engine options there are with rentals but the X3 will probably get better gas mileage.

[bocabimmer]

The securely and out of sight is more the issue here. I think the trunk of the E will be better suited for your needs. Then again, if it isn’t you’re kind of stuck.

[Sportstick]

If you look at an E Class trunk locally before deciding and it is large enough, I’d also recommend the E for your objective. We’ve had both E Class and A6 and seem to remember thinking the A6 trunk had more capacity…just a memory impression.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by chicagox7

We’re heading to Ireland this summer (family of 4- kids are between 9-6). We will be doing a bit of driving around and don’t mind longer drives (have an X7 here). I used an X3 for a day as a loaner once and it didn’t leave an impression on me (good or bad). Now I’m looking at options for us to rent a car and it seems to be down to an X3 or Mercedes E Class sedan. Two things are important- overall comfort and ability to securely fit 4 carry ons and 4 backpacks (securely- out of sight).

I figured I’d post on the X3 forum to see if anyone has experience with both vehicles to get a sense of which direction we may want to go. I don’t think SUV vs Sedan matters much for the trip- again it comes to overall comfort of ride and ability to fit the luggage securely (we’ll be bouncing from hotel to hotel so will be parking with a full load at some sights; prefer to have a full load when we return from the sights!).

(Not to complicate this too much- though an Audi A6 also pops up on some rental sites… oddly the companies we’re looking at don’t offer a 5 series (other companies we’re not looking at indicate they may offer those). My working assumption is that the E class woudl be better than the A6; though happy to hear if that is a materially uninformed assumption).

Any thoughts/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Have you driven in Ireland before ?

Don’t expect the roads and parking space size to be anything like the US, so car size can be an issue, particularly in more rural locations. Just to make it more interesting the steering wheel is on the other side.

Do know which hire companies you’re considering, but insurance or excess damage can be expensive, particularly for premium cars.

[NoMoreVauxhalls]

I love my X3, but a colleague of mine drives a 2019 E Class which is way more comfortable than my car. So if comfort is what you're looking for, then deffo the E Class. Both will secure your luggage adequately.

The slight downside is that the Merc is a fair bit longer than the X3 and maybe not as easy to manoeuvre into parking spots, etc. (depending on where you go in Ireland the streets may be quite narrow when compared to US roads!).

EDIT: Urrrgh - sorry avi66 - you beat me to it regarding parking, etc!

[chicagox7]

Originally Posted by avi66

Have you driven in Ireland before ?

Don’t expect the roads and parking space size to be anything like the US, so car size can be an issue, particularly in more rural locations. Just to make it more interesting the steering wheel is on the other side.

Do know which hire companies you’re considering, but insurance or excess damage can be expensive, particularly for premium cars.

I’ve driven there a few times many years ago. I was alone in a sub-compact/compact. Good reminder about the parking. Living in Chicago we are acutely aware of small spaces (our X7 isn’t used if we’re parking in a lot/garage downtown; it’s too wide). Had not thought about the length issues!

Have seen interesting stories about insurance- though someone suggested we look at AAA- may do that (Sixt had an add on of $20 a day for additional coverages- not sure if that will cover all the required insurance).

[kmickey]

Amex Plat has a $20/rental benefit. Never mind. It doesn’t work in Ireland.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by chicagox7

I’ve driven there a few times many years ago. I was alone in a sub-compact/compact. Good reminder about the parking. Living in Chicago we are acutely aware of small spaces (our X7 isn’t used if we’re parking in a lot/garage downtown; it’s too wide). Had not thought about the length issues!

Have seen interesting stories about insurance- though someone suggested we look at AAA- may do that (Sixt had an add on of $20 a day for additional coverages- not sure if that will cover all the required insurance).

I used Costco to book car hire recently as it offered the best deal for Enterprise. The insurance and conditions vary by local hire country, so may/may not apply to Ireland or other rental companies.

The deal with Enterprise was a free additional driver, which is normally an additional charge in the UK hire region, limited collision damage waiver, so on a Fiat 500 (wanted a car to use on unbelievably narrow lanes), the excess for even small damage was £1500.

Additional insurance could be purchased at £15 per day, and this reduced the excess to £250. In the case of the tiny Fiat, the insurance cost about 75% of the actual daily hire charge, so I passed.

