A couple of months ago, Zipcar launched in Toronto. I had picked up a flyer from some folks standing on the street corner near my office (I assumed they worked for Zipcar) and then I kinda forgot about it.

After failing to secure a vehicle for a particular long weekend, my frustration with not having “wheels” grew to an all-time high. I decided (along with the help of some co-workers and a calculator) that owning a car while living downtown just didn’t make much financial sense. My alternative, the rental, only really worked for one to three day timeframes and I had to know that I needed the vehicle well in advance to ensure that it would be available to me. Since deciding last minute and flying by the seat of my pants is usually how these events come to fruition, the rental was quickly losing appeal.

This is where AutoShare steps in.

“Wait. What? Don’t you mean Zipcar? You can’t just change topics on a whim like that! I get all discombobulated!”

Easy, anonymous reader, I’m getting there. The truth of the matter is that I actually heard about AutoShare long ago and it was the service that seemed to answer all of my prayers. I could rent cars by the hour or by the day, they had some reasonable price plans, and it seemed like I had more of a chance to get a car when I needed it. After getting all excited about it, I finally read the fine-print and found the one catch: you had to be over 25 to join. Damnit! I am only 22 but I drive better than a lot of the wing-nuts out on the road and my record proves that. It’s the same treatment with rental companies (who charge extra for “underage” drivers).

This is where Zipcar steps in.

As soon as I visited zipcar.ca, I realized how much more I liked their marketing strategy. I don’t know, something about the green flat colors just seems more approachable. But of course, I couldn’t just judge a book by it’s cover/logo color. Learning from my mistakes of getting all hyped up, I immediately jumped to their fine-print-ish FAQ section and saw that you only had to be 21 or older to join. Finally! As I continued reading, I got more and more excited about the features/benefits that Zipcar was offering.

- No charge for under 25!
- Cool brand new cars (including the MINI).
- Gas, parking, and insurance are all included in the rates.
- 24-hour service (through an online system).
- $50 free through the flyer that I had forgotten about.

Plus, their overall light-heartedness that is apparent in almost everything that you read makes … well, I don’t know, I just like it.

I’ve been a member of the service for almost 2 weeks now and I’ve rented on three separate occasions (two MINI’s and a new Civic with the funky interior). The system could not be any simpler. The online booking site makes complete sense and will automatically sort the cars based which is closest. There are little tips (written from the perspective of the car) given to you when you make a reservation so that there is minimal surprises when trying a new car. Gas is paid for via a fleet card with Esso (and if you can’t find an Esso, you can go somewhere else and they’ll reimburse you). The cars are always spotless and conveniently scattered throughout most of downtown Toronto. Locking and unlocking the car is done through your “zipcard” (which is pretty cool when you try it). And the list goes on.

For anyone living in downtown Toronto, I highly recommend checking out Zipcar.ca and taking a glance at their comparison charts (against owning and renting). For me, the opportunity to try the MINI is just too nice. Everyone that I let sit in it had a smile on their face and said they wanted one.