Compact

Compact sits one rung above economy and the gap between them is narrower than the names suggest. Both carry 5 seats, 4 doors, an automatic gearbox and air conditioning. Both take a single large case. What changes is the shape of the space around it, because a compact holds 2 smaller bags where an economy car holds 1.

That second smaller bag is the whole argument for the class. It is where a cabin bag, the beach kit or a day's shopping goes without anything being lifted out first, and across a fortnight of daily park runs that turns out to matter far more often than the raw case count suggests.

Typical models are the Nissan Sentra and the Kia Forte. Both are saloons with a conventional boot rather than a hatch, so the loading aperture is narrower than the space behind it. Measure a tall hard case against the boot opening rather than the boot volume, because the opening is the constraint you meet in the garage.

Fuel and parking behave almost exactly as they do a class below. A compact runs a small four cylinder engine, sits inside a standard American parking bay with room to open the doors, and threads through the multi storey at Orlando International without drama. Paying a little more than economy for a car that costs the same to run all fortnight is why so many couples end up here.

Two adults who want the cheapest sensible car rather than simply the cheapest car are the core of this class. You get the same running costs as economy, the same ease of parking, and just enough extra room that the boot stops being a daily negotiation.

Couples touring rather than staying put get more from it than a family based in one villa. If your fortnight runs Orlando, Naples, the Keys and back up the east coast, you are loading and unloading cases every two or three days and the second bag of space earns itself several times over.

Three adults travelling together also work here, provided the third does not bring a full sized case. The rear bench seats three at a push for short hops and two in genuine comfort for a run down to Fort Myers.

Families of four are the group who should look higher up the list. One large case does not cover four people flying from the UK, and the moment a pushchair joins the party the boot has gone. Intermediate and full size cars cost more per day but solve the problem outright rather than asking you to pack around it.

Long distance drivers should also think twice. Compacts are quiet enough on I-4 and perfectly stable at 70mph, but the cabin is narrow across the shoulders and an eight hour day to Key West is felt more here than in a full size saloon. For one coast trip that is irrelevant. For a touring itinerary it is worth the upgrade.

Two rate tiers exist in Florida car hire and comparing across them is the commonest way to misread a price. A basic rate covers the car and the legal minimum. An inclusive rate wraps in the protections, mileage and extras a UK customer usually expects to be there already. The headline gap between the two shrinks once the basic rate reaches the desk.

Cover, mileage and additional drivers are the three items that move between tiers. Collision damage protection and the liability cover required by American law belong on an inclusive rate, along with unlimited mileage and often one named additional driver. Exact terms, and the excess that sits behind the protection, vary by supplier, by season and by pickup branch, so we set them out in writing against your booking instead of publishing a figure we cannot stand behind.

Fuel policy is normally full to full, which is the cheapest arrangement to live with. Filling stations sit within a couple of miles of every airport return road in Florida, and the receipt is worth keeping until the final invoice clears.

Toll charges arrive after your holiday under whichever programme your supplier operates, usually with an administration fee added per day of use. Orlando International offers an alternative, the Visitor Toll Pass, a free hangtag from terminal vending machines that charges the electronic toll rate with no service fee. Choosing it means declining the supplier's toll product at the counter, because running both bills you twice.

Extras that sit outside every base rate include satellite navigation, child seats, additional drivers beyond your allowance and one way drop fees if you are returning the car to a different airport. Ask us to list those against the booking so the total you approve is the total you pay.

Florida sets its child restraint rule by age rather than by height and weight. A child aged 5 or under must travel in a crash tested, federally approved restraint. Birth through age 3 requires a separate carrier or an integrated child seat built into the vehicle. Ages 4 and 5 allow a separate carrier, an integrated seat or a booster. A seat belt is legal from age 6.

UK parents are used to the i-Size and weight based rules at home, so the age wording reads oddly. Treat the Florida statute as the legal floor and your own judgement as the standard, particularly for a four year old who would still be in a harnessed seat in the UK.

Hiring seats from the supplier costs per seat per day and is the simplest option for a two week trip. Reserve them on the booking rather than asking at the desk, because a branch that has run out on a busy Saturday cannot conjure one up and you cannot legally drive away without it.

Bringing your own seat is practical on a compact. Airlines carry child seats free on transatlantic routes, UK seats fit American belts in most cases, and a familiar seat is faster to fit at the end of a long flight. Two seats fit across the rear bench of a Sentra or a Forte, though the third position between them is unusable for an adult once both are in.

Check the fit before you drive. American belt geometry differs slightly from what you know, the lower anchor points sit deeper in the seat bight, and the collection garage is a far better place to work that out than the hard shoulder of the Beachline Expressway.