when i was a PH driver i had the following cars, all hired from company:
Mondeo saloon Aspen - Crap, half decent MPG but broke down repeatedly
Mondeo ST24 - Awesome fun to drive but as above with worse economy
Skoda Octavia 1.9SDI - Reliable, great MPG, slow as hell
Skoda octavia 1.9 TDI - Reliable, great mpg and nippy enough for a cab!
Vaux Cavalier SRI - reliable, rubbish MPG, very good fun to drive!
Vaux vectra V6 - Reliable, nice to drive, not too bad on juice surprisingly
VW passat Estate 1.9TDI 130, remapped to 155 - Favourite of the lot. lovely to drive, great MPG, loads of legroom, loads luggage space for wheelchairs/prams etc
I liked the passat so much i ended up buying it, and would probably still have it now if it wasnt for some tit in a subaru hitting it at 60mph whilst it was parked stationary outside my old flat!
People being sick used to finish the night off nicely, so long as you could actually get the £50 fine out of them! Although i once had a rather extreme case...
I had a woman once who puked in the cab, and unbeknownst to me had actually pissed herself, said she didnt have her purse and would go inside and get the money for the fare (£16) and the fine (£50). Obviously she never came back out, but, i had seen her get in with her bag, and she hadnt taken it with her when she left....
Bag was under the seat, And contained £110 in cash, a mobile phone, a chunky 9ct Gold bracelet , a solitaire diamond ring, and a DKNY watch. RESULT!
I Put a note through her door which read along the lines of:
Hello,
My name is Dean and i was your taxi driver last night. On the journey home you were sick in the back and front of my cab, and also wet yourself both in the front seat and the rear. You then left the cab to get your purse but never returned. Well i found your bag and purse, and will be holding onto them until you contact me to pay the fine for soiling my vehicle and your taxi fare.
This comes to £66, and i will also be charging you a fare when i come to collect my money, so lets call it £75 shall we.
If i do not hear from you within one week, i will be keeping the bag, and all of its contents as payment.
My number is: 07000000000
Look forward to hearing from you.
Needless to say, she was so embarrased of herself that she never contacted me, and i sold the phone, watch, bracelet and ring, then posted her purse and cards etc back through her door.
I made over £550 from one 12mile journey
Some will say maybe it was a cruel thing to do, but i ended up buying a new interior for the car as she had literally pissed and puked everywhere, no way in hell i coulda cleaned it and got back to work the same weekend!