Economy car rental in Spain

From €14 per day, economy car rental in Spain starts with 41 cars in our fleet — Smart Fortwo, Peugeot 108, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Fiat Panda, Toyota Aygo, Dacia Sandero, Citroen C3, Renault Clio, Volkswagen Polo and more, with weekly bookings from €84 and monthly from €294. We deliver the car to you in Madrid and Barcelona, and the booking is agreed with a manager.

What economy car rental in Spain means at Rent-Trip

Economy is the smallest and cheapest class we run here. Every car in it is a hatchback, self-drive, and delivered to you — the booking is agreed with a manager beforehand.

Economy class and how it differs from compact

Economy sits below compact: smaller engines, a lower daily rate, and an easier car to park. Our economy cars run 1.0–1.5 L petrol or hybrid units from 67 to 116 hp, all hatchbacks, at €14–€35 a day. Compact means a longer body, a bigger boot and a wider track — useful on the motorway, awkward in a narrow street. At Rent-Trip we keep 41 economy cars against 754 across the whole site, so the class is a real fleet, not a single token model. If you mostly drive between cities, the size difference matters less than the gearbox — check that first, because an automatic in this class is the exception rather than the rule.

The 41 cars behind our economy fleet

We hold 41 economy cars, part of 754 across the whole site, priced from €14 to €35 per day. The cheapest end is the two-seat Smart Fortwo at €14, then the four-seat Smart Forfour at €16 and the Peugeot 108 at €17. The middle of the class is where most bookings land: Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Fiat Panda, Toyota Aygo and Dacia Sandero, €18–€24. The top of the band brings five-seat hatchbacks with more power — Citroen C3, Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai i20, Renault Clio, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo — and the Toyota Yaris Hybrid automatic at €29. Two cars can share a model name and still differ in price, because seats and fuel decide it. The cheapest cars sell out first in high season, so the model you see today may not be the one left tomorrow.

What the economy class covers

• Body: every car is a hatchback, with the DS DS 3 the one crossover in the line-up.
• Seats: 2, 4 or 5, from the Smart Fortwo up to the five-seat Dacia Sandero.
• Fuel: petrol, hybrid, petrol/hybrid and petrol/LPG — the Dacia Sandero runs on LPG.
• Transmission: mostly manual; automatic appears on the Lancia Ypsilon and Toyota Yaris Hybrid.
• Power: 67–116 hp, engines from 1.0 to 1.5 L, front-wheel drive except the two Smarts.
• Price: €14–€35 a day, weekly from €84, monthly from €294.

Prices for economy car rental in Spain by day, week and month

Rates across our economy fleet run from €14 to €35 a day, and the price you pay depends on the model, not on the city you collect it in. A week is charged as six days, a month as twenty-one.

Daily rates across our economy fleet

Two cars can share a model name and still sit at different prices — seats and fuel decide it, and the same Kia Picanto appears at €19 in both a four-seat and a five-seat version.

Weekly and monthly rates

A week of economy car rental in Spain starts at €84 and a month at €294. Those figures come from the daily rate multiplied by six for a week and by twenty-one for a month, so the longer the booking runs, the further the effective price per day drops below the €14–€35 band. In our experience the cheap end of the fleet — the Smart Fortwo at €14 and the Smart Forfour at €16 — moves first once summer bookings open, while the hybrid and automatic cars at €26–€29 stay available longer. If your dates are fixed and you want a specific model, it is worth agreeing the booking early rather than waiting to see what is left. Madrid and Barcelona are the two cities where we hand these cars over, and the rate is the same in both.

Choosing an economy car rental in Spain by seats and size

Seats are the clearest dividing line in the class: 2, 4 or 5. What decides the pick is how many travel, how much luggage goes with them, and whether the rear bench has to stay up.

