Car Rental in Baku: BYD Qin Plus, Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent — Which Economy Car Is the Better Hire at Karavan Rent A Car in Baku
The short version. All three economy saloons at Karavan Rent A Car in Baku come with an automatic gearbox and five seats, and you can hire any of them for as little as a day. Really, the choice is between a hybrid and a conventional petrol saloon. The BYD Qin Plus pays off if you drive a lot: it burns noticeably less petrol, and it has the biggest body and the richest kit of the three. The Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent are technical twins with a 1.6 engine — simple, familiar and easy to live with in town. Whichever you pick, you can skip the deposit, and adding a second driver costs nothing.
Cheap car rental in Baku usually starts with the economy class. Yet even within one class, the cars differ a good deal. Your choice decides how much petrol the trip will use, whether the suitcases will fit, and how tiring a few hours on the motorway will feel.
We compared three saloons from the Karavan Rent A Car in Baku fleet: the BYD Qin Plus hybrid and the petrol Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent. Technical data comes from the motoring press and an official Kia dealer; equipment details are taken from our own model pages. At the end, you’ll find which car suits which trip and how to hire any of them for even less.
Car rental in Baku: which economy car to choose — the quick answer
| Your trip | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Long drives to Gabala, Sheki or Guba | BYD Qin Plus | the hybrid saves petrol, and cruise control plus climate control make hours on the road easier |
| City driving, airport runs, meetings | Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent | a familiar saloon with a conventional automatic: get in and go |
| You want the roomiest cabin | BYD Qin Plus | the largest body and the longest wheelbase of the three |
| You’d rather not deal with a hybrid | Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent | a conventional petrol saloon with no hybrid modes to learn |
| More comfort without leaving economy | BYD Qin Plus | leather seats, adaptive cruise and voice control |
| Any car will do as long as it’s cheap | the “Surprise-Car S” tariff | you book the class, not a specific car |
The three saloons by the numbers
| Spec | BYD Qin Plus | Kia Rio | Hyundai Accent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain | plug-in hybrid: 1.5 petrol engine plus electric motor | 1.6 petrol | 1.6 petrol |
| Petrol engine output | 110 hp | 123 hp | 123 hp |
| Gearbox | automatic | 6-speed automatic | 6-speed automatic |
| Length / wheelbase | 4,765 / 2,718 mm | 4,420 / 2,600 mm | 4,405 / 2,600 mm |
| Official fuel use | 3.8 L/100 km at low battery charge | 6.6 L/100 km combined | 6.6 L/100 km combined |
| Electric-only range | up to 55 km (Qin Plus New, per the model page) | — | — |
| Boot | 1 L + 2 M (model page) | 480 L; 1 L + 2 M per the model page | 480 L |
| Comfort, per the model page | climate control, cruise control, leather seats, reversing camera | air conditioning, touchscreen, Bluetooth, reversing camera | air conditioning, multimedia screen, Bluetooth, reversing camera |
The BYD Qin Plus figures come from CnEVPost and CarNewsChina for the Champion Edition, whose dimensions match our model page. For the Kia Rio, we give the official specs of saloons of this generation as reported by the Russian motoring magazine Za Rulem, the Kolesa.ru website and an official Kia dealer; for the Hyundai Accent, the figures are those of the second-generation Solaris, whose dimensions it matches (Za Rulem, Autonews, the Autospot catalogue). Equipment is taken from the model pages on our website. The sources don’t specify how fuel use was measured, so treat these figures as a guide rather than a promise.
BYD Qin Plus: the hybrid for high-mileage drivers
The Qin Plus DM-i was one of the first BYD models built around the DM-i hybrid system, unveiled alongside the technology itself in January 2021. According to CarNewsChina, it topped China’s saloon sales chart in 2024, finding 480,025 buyers at home. At Karavan Rent A Car in Baku, too, the Qin Plus was among the most-booked models of 2025.
It works differently from a conventional petrol car. The electric motor does most of the driving, while the 1.5 petrol unit spends most of its time generating electricity, running at the engine speeds where it is most efficient. With charge in the battery, the Qin Plus drives on electric power alone; once the level falls, the engine tops the battery up on the move.
The Qin Plus is the biggest of the three: it’s 34.5 cm longer than the Rio, with a wheelbase 118 mm longer. You’ll find it in our fleet in two forms: the original Qin Plus and the refreshed Qin Plus New. According to the model pages, equipment includes adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and voice control, and the Qin Plus New adds a rotating touchscreen, wireless phone charging, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a 360° camera.
One thing to know: multimedia, navigation and climate are all controlled through the central screen, which takes a little getting used to.
Book the BYD Qin Plus · Book the BYD Qin Plus New
Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent: twins with different badges
These two saloons have more in common than their badges suggest. In St Petersburg, the Rio and the Solaris came off the same assembly line at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus plant, mixed in with one another. The Solaris, in turn, is one of the Accent’s names: Za Rulem describes Verna, Solaris and Accent as names of one and the same car for different markets. The dimensions of the Accent in our fleet, 4,405 × 1,729 × 1,470 mm, practically match those of the second-generation Solaris (4,405 × 1,729 × 1,469 mm), which entered series production on 15 February 2017.
In other words, it’s the same car, so the twins share their engine, gearbox and boot volume. Both ride 160 mm off the road and run happily on regular 92-octane petrol.
So what sets them apart? The Rio was updated in 2020, when a new bodykit stretched it by 20 mm to 4,420 mm. It is also slightly wider than the Accent: 1,740 mm against 1,729. According to the model pages, the cars in our fleet are equipped identically, and the Rio’s safety kit includes airbags, stability control and ABS. Its page also says the Rio seats four adults.
