Apollo: An Honest Review for Renters

Under the 2026–27 terms, Low Road is included and applies per claim: NZ$5,000 for the Hitop and Endeavour classed as non-bathroom campers, and NZ$7,500 for the five toilet-and-shower models. Private travel insurance does not alter that liability, and no deposit is debited in New Zealand: a card authority is recorded at pickup.

High Road reduces damage liability to zero for NZ$55 or NZ$65 a day, respectively, for pickups to 31 March 2027 (NZ$57 or NZ$67 after), and covers overhead, underbody, awning, towing and recovery damage. Windscreen and tyres still need separate protection or the Platinum Pack, and every contractual exclusion survives the reduction. The Value Pack does not add windscreen or tyre protection.

The contract keeps every Apollo vehicle on sealed or bitumen roads. The exception is a well-maintained access road under 12 kilometres to a recognised commercial campground or major tourist attraction. Ski-field access roads are barred from 1 June to 31 October.

It also names routes that remain prohibited regardless of surface: Skippers Road, Ninety Mile Beach, Ball Hut Road, part of Mount Aspiring Road, roads north of Colville and Crown Range Road. Unauthorised travel may void the chosen liability option after damage.

All three branches publish 08:00–16:30 hours, seven days, with free same-day airport transfers. Queenstown adds a NZ$270 location fee. One-way hire has a five-day minimum and directional fees from NZ$100 to NZ$300 under the terms valid through March 2027.

A NZ$250 deposit confirms the booking. Standard cancellation is free at 61 days, then rises from NZ$250 to 20 or 50 per cent of the rental, reaching 100 per cent on pickup day or a no-show. Christmas Day is closed.

thl's booking system marks all seven categories certified self-contained, including the Hitop and Endeavour with 12-litre hideaway toilets, which Apollo's pages call built-in and fixed. The Hitop's page says it is certified; the Euro model pages do not mention certification. Rental vehicles have needed a green warrant since 7 December 2024, and it requires a toilet whose base is rigidly mounted.

Check the displayed warrant on the vehicle handed over, not only the model page. Apollo states that make, model, year, layout and individual features are indicative and cannot be requested or guaranteed, although the booked capacity and similar specifications must remain.

Auckland and Christchurch both sit at 3.6 across 1,297 Google reviews; Queenstown's 4.8 rests on 62. Public topics reinforce the split: Christchurch labels friendly staff 200 times, Auckland labels wait time 13 times, and Queenstown labels helpful staff 31 times.

The first ten lowest-rated Auckland entries were read. Four describe an hour-plus or otherwise lengthy collection wait, and four describe a vehicle or onboard-system fault. That is a worst-case sample, not a failure rate, but pickup delay and readiness recur independently.

Trustpilot's 4.1 is not New Zealand-specific. The three local location pages hold 64 of 252 reviews and display 4.3 for Auckland, 4.1 for Christchurch and 4.1 for Queenstown. The page is claimed, paid and actively invites reviews from recent customers.

Of the 15 most recent Auckland entries read, ten praise staff or the pickup process and five describe a vehicle defect, layout problem or preparation issue. Two concern a Maui or Britz vehicle after a sibling-brand booking or upgrade. Trustpilot measures the shared thl counter as much as Apollo alone.