Europcar have an awesome policy on 'equivalent' vehicles.
A Passat 'or equivalent' means a poverty spec mid sized people carrier, such as a Zafira.
I've recently discovered what Astra 'or equivalent' means.
A Kia Rio 2.
Hateful little car. Hard, hollow plastic everywhere. Stereo looks nice, but sounds s**te.
On the other hand, the driving experience isn't quite as bad as expected. 1.4 16v engine puts out largely the same as a Focus 1.6, ride isn't the best, but isn't terrible and the handling, given the budget tyres fitted as standard, doesn't do anything terrifying.
I can see why they're a favoured car with pensioners - does nothing particularly badly, but doesn't do anything well. Suppose they're cheap, though - What Car? target price is just short of £7.5k for this model.
It's really a domestic appliance, rather than a car, though.