Joshua

Picked this one up around 1,100 miles at CAK. Reserved a full size and the counter agent (who always takes good care of me) thought for a few seconds about which keys to hand me, and then gave me this. Noticed LTZ on the key tag, decided not to complain, and was not disappointed. This happened to be in one of the Enterprise parking spots--do Enterprise and National still keep separate fleets?

Base MSRP for this is around $25k; probably $32k-$35k as equipped. LTZ is (as far as I know) AWD. Came equipped with leather, heated seats, sun roof, single-zone climate control, remote start, 3.0L V6, and a plethora of other options, but no Bluetooth.

Fuel economy:
- Prior customer 17 MPG (or might have been all customers, nothing else had been reset like tripometer)
- Got 19.5 MPG on the highway today without the "eco" mode on.

Pros:
- Most comfortable seats I've sat in for an IFAR.
- Surprisingly smooth ride. The FWD cars may not be as smooth, but this is much smoother than I expect from a Chevy.
- XM and OnStar (obviously) up to date
- New 2012 GM instrument cluster which I find a lot easier on the eyes.
- Convenient console storage: mesh pocket on side of console; drink cups area lifts up to reveal a lot more storage; iPhone sized cubby
- I believe this car is essentially a rebadged Saturn Vue, but optioned nicely.

Cons:
- Usual GM remote start weirdness (same issues I had on Buick LaCrosse) where sometimes it just plain locks you out
- "Captiva" is a weird name.
- Old fashioned radio, the GM one we know and love from the old Saturn Ions.
- Changing to metric doesn't change primary spedometer display to km/h, a feature I appreciate on the 2011 Buick.
- Having no Bluetooth felt cheaped out on the options.
- Power outlets are in odd places.
- I believe this car is essentially a rebadged Saturn Vue

3Cforme

It is substantially a rebadged Saturn Vue. Captivas are U.S. fleet only - no retail consumer purchases. Fleets get Captivas to leave Equinox/Terrain for retail buyers.

All LTZs are V-6 and AWD. Watch out for 4-cyl front wheel drive in lesser trim levels.

trainman74

You're saying the name doesn't, ahem, captivate you?

Maybe the follow-up model will be the Chevy Sanibel.

chrisdenver1

I saw one of these yesterday in the return lane at EWR. I would love to rent one of these...I always thought the VUE was a nice looking vehicle, but I wonder what it's like to drive.

AS an aside, I think this is a great strategy on the part of automakers. They're able to sell "new" cars on "old" models, which I would think is a Win-Win!

Joshua

I can say the Vue, err, Captiva AWD compares favourably against the Dodge Journey I just had, which seemed to be front wheel drive? Fleet vehicles are a good dumping ground for car makers to get rid of excess manufacturing capacity or excess vehicles they can't sell to dealers. Detroit's gotten a lot better though about not making thousands of cars nobody wants.

elCheapoDeluxe

I can't help but have a mental picture of the Oldsmobile Achieva each time I hear the name. Now there's a dose of marketing fail.

I agree about the remote start. I feel it's a stupid option and I've never had success getting it to work reliably anyway.

Beckles

I've never had an issue with remote start on various GM rental cars and find it useful when it's particularly hot or cold to get the car cooled down or warmed up, respectively.

drzoidberg

Getting recalled for having potential fire hazard:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrole...fire-risk.html

so let me get this straight; the captiva looks identical to the old saturn vue?

newfbc

Very much so.

Ron.

newsmanhoss

I got a Captiva at CAK over Christmas...had never heard of it.

It was a nice ride, though. I wouldn't hesitate taking it on a long road trip.

Mine had bluetooth, which was a good feature to have.

brendanm14

Just picked one up in MSP the other day in ES. Nice comfortable leather seats in the LTZ trim but this one did not have Bluetooth. A nice smooth ride but I wish it had a little more pep, trying to accelerate onto the highway was a little sluggish. My remote start worked great for the chilly MSP mornings.

ElmhurstNick

I'm driving one right now from MDW, as the ES was pretty picked over at prime time last night (6pm Friday). If I was anywhere other than home, I'd be disappointed that the XM was inactive after only 1800 miles. It's a pretty roomy vehicle in the driver's seat for an IFAR. It's a little short on the legroom but a surprisingly large amount of headroom even with a sun roof. (For me, sunroofs are usually the kiss of death, as I need every inch of headroom possible.)

I wouldn't want to drive this for a long distance - I'm only putting about 250 miles on it this weekend as I just picked it up as it was only $55 all-in for 3 days and earned me my last 1-2-Free credit. But I find this an acceptable replacement for the Impala/Charger FCAR lottery, a small step up from a Sorrento or a base model Journey.

ElmhurstNick

Brutal gas mileage for being an intermediate - somewhere between 17.5 and 19.5 MPG, depending on how much credit you want to give for the post-fill-up drive back to the airport by the guy before me. And that was for a mix of 2/3 rural Interstate and 1/3 suburban arterials and freeways.

To put this in perspective, the substantially larger 2012 Ford Explorer that I rented from Enterprise in December got 21 city, 24 highway.

The ride, however, was more comfortable than I expected. I'd still pick this vehicle in situations where I was not driving too terribly much.