What Does ‘Or Similar’ Mean in Car Rental?

The ACRISS code classification system is an industry standard followed by car rental companies to allow for flexibility as they manage vehicles in their fleet. This way, they are able to offer customers a wider range of options.

When you’re booking a rental car, you’ll come across several terms you may not be familiar with or have questions about how things work. It’s good to have a basic knowledge of certain concepts for a smooth and straightforward rental experience. One term you’ll see when browsing is ‘or similar’ written next to the vehicle’s make and model. This essentially means that the rental agency will provide you with a car that meets the general specifications of the category you booked, but it may not be the exact model listed. To understand what this means, we’ll first explain what the ACRISS code is and how it relates to your rental.

Cracking the ACRISS code

The ACRISS (Association of Car Rental Industry Systems Standards) code is a standardized system car rental companies use to classify vehicles. The four-character code indicates the car’s category, type, transmission/drive, and air-conditioning/fuel type as outlined in the matrix below.

*The above information is sourced from ACRISS’s official website in September 2024.

For example, a car with the ACRISS code CDMR will be a compact car with 4-5 doors, manual transmission and air conditioning. The word ‘Elite’ indicates that the vehicle is superior to another of the same size in terms of price, performance, features, or other specifications.

How this impacts your rental

The ACRISS code classification system is an industry standard followed by car rental companies to allow for flexibility as they manage vehicles in their fleet. This way, they’re able to offer customers a wider range of options and assign a car much faster if the selected model is not available at the time of booking. This safeguards you by guaranteeing you’ll get a car of a similar type and with comparable (or better) features than the one you booked. This ensures a more efficient process and fewer complaints, especially with cars that are in high demand. Once you understand that the car you book is an example and not necessarily the exact model you’ll get, you won’t be surprised if you’re handed the keys to a Honda Civic instead of the Toyota Corolla you booked.