Nissan Versa

Car was good and achieved its purpose. Host was very responsive and gave enough details. The parking garage of the airport was confusing though but that is not the host’s fault. The only complaint I have is on the last day of our rental, the car had this flashing airbag sign. After a couple of hours, it started beeping non stop everytime the car was in motion. The host was responsive and gave us instructions on how to reboot the system, still didnt work though so we just dealth with it since our final day anyway.

Deniece •

We rented Yuhei's 2011 Nissan Versa for what I can best describe as our family's 36-hour Amazing Race around Oʻahu, and it turned out to be almost exactly the right car for what we wanted to accomplish.
I'm the kind of person who likes to know the practical details before renting a vehicle, so here's the review I would have appreciated reading beforehand.

First, set your expectations correctly: this is a 2011 four-cylinder economy car, not a new SUV or sports car. We had four adults in it, including my wife and my parents, and with four people aboard you're not going to race up the mountains or mash the accelerator and effortlessly pass somebody on the freeway. But if what you need is an inexpensive, simple car that will reliably get four people all over Oʻahu, this little Versa did exactly that for us.

And we really did put it to the test.

In roughly 36 hours, we drove about 170 miles and squeezed an amazing amount of the island into those miles. We went from Honolulu up through the center of the island to the North Shore, explored Haleʻiwa, stopped at the North Shore food trucks, saw places like Waimea Bay, Pipeline and Sunset Beach, then continued around the Windward side of the island past the beautiful mountains and Kualoa Ranch.
We drove the coastal roads, stopped at overlooks and beaches, crossed the island through the mountains, visited the Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout, and made our way back into Honolulu.

On day two we headed out along the southeastern side of Oʻahu and had a fantastic morning snorkeling at Kaiona Beach, then worked our way back toward Honolulu through the Makapuʻu/Hālona/Koko Head/Diamond Head area. We also had some fun hunting down Hawaii Five-0 filming locations, including the Kamekona shrimp-truck location near Kahanamoku Lagoon and the King Kamehameha statue and Five-0 headquarters locations downtown. We even managed to fit in some traditional Hawaiian food before returning the car.

So when I say this Versa will get you around the island, we gave it a pretty good test. :-)

Fuel economy: We drove approximately 170 miles and were down to roughly 1/4 tank when we refueled. It took almost exactly 9 gallons, which works out to about 18.9 MPG for our trip. Keep in mind that wasn't an MPG test under ideal conditions: it was four adults, Honolulu traffic, temps in the 90's... A/C Running, mountain roads, coastal sightseeing, repeated stops and starts, parking lots, overlooks, and plenty of accelerating back onto the highway. Your mileage with two people and more conventional driving could obviously be different.

One thing I particularly liked was the size of the car. A compact Versa makes a lot of sense on Oʻahu. Parking spaces can be small, some roads are tight, and you're constantly pulling into little beach parks, overlooks and crowded Honolulu parking areas. I NEVER found myself wishing we'd rented something much larger.

The car is also equipped with an aftermarket touchscreen stereo with Bluetooth, so we were able to connect a phone for music/audio during our drive. This was ESSENTIAL for getting around unfamiliar roads... to have our android auto connection maps up on the screen. Has both USB A and USB C inputs and once connected via wire, the BlueTooth took over every time we got in the car. It struggled to charge my older big pixel XL fold so bring a battery bank just in case.

Again, this is a 2011 economy car, so rent it with realistic expectations. It isn't a luxury car, and with four adults aboard you will notice that little four-cylinder working on hills and harder acceleration... and my mom said she felt every "speed table" in the back seat (and there are lots of them around the island). We weren't renting a car to impress anybody... we wanted something economical and practical that could become our transportation for a crazy two-day family adventure around Oʻahu. For that purpose, it was perfect.
(Remember taxes and $12 a day insurance are not included... added $40 to $50 to the 2 day $77 rental bill, which is probably why Turo gives you an hour to change your mind when you first book)

Pickup and return were straightforward, communication with Yuhei and Kaori was excellent, and they were responsive throughout the rental. We returned it to the same location, filled it with fuel, uploaded our checkout photos and receipt, and were on our way.

We came to Oʻahu on a cruise ship with a very limited amount of time and essentially used this little Versa to create our own two-day private island tour. In about 170 miles and 36 hours, it helped four of us see considerably more of Oʻahu than we ever could have seen relying on organized excursions. If we had more time, we might have opted into the adventure packages with the Jurassic park tours, or a trip into the diamond head crater... but guess passes must be arranged 30 days in advance, cost extra, and are timed entry.
Five stars from us. Mahalo, Yuhei and Kaori!

Andrew •

The car was clean and in perfect condition—ideal for running a quick errand.
The advance communication was courteous, and the host was excellent.
However, the parking spot at the airport was further away than I had imagined; it would have been even more helpful if I had been informed beforehand just how long it would take to get there after arrival.

EMI •

Great host and quick responses!!

Paola •

The car was a great gas saver! It’s a small, easy-to-drive car that fits perfectly into small parking spaces. The directions for finding the car were clear, and the host was very responsive and available during both check-in and check-out. Overall, a great experience!

Jocelyn •