A great way to get around Champaign and its sister city, Urbana, is in your Champaign car rental. The airport isn’t serviced by public transportation, and it is a 5-mile ride to the University of Illinois campus, and a 6-mile ride to the city center. Once you have your rental, you’re free to explore the city’s museums (such as the Krannert Art Museum), sample the libations at the local vineyards and breweries, and enjoy the city’s parks. You may also want to spend some time in one of the nearby cities: Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis are all less than 3h from Champaign by car.
When flying into the Willard Airport (CMI), arranging car rentals in Champaign is convenient and easy. The rental car counters are located in the lower level of the airport’s only terminal, near the baggage claim. The cars are parked in the lot closest to the rental car counters. All of the airport and car rental services are within a short walking distance in and around the terminal.
Champaign is a college town and as you’d expect, there are a lot of college students walking and biking along the roads, especially when classes are in session in the fall, winter and spring. Drivers should use caution and keep an eye open for pedestrians and cyclists, especially around the University of Illinois campus. Also, a large number of streets throughout Champaign have designated bike routes, with or without special bicycle lane markings, so drivers should be especially vigilant on these streets.
As in most cities, motorists should expect traffic to slow a bit in the morning and evening rush hours, but the traffic is not as heavy in Champaign as it is in other major cities of the region. The North Prospect and Neil Shopping District straddling I-74 can be congested in the busy shopping hours after work and on holidays. Although snow is efficiently removed after winter storms, drivers should be prepared for driving in snowy and icy conditions when traveling in the city from December to April.
Cheap car rentals in Champaign will not find navigation around the city and its sister, Urbana, not too difficult. Most of the city's grid layout aligns with the north. However, the oldest section of downtown aligns east from the main grid. Navigating around the streets in Champaign also allows easy navigation around the streets in Urbana. The east and west of Champaign have two Green Streets. Urbana also has two Green Streets on its east and west. So be careful while driving not to confuse the similar streets in the two cities. For instance, you can start driving on West Green in Champaign, drive through East Green, and end up on West Green again but in Urbana. Green Streets in both cities are designated with their city names for differentiation.
Driving cheap car rentals in Champaign demands a lot of patience. Drivers can get frustrated since traffic lights in the city tend to favor pedestrians, and parking is limited. Moreover, many streets in Champaign are one-way, and only buses can drive through certain streets, so drivers can find themselves driving around in loops. To avoid getting frustrated, avoid roads on Lincoln Avenue, Fourth Street, Green Street, and Florida Avenue. Also, drivers of Champaign car rentals should avoid engaging in aggressive driving, such as speeding, as this attracts hefty fines. Speed cameras are located throughout the city.
Several key roads in the city can help you get around Illinois state. The key road from the city to Cincinnati and Indianapolis in the east is Interstate 74. On the west, it connects Champaign to cities like Bloomington-Normal, Galesburg, and Peoria. It also leads to the quad cities of Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, and Davenport. Interstate 72, which terminates in Champaign, connects it to Decatur, Springfield, and Quincy. Interstate 57, on the other hand, connects Champaign to the north and south of Illinois, heading to Chicago in the north. It also joins Interstate 55 to take you to Memphis.
Book your rental car in Champaign at least 1 day before your trip in order to get a below-average price
Compact rental cars in Champaign are around 34% cheaper than other car types, on average
See more tips
FAQs about renting a car in Champaign
What type of car is recommended for driving in Champaign?
Choices for car rentals in Champaign depend on the season and the type of driving you’ll be doing while traveling in and around the city. If you’re planning to spend time driving to one of the nearby cities of Chicago, St. Louis or Indianapolis, you may opt for a comfortable and fuel-efficient sedan to accommodate the longer distances. On the other hand, an SUV or other all-wheel-drive vehicle may be an ideal choice if you’re traveling in the winter months.
What’s the speed limit in Champaign?
The speed limits for I-57 and I-74, the two major interstates crossing through Champaign, are 70mph and 60mph, respectively. Speed limits for roads in the most-congested areas are typically 30mph or 35mph. Most other main roads in the city have speed limits of 45mph, including wide, four-lane roads. Drivers should use caution when driving on these wide-open roads where it often feels like the speed limit should be 55mph, leaving drivers open to getting speeding tickets from awaiting police officers. Another tricky area for drivers is where I-72 enters Champaign and becomes University Ave; here, the speed limit drops quickly from 55mph to 30mph.
Where are the best places to park in Champaign?
There is ample parking available in municipal parking lots and on the streets in the busiest areas of Champaign, but most of the parking is metered. Meters cost between $0.25 and $1.50 per hour during the workweek, starting as early as 7am and enforced as late as 6pm. In the hospital district, you should also expect to feed the meter on Saturdays. The most expensive meters are located in the busiest downtown area, and parking gradually gets less expensive as you move farther away from the downtown area.
How much is gas price in Champaign?