Two, four or five seats in economy cars

• Two seats: the Smart Fortwo at €14 a day is the smallest car we run — a city machine for one or two people with hand luggage.
• Four seats: the Smart Forfour, Peugeot 108, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo and Fiat 500 seat four, from €16 to €22 a day.
• Five seats: the Dacia Sandero, Kia Rio, Citroen C3, Renault Clio, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Fabia and Volkswagen Polo take five, from €22 to €32 a day.
• Boot space, not seat count: a five-seat hatchback with the rear bench up can carry less than a four-seater with the bench folded flat.
• Doors and access: every car in the class is a hatchback, so the tailgate opens onto the luggage rather than a separate boot.

Economy cars for a family trip

For a family, our five-seat economy cars are the practical pick: the Dacia Sandero at €22 a day runs on petrol or LPG, the Kia Rio and Citroen C3 both seat five from €23. A child under 135 cm must travel in a child restraint, and the driver is the one responsible for the child being properly secured — that is Spanish road law, not a rental condition. On the Sandero and the Dacia Sandero Stepway the LPG tank sits under the boot floor, so the spare-wheel well is taken and luggage space is shallower than the five-seat body suggests. If you are collecting in Madrid or Barcelona and driving out to the coast with four passengers and a full boot, take the Citroen C3 or the Skoda Fabia over the smaller five-door bodies — the extra 1.2-litre engine and longer wheelbase make a loaded motorway stint calmer. Booking is agreed with a manager, and the model is confirmed when booking.

Gearbox and fuel in economy car rental in Spain

Most of our economy cars come with a manual gearbox, but the class also holds automatics and hybrids. Fuel splits four ways: petrol, hybrid, petrol/hybrid and petrol/LPG.

Manual, automatic and hybrid across the class

• Manual: the default here — Smart Fortwo, Peugeot 108, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo and Dacia Sandero all shift by hand.
• Automatic: two cars in the fleet — the Lancia Ypsilon and the Toyota Yaris, both hybrids, both at the top of the price band.
• Hybrid: the Fiat Pandina, Fiat 500, Fiat Grande Panda and Lancia Ypsilon pair a small petrol engine with an electric motor.
• Petrol/LPG: the Dacia Sandero and Dacia Sandero Stepway run on either fuel, with a 90 hp 1.0 L engine.

Petrol, hybrid and LPG: what powers the fleet

Petrol is the backbone of our economy offering — the Smart Fortwo, Smart Forfour, Peugeot 108, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo, Toyota Aygo X, Citroen C3, Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai i20, Opel Corsa, Peugeot 208, Renault Clio, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo and DS DS 3 all take it. Hybrid covers the Fiat Pandina, Fiat 500 and Fiat Grande Panda, while petrol/hybrid badges the MG MG3 and petrol/LPG the two Dacia Sandero variants. The Toyota Yaris is the one full hybrid with an automatic box in the class. Engine size barely moves: 1.0 L for most, 1.2 L for the Citroen C3, Fiat Grande Panda, Opel Corsa, Peugeot 208 and Lancia Ypsilon, 1.5 L for the MG MG3 and Toyota Yaris.

What the gearbox and fuel choice changes for you

• City driving: an automatic takes the strain out of stop-start traffic in Madrid and Barcelona, but you pay for it — the two automatics sit at €26 and €29 a day.
• Long motorway runs: a manual petrol car at €14–€25 a day does the same job for less, and the 1.0 L engines hold 120 km/h without complaint.
• Fuel stops: LPG is cheaper at the pump than petrol, but not every station here sells it — check the Dacia Sandero's tank before a long stretch.
• Hybrid running: the Fiat 500 Hybrid and Toyota Yaris recover energy in town, which suits short hops more than open-road cruising.

Whichever you pick, the gearbox and fuel of the actual car are confirmed when the booking is agreed with a manager.

Documents, card and deposit for economy car rental in Spain

Bring your licence, your passport and a credit card in the main driver's name — the rest of the paperwork we agree with you when booking.

