Yo, planning a trip around Kyrgyzstan hitting Issyk-Kul and the mountain passes. Anyone rented a car there before, is it better to book ahead or just grab something on arrival in Bishkek?
Booking ahead saves you from getting stuck with a beat up car that barely makes it up the mountain switchbacks, also the good SUVs run out fast in summer when everyone's heading to the lake. Roads are decent on main highways but once you turn off into the valleys and gorges it gets rough quick so a sturdy four wheel drive with decent clearance is worth the extra cash. Lots of options for car rental in Kyrgyzstan with pickup at the airport or in the city center can be found over here https://getrentacar.com/en-US/kyrgyzstan .
Download offline maps of the whole country before heading out, cell signal disappears completely in the mountain passes and you don't wanna be navigating blind when the next village is two hours away.