If you haven't driven a modern VW, it's a bit difficult to find car rental companies that have Volkswagens (such as Golf) for rent.

Avis - no. They have Hyundai i20 and i30.
Budget - no. They have Nissan Micro and Pulsar.
Thrifty - no. They use Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30.

Europcar - yes! They offer VW Golf and VW Passat.

http://car-rental.europcar.com.au/medium-car-hire 

In the early 1960s, Avis used to have a large range of VW 1200 Deluxe Beetles for hire. These were the latest late-1961 Australian models with deluxe bumpers, fuel gauge and VW dealer AWA radios.

10/- (10 shillings) per day in 1961 is about $13.20 today, which is cheap, but then you add 1 shilling per mile ($1.32) and it starts to add up.

http://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualPreDecimal.html 

Avis also used to rent VW Transporters. 40/- a day is rather more expensive - $52.90 a day plus $1.32 a mile in today's money.

As far as I can tell, no one rents out VW Multivans or Caravelles in Australia.

rental cars! big part of my working life.

haven't tried a VW yet. except my boss's Passat. its ok, nothing outstanding though, heated seats are a good touch I think.

the Nissan suck balls! but not as bad as the small model Fords .

corolla is quite bellow average, not the same great car they used to be in the 90s

In Germany, Sixt Car Rental offer quite a choice of VW models for rent, starting with the Polo at US$18.65 a day. Or choose the Golf, Golf Wagon, Beetle, Golf GTI, Touran, Passat, Golf Cabrio, Passat CC, Eos and Scirocco.

http://www.sixt.com/php/fleet/vehicle_group_list_dynamic 

Europecar wont guarantee you a VW though.

When I had my car in the panel shop I rang them saying I wanted a VW. All they would offer is a VW "or similar". So I begged and said I would go to Sydney and pick one up if I had to. But nup. So I suffered the painful Hyundai Accent for a full week. One of the longest weeks of my life. I dont know what a "or similar" is. Maybe a renault or citroen?

even in that long weekend ad, read the fine print "or similar"

Hertz did Shelby Mustangs at one stage.......

Here is another Australian rental company - Kay's - who once rented VWs. This is 1964. 5/- is half what Avis charged, but 1/- a mile is the same. And that would have added up very quickly.

I wonder whatever happened to Kays Rent-A-Car?

The site of what was once Kays Rent-a-Car (106 William St) in 1964, is today used by Europcar. However the building at that location today looks a lot newer than 50 years old (it looks early-mid '70s to me), so I presume it has been redeveloped.

Thanks Phill, I knew you'd get to the bottom of it !

The Avis ads for renting a Volkswagen disappeared very quickly. They advertised renting VWs for 10/- a day in 1962 and half of 1963, but then switched their attention to the Ford Falcon (20/- a day). By 1965 it was only Kay's that were advertising (in the SMH) having VWs.