Which licence works for economy car rental in Spain

An EU or EEA licence, including Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, is fully valid here as long as it has not expired, and an IDP is not needed. A third-country licence is accepted if it is valid, if you are old enough for the equivalent category, and if six months have not passed since you took up ordinary residence in the country. A licence not written in Spanish is valid either with an official sworn translation into Spanish, or if it was issued on the model of Appendix 9 of the Geneva Convention or Appendix 6 of the Vienna Convention. The DGT advises getting an international driving permit before the trip; the permit itself is only shown together with your passport and your national licence, and it runs for one year. In our practice, the translation question is what delays a booking most often — sort it before you fly.

Card, deposit and the agreement

• Credit card: held in the main driver's name for the deposit; debit cards are not accepted everywhere, and this is the rental company's condition rather than a rule of Spanish law.
• Deposit: pre-authorised on the card against possible damage and extras, and the amount is told to you before the agreement is signed.
• Excess: printed in the rental agreement whatever level of protection you take, and the specific sums depend on the company and the car class.
• Age and experience: driving here is from 18 for category B; the minimum rental age and any young-driver surcharge are agreed when booking.
• Fuel policy: the level agreed for return is set out in the rental agreement.

Fines and who pays them

For parking and unpaid tolls, the owner or the renter of the car answers; for moving offences, alcohol and drugs, whoever was driving answers. Where an offence was not handed over at the roadside, the owner or renter is liable until it is established who was driving. Spain's compulsory third-party cover is included in any rental and applies always, even if the person driving was not named in the agreement — it covers injury to others, not you and not the car. Limits under Real Decreto Legislativo 8/2004, article 4.2 as amended by Ley 5/2025, in force since 26.07.2025, stand at 70,000,000 EUR per incident for personal injury and 15,000,000 EUR for property damage.

What to check before you drive off

Spanish consumer rules require every scratch and dent to be written into the agreement or the inspection sheet before you leave, signed by both sides, with a copy kept by the renter — otherwise the damage lands on you. If the model you booked is not there, you may ask for another car at no extra charge, even a class above; if you are given a lower class, the price has to come down. At collection, both Madrid and Barcelona follow the same national rules on documents and cover.

Insurance and what is included in economy car rental in Spain

Every economy car on this page leaves with the mandatory cover in place, and the optional protections are agreed when booking.

What is always included in economy car rental in Spain

• Seguro Obligatorio de Responsabilidad Civil: compulsory third-party cover that comes with every car legally on a Spanish road, part of the rental by default.
• Injury limits: 70,000,000 EUR per incident for personal injury, however many people are hurt, under Real Decreto Legislativo 8/2004, article 4.2, as amended by Ley 5/2025, in force since 26.07.2025.
• Property limits: 15,000,000 EUR per incident for damage to property, on the same legal basis.
• What it does not cover: the driver's own injuries and the car itself — those sit outside the mandatory policy.
• Driving uninsured: 601–3005 EUR depending on the circumstances, an industry figure rather than a quoted norm.

Optional protections on our economy car rental in Spain

• CDW (Collision Damage Waiver): reduces your liability for bodywork damage; you pay the excess, the company pays the rest.
• Franquicia (excess): the amount you pay yourself when the car is damaged; the figure depends on the class and the company and is set out in the rental agreement.
• Super CDW / Zero Excess / Full Protection: a supplement that buys the excess down to zero; the daily price is set out in the rental agreement.
• THW (Theft Protection): removes liability for full or partial theft and for vandalism, above the excess.
• SCDW / SPCDW: partial and full buy-out of the excess left uncovered by CDW; neither works if CDW was not taken or an exclusion applied.
• STHW / SPTHW: the same partial and full buy-out for the theft excess.
• WWI (Glass and Tyres Protection): a separate option for windscreens and tyres, which base CDW does not normally include.

What the price tag has to contain

Spanish consumer rules require the advertised price to include every mandatory charge you cannot drive without — the compulsory third-party policy and the young-driver surcharge among them. Inspection at hand-over follows the same logic: scratches and dents go into the agreement or the inspection sheet before you drive off, both sides sign it, and you keep a copy. Without that sheet, damage found later lands on you. In our practice, photographing the car yourself on a phone takes two minutes and settles most arguments at return. The deposit amount, the excess and any protection prices are agreed when booking — we do not quote them here, because they are set out in the rental agreement.

