New Year's in Christchurch City: One SUV, One Price, Seven Days of Summer
By the time the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, Christchurch is in full summer mode: long golden evenings past 9pm, the Avon shimmering under willow shade, and the Port Hills baked dry and hazy blue. New Year's week brings festival crowds, road-trippers heading for Akaroa and Hanmer, and a rental scene that runs lean. If you're sorting out Christchurch City car rental for these seven nights, here is exactly what the numbers look like.
This week is a one-act show: Ezi is the single supplier with availability, at a flat $1,624 for the week, no budget option hiding underneath. When four out of five searches come back empty, that price is less a bargain and more a seat at the table. A smart booker locks it in early and stops refreshing the comparison sites, because a single listing at peak season rarely sits still for long.
What you get for your money is sensible kit: a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid with five seats, which sips fuel on the long hauls to Tekapo or Arthur's Pass and shrugs at holiday petrol prices. Pack soft bags rather than hard cases, boot space goes fast with five aboard. Roads are dry and clear in January, so the 2WD is plenty unless you're chasing ski-field gravel in winter; just aim for a mid-morning pickup to dodge the airport gate crush of the New Year's departure rush.