Two Reviews

Last weekend (May 12 - 13) I went to The Cottage to visit my parents. They were just returning from the US and I needed to bring the cat - so taking the GO train halfway wasn't going to work out very well. It was finally time for me to try out car sharing!! I had just finished signing up for ZipCar that week so the timing was perfect. (Note: I will also be joining AutoShare shortly so will have access to the two main car sharing companies in Toronto. I think there will be a benefit to having the two memberships as it looks like the companies are better at different things. I'll keep you posted.) I rented the Mazda 3 hatchback because I wanted lots of truck space. I really wanted to get the Mini but decided to save doing that until later. Here are my thoughts:

ZipCar

I loved the entire car sharing processes! My mom has been trying to get me involved in this type of program for years and I always resisted. As I learned more about it my reasons for resistance became less and less logical. At the moment the only thing that annoys me is the large ZipCar logo that is on the side of the car (I am fine with the cute little one that is on the back/trunk.) However, the big logo is on the passenger side, so as the driver I rarely see it and pretend that it isn't there. This is seriously my only complaint about ZipCar, and it is a very lame one.

It isn't cheap to use this, but it is quite affordable and I would say a better deal than renting a car. I obviously was taking a long trip so was booking for a full day. The cost per day is slightly higher than what I would pay to rent a car but when you factor in that gas is included it is a great deal. It is also way easier than renting a car. From start to finish it was easy to understand and use the system of booking a car. I used the internet, phone app, and phone call at various times throughout my reservation and each one was efficient and user friendly. The reason I ended up calling in and using the app is that I extended my reservation so that I could bring the car back later. There really is only positive things to say about the whole thing. I completely recommend being a ZipCar member if you live in Toronto!

Mazda 3 Hatchback

I hated the car! This isn't really related to ZipCar, since the car was new, clean, and had very low mileage. It was just a terrible car. I picked it because I have driven Taylor's 'normal' Mazda 3 and loved it. (It goes zoomzoom.) The hatchback version is totally different. It had no pep and felt sluggish whenever I tried to accelerate. The sight-lines were terrible, I had huge blind spots to the point that it was scary to drive because I could not see what was happening around me. I have loved all other Mazdas that I have driven but I have never hated a car like I hated driving that one.

Final thoughts -- I can't want to use ZipCar again! However, I will never book a Mazda 3 Hatchback again.