Post by Big Blue on Sept 2, 2017 23:53:21 GMT
So, Vienna to Nice to collect a car for a week and a bit with a drop off at Marseille, that last detail being a great help as it flies into LHR T3 where my car was parked as the BA Vienna flights are always out of T3. It was a Renault Captur.
Well, been here before so I won't repeat what I wrote on the old site as these are quite well known. What I will say is that Europcar must have heard my mutterings about small diesel cars as this was an auto.
What can I say other than "I told you so"? This car had a smaller engine (1458cc) than the A3 I had earlier that day handed back in Vienna but felt peppier and more lively immediately and I put most of that down to the slush-box. It was seldom caught out by trying to torque its way out of trouble as it simply made sure I was in the right gear at the right time and it was certainly no slouch, at one point on the way to Marignane airport I slipped up to 150kph without noticing. I say slipped up as last year in addition to the parking fine I received in Sardinia I received a speeding fine on the A8. Bugger.
Up the infamous hill to mother's house which a Fiat Punto once failed to negotiate the Captur just proceeded as required even once where I had to stop on the steepest part to allow a neighbour to pass. The gearbox and engine combo were pretty much ideal.
This combo had the added bonus of allowing me to enjoy the not-bad attributes of the car on French D roads. On a trip to the beach I was told not to enjoy myself so much as the youngest was asleep and rolling around in her seat a bit too much. On a trip to the lake I was on a road I know well and can say that this is a car that goes where you point it and offers good feedback through the wheel and the gearbox makes sure I'm not swearing at being in the wrong gear round a mountainside hairpin.
Practicality is as expected for a French MPV. The thing I forgot but then remembered was the removable floor, giving access to a much deeper boot so the car swallowed our luggage with ease. I will now add this as a gripe generally for hatchbacks, estates and MPVs: what is the raging desire for a flat loading entry if there is unused space below that flat space? The Captur had an entire suitcase and a half of additional space under the removable panel (which neatly slotted behind the sliding rear seat). Chris M will tell me that's where the spare wheel lives and indeed in the Gorilla it does, but all the same if the benefit of a hatch/estate is additional load space buggering it up with a flat load line seems a trifle silly.
Aside from the sat Nav that reflected more than it displayed, the usual radio control from 1981 and the centre display on the binnacle in 1986's finest LCD watch quality the interior did its job. After the A3 the seating position was very van like with legs bent with calves almost at the perpendicular but after a day of two I got used to it. One thing that I recall being brought to task for last time I pointed it out was the lack of lighting on the steering wheel controls. I stand by my viewpoint that they are required: try renting a car at 11pm and joining the autoroute wondering where the fuck the cruise set button is when the steering wheel is pitch black and you'll join me in knowing that lighting on that specific area is a must.
So I believe I said I'd take the A3 Sportback as a family car without hesitation so to prove what a fickle c__t I am I'm going to trade the A3 straight in for a Captur as a family wagon. Even in diseasal guise I can take it, provided it had the auto. I suppose the auto and a smaller engine is why the fuel consumption was higher at 42.8mpg over 430kms and I certainly drove the A3 faster for longer and used the engine stop-start on the Captur which I didn't on the A3. That's a small price to pay, though, for a car that felt sharper and more practical.
