[imcarthur]

I have never bought extra car insurance unless the country requires it: i.e. Italy. I typically check Auto Europe who are a consolidator. They will match any quote from a legitimate company. They often use Avis for the actual rental but this varies from country to country. Check to see if you need an International License - available through AAA. It is semi-bogus (it's just a translation) but some countries do require it.

I always go for a Euro midsize - smaller than our midsize. That gives you a bit of grunt for the hills. And Spain has a few of those.

Ian