What rental car size should I get? For Elana

Need to rent a car for a weekend. Looking for a sedan, but I don't understand the rental car terminology. What size/model will fit a forward facing car seat (likely Britax Marathon), and 2 backless boosters?

Rental car companies can be confusing. I'd rent the largest sedan you could afford. I have gotten rentals from Enterprise before and their "full-size" is probably the smallest I'd be comfortable with. I got a Kia Optima and a Toyota Camry as "full-size" cars.

We rent often and I find it varies a lot by both company and individual branch. Many companies will also upgrade you if they don't have the right size, so if you're renting from a neighborhood location, that can factor in. (Airports almost always seem to have a decent selection in every category, in my experience.) We use Enterprise most of the time, and I usually reserve an intermediate with the goal of getting something like a VW Jetta (which is, I think, technically a full-size). 80% of the time they do only have full-size and compact/economy cars so will automatically give me the option of the full-size cars. The rest of the time, if the intermediate cars they have don't work, I just upgrade to the car that is the best fit when I show up. Enterprise bases upgrades on your original reservation price (so if you reserve in advance and get a discount, the upgraded price will still be much lower than the same-day prices) but not sure how other companies work. For a sure bet you can just reserve a full-size from the start, but I suspect you'd be safe reserving an intermediate, too, if there's a big price difference. Don't be afraid to ask what else they have in the lot if the first car they offer you isn't a good fit, for whatever reason.

One thing I've found helpful is to call a day ahead of the reservation and let the staff know exactly what I need, since there really is a wide range in their fleet (e.g., both a Fiat 500 and a Nissan Versa are compact cars--but obviously fit car seats quite differently!) If they know a particular car is coming back, they can sometimes hold it for us.

I just looked at what we reserved last time - it was Dollar Rental, the intermediate size. We ended up with a Chrysler 200, I think the other model they had was a Mitsubishi Galant (whatever it was I had rented one before and didn't like it).

I think it would have fit your needs, we had the kids in Literiders and were able to fit them outboard & center with me in the back also when DS was falling asleep (so I could help him stay upright).

But it's always an unknown. I don't think I've ever had the vehicle we end up with be the vehicle they list as an example on the website.

Ok...I rent a lot because of work and travel and such...primarily with Hertz. They all really have the same basic terminology and it makes no sense to the consumer because it doesn't match up with logic and reason.

The midsize vehicles in the consumer world would be an Accord/Camry. Not in the rental world...those are "intermediate" or even "full size" vehicles. Even an Avalon, Impala, or Crown Vic are also considered "full size". So, what do you get if you book midsize? Corolla, Focus, Cruze, etc...you know, not "midsize" consumer vehicles.

If you have 3 kids, I wouldn't book anything smaller than fullsize in a sedan, midsize SUV, or van. Especially if it's more than 4 days.