how comfortable is the buick rendezvous?

[aurora199540]

hello everyone, my wife and i have been out car shopping and i'm wondering what your opinions are on the Buick Rendezvous? since i have back problems,i'm looking for a very comfortable vehicle.we bought a 03 chevy impala last year and have been satisfied with the vehicle,but it's not very comfortable.What's your opinion on the rendezvous?would you buy another one? how reliable? HOW COMFORTABLE? Thanks

[TopherS]

We have a 2003 Rendezvous CX (the basic model). We've had it for 4 years...bought it in March 2005 with 61,000 miles. It now has 82,000 miles on it.

The seats are average, I would say. They're comfortable enough, but I've seen better. There is a manually adjusted (twist knob) lumbar support. The support only goes in/out, not up/down (as in our Park Avenue). The seat, even all the way back, is still a little too close to the pedals for my tastes (I'm 6' tall). Since we don't have a power seat, that may be the problem with the lack of adjustments. I definitely would look for a model with power seats.

The ride is about the best I've seen in a SUV-type vehicle. It's smooth and car-like. The ride is even better than that of my Park Avenue.

As far as reliability goes...definitely don't buy a 2002-2003 model. Our engine has blown up twice (the rocker arms have pulled out, stripping the threads holding them in). My co-worker had the same problem happen last month with his wife's 2003 Rendezvous (we both have the 3.4L engine). We never take ours out of town anymore, for fear that we will be left stranded. The 2004 models seem to be hit/miss on reliability. The 2005+ models seem to be fine, from what I've been reading. Despite the problems we have had with ours, my wife loves the Rendezvous so much, that she is only willing to get rid of it if we get her another one. We just don't want to get into a car payment, so that's why we still have the 2003.

If you live where it snows, here's another point to consider. We had a major snowstorm in December and found out that the Rendezvous cannot have tire-chains on it. There was a week's time during which chains were mandatory if you were on the road around here, so during that week, our Rendezvous was useless and just sat in the garage.

Overall, we like our Rendezvous. We would like to get rid of ours and buy another...but a newer model with power seats and perhaps all-wheel-drive. We also want the Heads-Up Display, Reverse Sensors and Automatic Climate Control on our next one...but those are just preferences for us.

Hope this helps...good luck.