[Tchgrif]

I've never driven in Ireland but I have in England and Wales as well as Italy and France. the more narrow car would be my choice here, the country lanes in Wales are barely big enough for a Golf,which is what I was in, I had to literally drive into a ditch once to let a car pass and it was also in the ditch to make this happen, they way they just smiled and waved told me this was perfectly normal.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by Tchgrif

I've never driven in Ireland but I have in England and Wales as well as Italy and France. the more narrow car would be my choice here, the country lanes in Wales are barely big enough for a Golf,which is what I was in, I had to literally drive into a ditch once to let a car pass and it was also in the ditch to make this happen, they way they just smiled and waved told me this was perfectly normal.

This is our Cornish motorway…. The hedges are usually foliage covered stone or rock and there isn’t enough room for cars to pass unless at a passing point.

[EWL5]

Echoing most everyone's thoughts here: X3 is more practical for the trip but the E-Class is much more comfortable.

Also, depending on the how much full size luggage vs carry-on, the X3 may be a necessity vs the E-Class:

https://www.edmunds.com/car-comparis...veh3=401997766

[spangle1980]

Size matters :-). Parking in UK / Ireland is a bitch at the best of times, so those extra 300mm (get used to mm my friend ;-) may make a difference. That's if google taught me right that the e-class is about 30cm longer than the x3.

For your use case family I'd say the X3 is a good choice. Although I would say that wouldn't I, on this forum ;-)

HAVE FUN whatever you choose! "The Guiness"

[EWL5]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

Size matters :-). Parking in UK / Ireland is a bitch at the best of times, so those extra 300mm (get used to mm my friend ;-) may make a difference. That's if google taught me right that the e-class is about 30cm longer than the x3.

For your use case family I'd say the X3 is a good choice. Although I would say that wouldn't I, on this forum ;-)

HAVE FUN whatever you choose! "The Guiness"

More like a 23 cm difference (9") (all specs are in the comparison link in my last post).

[spangle1980]

WTH _ i was going to blame google lookup but just did the math again. Clearly my subtraction skills are sadly lacking :-). Spot on.

What's 7cm between friends though? My other half would not agree ;-)

[GaSelle]

I would go with the X3. An E-Class CAN be a nice car, but the cheaper ones are really crappy. Noisy engines, unrefined gearchanges and plastic "fabric" on the seats.

[EWL5]

Originally Posted by GaSelle

I would go with the X3. An E-Class CAN be a nice car, but the cheaper ones are really crappy. Noisy engines, unrefined gearchanges and plastic "fabric" on the seats.

I can tell you from experience that the "plastic" MB-TEX from Mercedes is far better than the SensaTec on an X3. I've never sat in a car seat w/such a rubbery feel until I got this BMW!

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by avi66

This is our Cornish motorway…. The hedges are usually foliage covered stone or rock and there isn’t enough room for cars to pass unless at a passing point.

Gotta love a good Cornish Hedge. To the rest of the country, hedges are soft and only gently scratch the side of your car. In the southwest, we disguise our stone walls with soft foliage to catch out the unwary, and give them a nice soft name.

I was given a 5 Series as a courtesy car after my Audi S3 was hit and damaged. Driving it in the Cornish lanes was like trying to navigate a large ship in a river.

There is a good reason that the locals drive beat up old cars - particularly when driving home from the pub!!

[GDEvans]

Will you actually get the car that you want? My experience of car hire companies is they give some examples of the type of car in that class. But you end up with whatever car in that class that they have in stock at the time. Take it or leave it.

Dublin airport will probably not have the same range of vehicles that you would find at somewhere like Heathrow.

[GDEvans]

Also, how long are you expecting to spend in the car each day? About the longest journey you could do from Dublin is 4.5 hours - after that you're in the Atlantic. Ireland is not a big country. Kids of 6 and 9 don't need too much legroom in the back, so I would go for a smaller vehicle to make parking and navigating the lanes easier.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

There is a good reason that the locals drive beat up old cars - particularly when driving home from the pub!!

They also drive like maniacs and seem to think if you go 60mph the car will somehow be able to pass when there’s only space for one car lol. 😜

Nothing like meeting a typical Cornish driver on a single track blind bend…..

[GaSelle]

Originally Posted by EWL5

I can tell you from experience that the "plastic" MB-TEX from Mercedes is far better than the SensaTec on an X3. I've never sat in a car seat w/such a rubbery feel until I got this BMW!

Absolutely not - 100% disagree. Last trip in an E-Class with that material on the seats my boss said from the backseat "what´s wrong with this bloody car, my ass is sweating" - on a autumn day after 15 minutes. Each to their own - the MB is not for me