17-23 March 2012; In and Around Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska --
Grumpy reserved an "Intermediate" car ("Toyota Corolla or equivalent") through Alamo to pick up at the Des Moines International Airport on 17 March. When he arrived, the Alamo/National agent told him that his car would be a Chrysler 200 model. Grumpy expressed his disappointment (he had wanted to evaluate the Corolla for road noise, compared to the Red Rocket and previous impressions of the Toyota Camry). The agent assured Grumpy that "... the Chrysler 200 is a better car -- and besides, it gets better miles per gallon than the Corolla!".
To be sure, the Chrysler 200 is a bigger car than the Corolla; in fact, it was listed as a "Standard" size. This upgrade was supposed to be a no-charge "gift" to the renter. Right off the bat, as I drove out of Des Moines Airport, I sensed that this was a four-banger, lacking much in the way of acceleration performance for such a big car. "No problem", I thought; I was more interested in good fuel economy, since I was planning on driving over 1000 miles, down to Topeka KS, to Central Nebraska and back to Des Moines with my kid sister, after all.
The first surprise came as I noticed that the mileage listed on the contract at checkout was "12,286", but by checking with my GPS, the odometer at checkout read "12,442"! Well, it didn't matter, since I had "unlimited" miles on this week-long rental anyway.
The next surprise came when I had to refill the gas tank after only 282 miles (23.5 mpg). Well, maybe the tank wasn't really FULL when I had picked the car up, I thought. However, the next requirement for fuel came after only 448 more miles (27.2 mpg). This "gutless wonder" not only didn't perform as well as my Honda Accord V-6, but it didn't even approach the miles-per-gallon that my Accord had repeatedly achieved over this same route!
When I checked the Chrysler in a few days later, I commented to the agent that I was disappointed in its poor gas mileage. The agent boasted that, " ... after all, this is a V-6!" Well, it sure didn't sound like a V-6, nor respond like a V-6, as far as I was concerned. Sure enough, when I checked the specifications on the Chrysler 200 after I got home, it was indeed a four-banger, just like I thought.
On a positive note, there were a couple things about the Chrysler that I did like. First of all, its automatic transmission had a mode where the driver could "lock" the direct-drive clutch and gear selection into which ever gear he was in at the time, and then manually shift into a higher or lower range of his choice, all the while keeping the direct-drive clutch solidly engaged. This feature should allow better gas mileage during freeway driving -- it is a nuisance and an annoyance if you forget and leave it in this mode when you get into "stop-and-go" driving. I wish I had this feature on my V-6 Accord; I believe I could improve my long-distance fuel mileage by two or three miles per gallon.
The second positive thing I liked about the Chrysler was its roominess compared to the Corolla I had reserved. Also, the ride was probably more comfortable than the Corolla would have been. Detracting from the ride comfort, however, was the fact that the Chrysler did not handle as well on the freeway nor on the side roads as well as my Accord; I wouldn't be surprise if the Corolla handles better, too.
In summary, I was disappointed by Alamo's deceitful claim that the Chrysler 200 " ... gets better gas mileage than the Toyota Corolla", and particularly by their agent misrepresenting the Chrysler engine as a V-6. I will think twice before choosing Alamo as my car rental choice next time.
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