Posted on June 19, 2008 by Fiona Hilliard

In the world of car hire, small is definitely beautiful these days.  Who would have thought they’d ever see a customer pass up on an upgrade to an SUV or luxury rental?  This summer, plenty of US car hire and UK car hire agents will. 

According to US consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen of the Early Show consumers used to book economy cars, hoping that they would sell out so they could get an upgrade to bigger cars.  Nowadays however, people feel they’re getting stuck with gas guzzling SUVs and bigger cars, when all they want is cheaper, smaller, economy cars.  She says some people are even being “upgraded” to bigger cars they don’t want. 

Renters should consider the following tips when searching for a bigger car:

Get to the counter bright and early.  Most people return cars in the afternoon and evening, so they’re ready for the next morning.  The later in the day you get there, the better the chance that economy cars will be gone. 

It’s also a good idea to sign up to a car hire membership club.  These sometimes offer preferred status to members.