The average gas price in Champaign is C$ 4.74 per litre over the past 30 days. Filling up a gas tank costs between C$ 57 and C$ 76, depending on the car size.
What is the most popular rental car in Champaign?
Economy (Mitsubishi Mirage or similar) is the most frequently booked rental car type in Champaign.
How much does an Economy car rental cost in Champaign?
An Economy car rental in Champaign costs C$ 83 per day, on average.
How much does an Intermediate car rental cost in Champaign?
An Intermediate car rental in Champaign costs C$ 170 per day, on average.
How much does a Mini car rental cost in Champaign?
A Mini car rental in Champaign costs C$ 142 per day, on average.
Are there car rentals in downtown Champaign?
Yes, several agencies provide rental services in downtown Champaign if you’re not accessing the city via plane. Hertz’s offices are along North Mattis Avenue, and Zipcar has offices on E University Avenue. They provide several rental categories like SUVs, station wagons, sedans, and trucks.
Which roads in Champaign are tolled?
Roads within Champaign itself are not tolled. However, Illinois has several toll roads to watch out for when driving around the state. These include Interstate 355, Interstate 88, and I-90, just to name a few. Some roads allow cash-only payments, while transponders like the E-ZPass transponders are acceptable on others.
Even though this site "checked to make sure a car was available " when I arrived at the time I chose to rent... no cars were available. I did not get to rent a car that day
10.0 Wonderful
Anonymous, Feb 2024
Minivan
My experience using Enterprise was great. The staff was friendly and helpful. They also noticed a screw in the tire during the vehicle pre-inspection. This saved me many troubles on the trip had I experienced the flat during the trip, and it also led to a free upgrade to a nicer vehicle since they didn't have another comparable vehicle on the lot.
2.0 Poor
Anonymous, Jan 2024
Full-size
They did not have the car we reserved available. We had reserved it for $81. They wanted to rent us an SUV for $450. Said they could not negotiate the price, we canceled the reservation. Did not rent the car, had to find one somewhere else because we could not pay $450.
2.0 Poor
Sara, Apr 2021
Cons:
EVERYTHING! Rented car through Kayak/Priceline, but the location rented from in Savoy had ZERO cars available - at all - and could NOT honor reservation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everything was fine. It was quite inconvenient that both spouses had to be present for both to be able to drive the vehicle; I’m sure there’s a good reason, but not everywhere has this requirement, so we’ll probably go back to rental services at CMI airport next time. Had to rearrange our whole afternoon last minute and bring our too-young-to-mask-or-vaccinate child in to the building. Drop off would have been better with a prior heads up or better signage regarding leaving the mileage report in the car; I put the keys in the box, then read that I was supposed to put the paperwork in the (locked) car. The car worked out great. Thanks.
2.0 Poor
Anonymous, Feb 2021
Pros:
They allowed me to book and didn’t have any cars available. They called me 20 minutes before I was supposed to go pick it up asking me to wait until the next day to MAYBE get a car . I just flown into Champaign and I was left stranded
Cons:
The organization and the staff . It was a terrible experience never again
10.0 Wonderful
Anonymous, Jul 2020
Pros:
Staff was friendly and helpful!
Cons:
Hours are somewhat restrictive ... closing at 5p seems early!
8.0 Very good
Anonymous, Jul 2020
Cons:
The car was about 1/8 below a full tank. And then the car showed that one of the rear tires was very low which I didn’t notice until I was off the lot but it made me a bit nervous while on the highway.
Our confirmed reservations were not honored. After driving for over an hour to location to pickup car we were told there were not available. Confirmed reservation were worthless.
Cons:
If we had gotten a car per our reservations.
10.0 Wonderful
Anonymous, Aug 2020
Cons:
It was great, there wasn't a line i was in and out. The gentleman upgraded me at no extra cost, some the best customer service I've had in a while
27 travellers who rented a car in Champaign gave the car agency they used an average rating of 4.7
Search for discount car rentals in Champaign with KAYAK and rent a car that suits you best. KAYAK searches hundreds of cheap car rental Champaign sites to help you find and book the best rental car in Champaign. Car Rental CMI: Flying into Champaign? Find the cheapest Champaign airport car rental now with KAYAK.
KAYAK and its partners wish to use cookies or similar technologies to store and/or access information on and about your device and process personal data such as your IP address, device identifiers etc., in order to improve your experience on the site, to analyze navigation, to offer and measure personalized advertising, and to facilitate sharing on social networks. We also allow the use of third-party cookies (including those from our advertising partners) on our sites.
By clicking 'Accept', you consent to your data being processed by 0 vendors on this web site for the purposes described in this notice. You can review the vendors and their individual processing purposes on the .
To review individual processing purposes and cookie categories, please click ’Select individual purposes’. You can review and update your choices anytime by clicking the ’Privacy Preferences’ link in the page side navigation.