The practical takeaway is simple: choose by looks, or by whichever car is free on your dates. If the Rio is booked, the Accent is a like-for-like substitute, and vice versa. Both suit anyone who wants a straightforward saloon for the city and trips out of town. They share one drawback: no cruise control and no climate control, only air conditioning, so on a long motorway run the Qin Plus is the more comfortable car.
Book the Kia Rio · Book the Hyundai Accent
How much petrol your trip will take
Fuel use is where these economy saloons differ most. Officially, the Rio and Accent use 8.9 L/100 km in town and 5.3 on the open road. For the Qin Plus, CnEVPost quotes 3.8 L at low charge, that is, when the battery is nearly empty and the car relies on its petrol engine.
Let’s scale that to a notional 1,000 km in the combined cycle. On the official figures, the Rio or Accent would burn about 66 litres and the Qin Plus about 38. That’s roughly 28 litres less for every 1,000 km, before counting any stretches driven on electricity alone.
Real-world consumption depends on how you drive, the air conditioning and the traffic. Still, the conclusion is clear: the more kilometres you plan, the more the hybrid pays off. If you only need wheels around town for a day or two, the fuel difference will be small, so let comfort and luggage decide.
Why renting economy from the market leader pays off
Founded on 5 October 2008, Karavan Rent A Car in Baku is today Azerbaijan’s largest rental company. For an economy-class customer, that is less a title than a set of practical benefits:
- Choice. Over 400 cars across eight classes. Even the economy class on its own includes both BYD hybrids and petrol Kias and Hyundais, so you can match the car to the route instead of taking whatever is left.
- A well-kept fleet. Every car is serviced at 5,000 km intervals and gets new tyres every 50,000 km.
- Fair rules. The company chairs ACRA, Azerbaijan’s car rental association. Members sign up to eight fair-dealing standards; each year their work is checked against them, and a public White List of reliable firms is published.
- Certified processes. Bureau Veritas has certified the company to ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001.
- Reputation. Over 10,000 customer reviews sit on Google, Yandex, TripAdvisor and 2GIS. SOCAR and its contractors, SLB, Halliburton and McDermott rent from the company, and at Eurovision 2012 in Baku it was among the transport providers.
- Help at any hour. Cars are delivered and collected around the clock, night flights included. Should the car fail on the road when you’re not to blame, roadside assistance is sent out and you get another car.
- Fines without mark-ups. You pay exactly the amount of the fine.
How to save on economy car hire
- Skip the deposit. Full “All Risks Zero” cover brings both the deposit and your liability down to zero. Alternatively, add the “No Deposit” service to the standard policy.
- Share the driving. Your co-driver goes on the contract at no cost, though only when you collect the car, so agree in advance who’ll take turns at the wheel.
- Forget the odometer. Mileage within Azerbaijan is unlimited.
- Try “Surprise-Car S”. You reserve the class, not the model, and drive away in whichever economy car is available that day, for less than you’d pay choosing by name. The Qin Plus, the Accent and the Rio all appear on this tariff’s list of possible cars. Bear in mind that the tariff is paid in full upfront and is non-refundable. Details are on the tariff page.
- Book early. Prices move with the season and fleet demand, so ask for a quote for your dates well ahead.
Economy car rental terms
| What matters | How it works |
|---|---|
| Driver | 21 to 65 years old, licence held for a year or more; at 21–23 you need “All Risks Zero” |
| What to bring | your passport and licence |
| Minimum hire | one day, or three for remote areas |
| Payment | cash, card or bank transfer; no credit card required; 20% prepayment when booking |
| Driving abroad | not allowed |
| Long-term | corporate rental for three, six or twelve months |
For the complete checklist, see what you need to rent a car in Baku.
How to book an economy saloon
- Message us on WhatsApp with the model you want (Qin Plus, Rio or Accent), your dates and where the car should be delivered.
- Attach pictures of your passport and licence to the same conversation.
- Pay the 20% prepayment, and the manager will send you a booking voucher.
- At the agreed time, even at night, a delivery manager brings the car wherever you’ve asked — the airport, a hotel or your home — with the contract already drawn up in your name. Check it, sign, and the keys are yours.
Frequently asked questions
Which economy saloon is the most fuel-efficient?
The BYD Qin Plus. Even with a nearly flat battery, the hybrid uses less petrol than the Rio and Accent.
What’s the difference between the Kia Rio and the Hyundai Accent?
Technically, almost nothing: they share a base, the same engine, gearbox and boot. The difference lies in styling, plus the Rio is 15 mm longer and 11 mm wider.
Can I book a specific model?
Yes, you choose the model when you book. The colour and specification of the car may differ from the photos on the website, so check any details that matter to you with the manager.
Does the Qin Plus need plugging in?
No. The petrol engine recharges the battery as you drive, and you refuel with ordinary petrol.
The bottom line
If your plans involve plenty of kilometres and trips to the regions, go for the BYD Qin Plus: the hybrid saves petrol and makes the road more comfortable. If you need a simple car for town and the odd day trip, the Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent will do the job. Send your route and dates to the Karavan Rent A Car in Baku manager, and we’ll find the right saloon for your trip.
Book an economy saloon on WhatsApp · WhatsApp and Telegram: +994-55-455-22-45
Further reading
- Affordable BYD rental in Baku — economy hybrids and how to save on them
- Kia rental in Baku — models, equipment and rental terms
- Hyundai rental in Baku — every Hyundai model in the company’s fleet