Deposit and excess figures are never a number on this page: they are confirmed with the manager before you sign, and the same applies to delivery charges and any discount.

Delivery and booking of your economy car rental in Spain

We deliver every economy car on this page to the address you give us, and the booking itself is agreed with a manager rather than confirmed automatically by a website. That applies to all 41 cars in the class, from the €14 Smart Fortwo up to the €35 models, whether you are collecting in Madrid or Barcelona.

How delivery works for an economy car

The car comes to you — you do not travel to a rental desk to collect it. You tell us the address and the time when you book, a manager confirms both, and the hand-over happens there. Because the whole class is hatchback-bodied and between 1.0 L and 1.5 L, such a vehicle fits streets and parking spaces where a larger one is awkward, which is exactly why delivery suits city addresses. The fuel policy on the class is full-to-full, and the terms of that hand-over are set out in the rental agreement. If your plans shift, tell the manager before the agreed time rather than after — rearranging a delivery is straightforward while the car is still with us, and much harder once it is on its way to you.

What to have ready when you book

• Driving licence: an EU or EEA licence is valid in Spain as it stands, provided it has not expired, and the same goes for a licence from Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. No international permit is needed for these.
• Licence from outside the EU or EEA: valid if it is in force, if you are old enough in Spain for the equivalent category, and if six months have not passed since you took up ordinary residence in Spain. The DGT advises getting an international driving permit before you travel.
• Licence not in Spanish: valid either with an official sworn translation into Spanish, or if it was issued to the model of Annex 9 of the Geneva Convention or Annex 6 of the Vienna Convention.
• International driving permit: an additional document only — it is shown together with your passport and your national licence, never on its own. It is valid for one year.
• Passport or ID: the original, in the name of the main driver.
• Bank card: a credit card in the name of the main driver for the deposit; debit cards are not accepted everywhere.

What is agreed when you book, not fixed here

The minimum rental age, the young-driver surcharge, which cards we take, the deposit amount, the insurance excess and any delivery fee are not figures on this page — they are set out in the rental agreement and confirmed by the manager when you book. The same applies to the licence checks at hand-over. Ask about all of it in the same conversation, before the car is on its way, and you will know the final total rather than discovering it at the door.

One thing worth doing: request your delivery window for the morning if you are landing the same day. In our experience an afternoon slot in high season leaves you waiting on a car that is still finishing its previous booking, and a morning hand-over puts you on the road before the traffic builds.

Practical takeaways for economy car rental in Spain

Economy is the cheapest class we run here: 41 cars, hatchback body, self-drive, delivered to you, from €14 to €35 a day. Everything else on this page follows from that one line.

If you take nothing else away, take these:

• Price band: €14–€35 per day across the class, weekly from €84, monthly from €294 — a week is charged as six days, a month as twenty-one.
• Seats before size: 2, 4 and 5 seats all sit inside Economy; a 5-seat car with a small boot can carry less than a 4-seat one with the bench folded.
• Gearbox and fuel: most of the class is manual and petrol, with hybrid and LPG models running through it and a small number of automatics at the top of the band.
• Agreed at booking: the deposit, the excess, delivery and the driver requirements are confirmed when the booking is agreed with a manager.
• Documents and insurance: the compulsory third-party cover travels with the car; the rest of the protection and the paperwork depend on what the rental agreement sets out.

Two practical habits cut most of the friction out of a trip. Compare the daily rate against the length of your stay before you pick a model — the multipliers do the work for you, and the longer booking wins on its own. And treat the fuel type as a real choice, not a detail: an LPG Dacia Sandero or a hybrid Fiat Pandina changes what a long run costs you far more than one seat more or less ever will.

Our cities on this page are Madrid and Barcelona, and the class works the same way in both — the same 41 cars, the same €14 floor, the same delivery to you. Pick by how many of you are travelling and how far you are going, and the model list sorts itself out.