Rental Car Sizes and Models
Updated January 2010 to reflect the current models of cars being offered and an expanded list of class sizes. With thanks to Adam M. for his input.
We’ve put together pictures and descriptions of the most common rental car sizes and models you would get when hiring from the major car rental companies in Australia. They are grouped as many car hire companies group them, from Economy through to Luxury, 4WDs and Vans.
To help those of you from overseas who might be unfamiliar with Australia’s car models, we’ve also included their “equivalents” in the US and Europe. The size of cars in each of Australia’s categories tend to be slightly smaller than the equivalent categories in North America but larger than those in Europe.
In general, all rental cars from Australia’s major car rental companies come with air conditioning and beyond Economy class cars, they have automatic transmissions (apart from Hertz’s manual Compact Corolla hatchback and selected 4WD/specialty cars).
Use the following information as a guide but remember that the exact car model and its specifications could vary. The fuel consumption rates are the manufacturers’ official rates (for combined urban and highway travel) but can be, and usually are, higher in practice.
This additional person will fit but it will be more comfortable without
Economy Car (3 or 5 door Hatchback)
| Hyundai Getz 1.4, Toyota Yaris, Mitsubishi Colt |
| Seating Capacity |
 |
 |
| Luggage Space |
 |
| Engine |
1.3 – 1.5L, 4 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
6.0 – 6.5L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
141 – 154g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Aveo, VW Polo, Peugeot 107, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa) |
Compact Car (5 door Hatchback)
| Hyundai Getz 1.6, Toyota Corolla Hatch, Nissan Tiida Hatch |
| Seating Capacity |
 |
 |
| Luggage Space |
|
| Engine |
1.6 – 1.8L, 4 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
7.3L/100km (man), 7.0 – 7.8L/100km (auto) |
| CO2 Emissions |
171g/km (man), 167 – 187g/km (auto) |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cobalt, Nissan Versa, VW Golf, Peugeot 308, Opel/Vauxhall Astra) |
Green Hybrid Car – Do Your Bit For The Environment!
| Toyota Prius |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
 |
| Engine |
1.5L, 4 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
4.4L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
106g/km |
|
Mid-size / Intermediate Sedan
| Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla Sedan, Nissan Tiida Sedan |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
 |
| Engine |
1.8 – 2.0L , 4 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
7.4 – 7.8L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
173 – 187g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Nissan Sentra, Pontiac G5, Opel/Vauxhall Vectra Sedan) |
Mid-size / Intermediate SUV or AWD
| Toyota RAV4 AWD, Mitsubishi Outlander AWD, Nissan X-Trail AWD |
| Seating Capacity |
 |
 |
| Luggage Space |
 |
| Engine |
2.4 – 2.5L, 4 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
9.3 – 9.6L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
222 – 227g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, Honda CR-V) |
Standard Sedan
| Toyota Camry, Mitsubishi Lancer |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
 |
| Engine |
2.0 – 2.4L, 4 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
8.2 – 8.8L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
196 – 208g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Audi A4, Volvo S40, VW Passat, Peugeot 407) |
Full-size / Family Sedan
| Toyota Aurion, Ford Falcon Sedan, Holden Commodore Sedan |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
|
| Engine |
3.5 – 4.0L V6 |
| Fuel Consumption |
9.9 – 13.4L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
217 – 251g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Impala, Audi A6, Volvo S60, Dodge Charger, Peugeot 607) |
Wagon
| Ford Falcon Wagon, Holden Commodore Wagon |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
 |
| Engine |
3.6 – 4.0L, 6 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
10.7L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
255 – 260g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Mondeo Estate, Dodge Magnum, VW Passat Estate, Opel/Vauxhall Vectra Estate) |
Premium
| Holden Calais, Ford Falcon G6E |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
|
| Engine |
3.6 – 4.0L V6 / 6 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
9.9 – 10.1L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
236 – 239g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 300) |
Luxury
| Holden Statesman |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
|
| Engine |
3.6L V6 |
| Fuel Consumption |
10.3L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
245g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Fairlane, Chevrolet Caprice, Cadillac DTS, Chrysler 300 Touring) |
4WD
| Toyota Landcruiser, Mitsubishi Pajero, Nissan Patrol |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
|
| Engine |
3.8 – 4.0L V6 (Landcruiser, Pajero), 4.8L 6 cylinder (Patrol) |
| Fuel Consumption |
13.2 – 13.5L/100km (Landcruiser, Pajero), 16.4L/100km (Patrol) |
| CO2 Emissions |
314 – 323g/km (Landcruiser, Pajero), 393g/km (Patrol) |
| Equivalent Models (Chevrolet Trailblazer, Nissan Pathfinder, Jeep Grand Cherokee) |
Sports / Convertible
| Holden Astra 2-Door Convertible |
| Seating Capacity |
|
 |
| Luggage Space |
|
| Engine |
2.2L, 4 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
9.7L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
223g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Chrysler Sebring, Renault Mégane CC, VW Eos Convertible) |
Van / People Mover
| Hyundai iMax, Toyota Tarago, KIA Carnival |
| Seating Capacity |
 |
 |
| Luggage Space |
|
| Engine |
2.4 – 2.7L, 4-6 cylinder |
| Fuel Consumption |
9.5 – 11.0L/100km |
| CO2 Emissions |
222 – 262g/km |
| Equivalent Models (Ford Tourneo, Chevrolet Uplander, Dodge Caravan, VW Sharan, Peugeot 807) |
Thanks for posting the article, was certainly a great read!
[...] can check out the Car Hire Insider’s guide to Australian Rental Car Models here – it’s well worth a read if you aren’t sure how car sizes are described in different [...]
Good guide. A couple of suggestions for improvement:
1. Update information regularly, as available car models change regularly (cars are only kept for about 6-12 months by the big guys), depending on what deals the car companies offer and new models/models being discontinued. E.g. Mitsubishi 380′s are no longer in hire fleets and have not for about 12 months (Replaced by Ford Falcons); Wagons are now primarily Holden Commodore Sportwagons (Avis, Budget, Hertz), Some Ford Falcons (Europcar, although I don’t believe they use them anymore either) & Toyota Klugers (Europcar & Hertz); Avis & Budget now use Hyundai I-max as people movers.
2. It would be useful to note that all cars from the big guys have air conditioning and almost all are automatic, except Economy class HyundaI Getz, which are manual and Compact class Toyota Corollas (Hertz only).
3. Expand category descriptions – the above categories are only about half of the available categories.