The most popular cars rented across the world!

Most of us may envision ourselves living out our driving dreams in style by cruising along the autobahn in a vintage Jaguar or traversing a beautiful landscape in a Porsche SUV.

Despite this, driving a car abroad is a completely different experience to popping down to the shops in your beloved family runner. Different road signs, driving etiquette, and even having to drive on the other side of the road can make for a stressful time for anyone.

Because of this, when it comes to making the decision, most people may be more inclined to go for something that will make them feel as comfortable as possible on foreign roads and save them some money.

But if people aren't renting a Rolls Royce for their family holiday, what is the go-to car brand to rent in each country when going on vacation?

We had a look at our internal data to find out which brands of car tourists are most likely to rent in over 100 countries; and the results are quite surprising!

At the top of the leaderboard is Volkswagen and Toyota.

Surprisingly, two car brands share the top spot, with Volkwagen and Toyota being the go-to choice for 20 countries as their trusty vacation vehicle.

Volkswagen:
People travelling to Lithuania are most likely to choose the German car as 68% chose the brand as their holiday car, with a VW Polo being the most popular (25% of all rentals).

Those vacationing in Norway are the second most likely to rent a Volkswagen vehicle when abroad, as 57% of people decided that VW would suit them best. The majority (28%) of these rentals were a VW Polo.

Latvia's tourists are the third most likely to choose a VW as their rental car abroad, as 51% chose the German manufacturer as their go-to. Also, unlike the other countries' visitors, the most popular model was the VW Golf, as 20% of people rented it.

Toyota:
People visiting Colorado in the USA are those most likely to want a Toyota to cruise around in, with 59% of rentals being from the Japanese automotive manufacturer.

Of these rentals, the Toyota Yaris was most popular, as it made up 21% of cars rented by people visiting Colorado!

Those holidaying in Thailand take the second spot for lovers of all things Toyota! 52% of all cars rented in Thailand were Toyotas, 9% of all renters chose a Toyota Corolla, making it the most popular model!

The place whose tourists are the third most loyal to the Japanese brand is actually a state again! 45% of visitors to Georgia rent a Toyota with the Toyota Corolla Sedan making up the majority of rentals as 30% of people chose the model!

Second from the top is Kia and Hyundai!

Tourists visiting 10 countries out of the 109 we looked at are most likely to choose a Kia vehicle to rent. Hyundai is tied for the second place, too, with tourists visiting 10 countries renting a Hyundai most often.

Kia:
Aruba's tourists are most likely to choose the South Korean brand of car as 84% rented the brand of the car between 2014 and 2020. The Kia Picanto was the most popular model making up 69% of all rentals.

The next country that people are most likely to rent a Kia when visiting is Bahrain. 83% of people decided that was the brand that would suit them best. 32% of these rentals were a Kia Picanto!

Curacao is the third country where tourists are most likely to choose a Kia as their rental car, as 74% of people visiting Curacao rented a Kia. Also, similarly to the other countries, 44% of people rented a Kia Picanto.

Hyundai:
People travelling to Seychelles seem to be the most loyal to the car brand with 74% of rentals being a Hyundai and the Hyundai i10 making up 49% of these rentals.

Tourists vacationing in the Philippines take second place in the South Korean car fan club! Of all cars rented in the Philippines, 65% were a Hyundai, with the Hyundai Accent being the most popular (64%).

Panama is the country whose tourists are third most likely to rent a Hyundai as 55% chose the brand of car as their holiday vehicle; and much like Seychelles, the Hyundai i10 made up the majority of the rentals.

In third place is Renault!

9 out of the 109 countries have Renault as the car brand most likely to be rented by international tourists!

Tourists in Belarus are more likely to choose the French manufacturer's vehicles for their holiday rental, making it the most likely place out of those nine countries. 59% of rentals were a Renault and 56% were a Renault Logan.

Egypt and Guadeloupe are the two other top countries where tourists have a preference for Renault. 49% of tourists travelling to both of these countries rent Renault vehicles.

39% of Egypt's Renault rentals were the Renault Logan, whilst Guadeloupe's tourists favourite Renault was the Renault Twingo, making up a third of rentals.

Clearly, there were some surprises in there — we definitely expected to see the iconic Ford brand as the favourite of people visiting America!

But tourists heading to France clearly want to indulge themselves with a Peugeot on their trip, as it is the obvious rental choice making up 26% of all rentals

People taking their holidays in Italy follow a similar pattern, as the Fiat is the choice for many, making up 48% of all rentals.

What would be your number one choice when driving abroad?

If you need help with finding the best deal for your next trip, get in touch with our team.

DiscoverCars.com reviewed car rentals between 2014 and 2020 in a total of 109 countries. The maps show the most popular cars rented in each country by tourists.