Get into gear for summer with the best car rental apps of 2022

Timothy
Need a car? There’s an app for that (Picture: Getty)

Fancy a long weekend road trip but don’t have a ride? We’ve all been there.

Well, now you don’t have to run for a train on your holidays ever again.

From pay-as-you go run arounds to ‘Air BnB for cars’, get into gear with exploring on four wheels with these easy as pie car rental apps.

Here is our pick of the best car rental aps on the market in 2022:

Best for EVs: UFODrive

The app will always keep an eye on your mileage (Picture: Johannes Mink)

If you’re on a mission to make sure you don’t unravel all those environmental benefits of not owning your own wheels, a platform that offers fully electric and hybrid vehicles across Europe may well be the answer.

Ufodrive’s app provides support over the rental period, monitoring your range and pointing you in the direction of 100,000 charge points so you never run out of juice or trigger the dreaded range anxiety.

Did we mention charging is free too? Running in cities across UK and in Europe, including Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Vienna, cars are located either in central locations or at airports.

Prices from £79 per day.

Download for iOS.

Download for Android.

Best for international travel: Turo

Turo has called itself an ‘AirBnB for cars’ (Picture: Turo)

The self-proclaimed Airbnb for cars delivers digital convenience in peer-to-peer form, giving users pay-as-you-drive access to cars owned by ordinary people.

The San Francisco-based platform operates in 56 countries, and boasts more than ten million users and 350,000 listed vehicles in 850 makes and models.

Search by the type of vehicle through the app or website – a cool convertible, perhaps?

Or maybe an adventure-friendly off-road beast? You can even filter your search to include things such as Apple CarPlay and whether it’s dog-friendly.

Some hosts will deliver your car to you (for an additional fee) or to predetermined locations such as airports and train stations. Otherwise you’ll need to pick the car up from a specified address, with varying instructions on how to access the key.

Turo Go-approved hosts and users can lock and unlock a vehicle through the app, avoiding in-person key exchanges.

Prices from £19 a day.

Download for iOS.

Download for Android.

Best for luxury: The Out

It’s like a luxury version of Zipcar (Picture: The Out)

If you’re feeling fancy, think of The Out as a luxury version of Zipcar, minus the advertisement of your rental status splashed all over your ride.

Taking car hire to a premium level, The Out will deliver a Range Rover or Jag in as little as two hours (depending on location and availability).

Just punch your postcode into the app or online (theout.com), choose your preferred delivery and collection time, and you’ll be presented with a choice of opulent automobiles, from the Range Rover Evoque to the Jaguar I-Pace and F-Type Convertible.

Once you’ve chosen any free extras, such as additional drivers, a dog boot separator or a bike rack, your ride will pull up at the designated time and location.

The service is currently only available in central London and Manchester. If you don’t feel like refilling at the end of the trip, they’ll fill it up for you at pump price. How’s that for service?

Prices from £163 a day.

Download for iOS.

Best for contactless pick-up: Virtuo

The contactless car operates in France, Italy, Spain and the UK (Picture: Antonin BIEZ)

This Paris-based start-up offers a modern take on traditional car rental with an all-
digital approach for tech-savvy individuals who want to rent in the UK, France, Italy or Spain.

The real draw here is the contactless nature of its service. Simply reserve your car of choice in the app or online and pick it up at the nearest location. The only car key you need is your phone.

After countless requests from users, there is the option of getting a car delivered to and picked up from you. Everything is taken care of through the app.

Cars range from Mercedes-Benz A-Class and GLA SUVs to Volkswagen Polos and Tesla Model 3s.

Virtuo expects 50% of its fleet to be electric by 2025 and 100% by 2030.

Prices from £50 a day.

Download for iOS.

Download for Android.



Ask the Cazoo car doctor: Automotive writer Graham King

What is blind-spot assist?

2BJEYXH blind zone monitoring sensor on the side mirror of a modern car

A blind spot monitoring sensor (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)

Blind-spot assist (also known as blind-spot warning or blind-spot monitoring) is a feature designed to make motorway driving safer.

Using sensors, it detects if there’s another vehicle approaching in your car’s blind spot behind.

That’s the view just over your right shoulder, which your side mirrors can’t always show.

If a vehicle is there for more than a second or two, an amber warning light will show in your car’s door mirror to signal that you shouldn’t pull out into the other vehicle’s path.

If you use your indicators to signal a lane change while a car is there, the system will give you an audible or visual warning, and even vibrate your car’s steering wheel gently to let you know that it might not be a safe move.

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on purchases made through one of these links but this never influences our experts’ opinions. Products are tested and reviewed independently of commercial initiatives.


MORE : How much does it cost to charge an electric car and how long does it take?


MORE : Electric conversions of classic cars are on the rise and this is why


MORE : Couple who ditched renting to live in a van now can’t travel due to rising fuel prices

Next Post

FBR investigating under-invoicing by auto firm

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Ashfaq Ahmed informed a parliamentary panel on Wednesday that the process of verifying under-invoicing by an auto company was underway. Speaking during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), committee member Khawaja Asif alleged that the automobile firm imported 10,000 completely built […]

You May Like