Smart styling, comprehensive specifications and sharp pricing headline the Captiva’s credentials – and that combination is sure to get buyers’ attention.
The fact it carries a Holden badge and there’s a dealer in just about every town provide peace-of-mind.
What You Get
Holden kindly supplied Car Showroom with a two-wheel-drive Captiva SX five-speed auto for a week which included the Labour Day long weekend. With a retail price of $36,490 this is a perfect family wagon…so we loaded the family and headed for the surfing town of Inverloch.
Manufactured in Korea, the Captiva was mostly designed by Holden in Australia for General Motors’ world-wide mid-size chassis platform. It’s a true global collaboration by the various GM design and engineering teams and all combines extremely well.
Holden’s key role in the Captiva’s development allowed crucial input to tailor specifications to suit our market. The SX is the entry-level Captiva but carries a high level of standard comfort and safety specifications - as it needs to in order to remain competitive in the tough mid-size SUV market.
Under The Hood
The 2.0-litre common rail turbo-diesel engine delivers 110kW and 320Nm. A couple of comparisons: Nissan’s 2.0l turbo-diesel, fitted to the X-TRAIL, produces identical power and torque figures (in automatic form) while Jeep’s Compass has an excellent 103kW/310Nm 2.0l turbo-diesel sourced from Volkswagen.
Around town and on our weekend escape, we felt the Captiva was comparable to other 2.0-litre turbo-diesels for performance and certainly it delivered a high level of refinement. Combined with the handy five-speed auto, acceleration for overtaking was brisk enough.
Holden claims combined cycle fuel economy for the auto Captiva as tested at 8.6l/100 kms.
The Interior
Car Showroom tested a five-seat Captiva SX but just days later Holden announced the seven-seat version.
Range-topping LX and MaXX Captivas get leather seats but CX and SX (as tested) make do with cloth which is still high quality. In fact all trim materials in the Captiva seemed as good or even better than other Korean SUVs.
Cruise control is the normal Holden system, there’s standard air-conditioning (automatic climate control in all other Captiva models), a single CD sound system and plenty of storage compartments.
The Car Showroom juniors were well accommodated in the rear seat although, like all mid-size SUVs, rear seat leg room is ‘adequate’ rather than spacious.
The flat luggage area was on-par for this market segment and included some handy concealed bins (where we kept house keys and mobile phones hidden while we were at the beach).
Exterior & Styling
We think the Captiva is one of the better-looking mid-size SUVs. For a time, this class of vehicle coming out of Korea seemed intent on looking…well awkward is a nice way of putting it…but the Captiva and later model Kias and Hyundais are well on the road to ending that reputation.
Some have criticised the Captiva’s rear view as being a little too high – like most things styling, that’s a personal viewpoint and not one we agree with. Its success in the market would suggest consumers quite like its looks too.
On The Road
The two-wheel-drive Captives are wisely fitted with tyres biased for on-road performance. Among other points, this mean they have less-aggressive tread which translates into lower road noise. We can confirm that theory because we were joined in Inverloch by friends with aToyota Prado fitted with genuine off-road rubber and the difference in road noise was apparent.
The Captiva was a competent all-rounder, handy in the city and pleasant on the highway. Like all of the current generation 2.0-litre turbo-diesels, Holden’s offering delivered more than enough performance in every situation – combine fuel efficiency with that performance and you have to question why families on a budget would consider anything other than a diesel.
Challenges
With just about every manufacturer obsessed with safety these days (the Captiva comes standard with ABS anti-lock brakes, Active Rollover Protection, Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control to name just a few) Car Showroom is championing the case for standard Park Assist – at least in the rear. This is an accessory on SX Captiva models (standard on the others in the lineup).
We also wonder why Bluetooth connectivity is an accessory rather than standard fit.
While the seats were generally good, by the time we negotiated melbourne’s Friday night traffic and got to Inverloch, we felt the front seats to be too flat and lacking under-thigh support – for some reason a common complaint with Korean-sourced vehicles.
The Verdict
The market has spoken with their chequebooks – the Captiva is winning the hearts and minds of Australia’s mid-size SUV buyers.
We liked the SX a lot and we must admit it did sway us to believe two-wheel-drive SUVs do have a place in the family wagon market.
The Competition
Priced from $34,490, the Captiva is at the sharp end of the field in value-for-money. The Nissan X-TRAIL diesel (all-wheel-drive) starts at $36,990 – same price for the diesel-powered Hyundai Santa Fe. The Jeep Compass turbo-diesel is also close and definitely worth a look (its 2.0-litre turbo-diesel comes from Volkswagen). Also check-out the Kia Sorento.
Thumbs-up:
Looks good; drives nice; value-for-money
Thumbs-down:
Front seats not the best in segment; needs rear parking sensors and Bluetooth connectivity as standard
