How much more does an SUV cost than a compact?
In this sweep the median across 17 airports was 1.42 times. It ran from 0.97 at Athens to 1.77 at Melbourne.
Research
Car hire price gaps between car categories
The step from mini to compact to SUV to people carrier, as a multiple of the compact rate, at 18 airports in one November snapshot.
By the DayRunner team ·
At the 17 airports with a compact category, the typical SUV cost a median 1.42 times the typical compact. Economy came in at 0.92 times and 9-seaters at 2.68 times. The steps weren't the same everywhere. An SUV cost 1.77 times a compact at Melbourne but slightly less than one at Athens.
This is one Rate Pulse snapshot of rentalcars.com, 7 Nov 2026, for pick-ups 8 to 21 Nov 2026. It's November, a shoulder month in most of these markets, so the gaps may look different in peak season.
How we got these numbers
- One snapshot: rentalcars.com search results, searched from New Zealand, swept 6 to 7 Nov 2026 (NZ time).
- 3-day hires picked up at the airport on each of 14 days, 8 to 21 Nov 2026. Daily rate = 3-day total ÷ 3, in NZD.
- For each category we use the typical (median) daily rate across all 14 days, then divide by the airport's compact median. 1.42 means 42% more than a compact.
- This is the whole market at each airport, every brand together. The brand filter used on other pages doesn't apply.
- Categories are the groupings shown on the dashboards. Not every airport has every category, and the sweep doesn't tell us how many offers sit in each one, so a thin category can swing.
- Advertised prices, not what brands earned. Full method: How Rate Pulse works.
The typical step from compact, across airports
| Category | Airports with it | Median multiple of compact | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini | 6 | 0.74 | 0.40 (Barcelona) | 0.84 (Dublin) |
| Economy | 14 | 0.92 | 0.69 (Bangkok) | 1.03 (Amsterdam) |
| Intermediate | 9 | 1.27 | 1.04 (Sydney) | 1.58 (Amsterdam) |
| SUV | 17 | 1.42 | 0.97 (Athens) | 1.77 (Melbourne) |
| Estate | 6 | 1.79 | 1.45 (Munich) | 2.46 (Lisbon) |
| 7-seat carrier | 6 | 2.10 | 1.30 (Bangkok) | 13.03 (Dublin) |
| 8-seat carrier | 7 | 2.44 | 1.63 (Queenstown) | 3.00 (Sydney) |
| 9-seat carrier | 7 | 2.68 | 2.22 (Barcelona) | 4.31 (Lisbon) |
Dublin's 7-seater is an outlier. Its typical rate was NZ$482 a day against NZ$37 for a compact, and its day medians ran from NZ$352 to NZ$611. Treat it with care until a later sweep confirms it. Without Dublin, the 7-seat median is 2.00.
Multiple of compact, by airport
Blank means the category wasn't in the sweep at that airport.
| Airport | Mini | Economy | Intermediate | SUV | Estate | 7-seat | 8-seat | 9-seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 0.96 | 1.27 | 1.48 | 1.78 | ||||
| Amsterdam | 1.03 | 1.58 | 1.64 | 1.53 | ||||
| Athens | 0.82 | 0.79 | 1.32 | 0.97 | 3.58 | |||
| Barcelona | 0.40 | 0.97 | 1.27 | 2.20 | 2.22 | |||
| Bangkok | 0.69 | 1.15 | 1.44 | 1.30 | ||||
| Brisbane | 1.19 | 1.42 | 2.66 | |||||
| Paris CDG | 0.93 | 1.33 | 1.84 | 2.40 | ||||
| Christchurch | 0.83 | 1.55 | 1.67 | |||||
| Dublin | 0.84 | 0.92 | 1.32 | 1.59 | 13.03 | |||
| Rome | 0.73 | 0.95 | 1.34 | 1.41 | 2.29 | |||
| London Heathrow | 0.92 | 1.39 | 1.73 | 1.41 | 2.59 | |||
| Lisbon | 0.73 | 0.85 | 1.08 | 2.46 | 4.31 | |||
| Madrid | 0.74 | 0.89 | 1.29 | 2.00 | 2.68 | |||
| Melbourne | 0.94 | 1.05 | 1.77 | 2.44 | ||||
| Munich | 1.53 | 1.45 | 2.53 | 2.66 | 3.58 | |||
| Sydney | 1.04 | 1.39 | 3.00 | |||||
| Queenstown | 0.84 | 1.42 | 1.63 |
Three NZ airports also had a pick-up (ute) category: 1.81 times compact at Auckland, 2.00 at Christchurch and 1.70 at Queenstown.
The same gaps in dollars
A similar multiple can mean a very different gap per day. SUV minus compact, typical daily rate, NZD:
| Airport | Compact | SUV | Gap per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christchurch | NZ$192 | NZ$298 | NZ$106 |
| Queenstown | NZ$210 | NZ$298 | NZ$88 |
| Auckland | NZ$139 | NZ$206 | NZ$67 |
| Melbourne | NZ$80 | NZ$142 | NZ$62 |
| Munich | NZ$116 | NZ$178 | NZ$62 |
| Amsterdam | NZ$90 | NZ$148 | NZ$58 |
| Brisbane | NZ$106 | NZ$150 | NZ$44 |
| Madrid | NZ$62 | NZ$80 | NZ$18 |
| Lisbon | NZ$26 | NZ$28 | NZ$2 |
| Athens | NZ$38 | NZ$37 | NZ$1 less |
Economy to compact was a small step at most airports: NZ$2 to NZ$8 a day at 10 of the 14 airports with both. Christchurch (NZ$32), Queenstown (NZ$34) and Bangkok (NZ$30) had bigger steps. Amsterdam's economy was NZ$3 dearer than its compact.
What operators can take from it
- Set category steps from your own market, not a rule of thumb. The SUV step ran from about level (Athens, Lisbon) to 1.77 times (Melbourne).
- Look at the gap in dollars as well as the multiple. Queenstown and Brisbane both had SUVs at 1.42 times compact, but that was NZ$88 a day at Queenstown and NZ$44 at Brisbane.
- Check which models sit in each category before pricing off a gap. Where SUVs cost about the same as compacts, as at Athens and Lisbon, look at the cars before you set a step.
- Be wary of big people-carrier multiples. Dublin's 13 times shows how far one category can swing in a single snapshot.
Questions
Is economy always cheaper than compact?
Nearly. Economy was cheaper at 13 of the 14 airports with both. Amsterdam was the exception, at 1.03 times compact.
Why use compact as the base?
It's the one category at 17 of the 18 airports. Bali, with only economy, SUVs and 7-seaters, is left out of this page.
Sources
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