Chevrolet Captiva Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Chevrolet Captiva range
Prices: £16,639-£23,784 - on the road
Insurance Group: 10-12
Emissions: 197-217g/km
Performance: [2.4 petrol] Max Speed 115mph / 0-60mph 11.5s
Fuel Consumption: [2.0 diesel] (urban) 32.1mpg / (extra urban) 43.5mpg / combined) 38.7mpg
Safety: Twin front & side airbags, ABS
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height mm 4639/1848/1722mm

CHEVROLET’S CAPTIVE AUDIENCE

Our Rating: 7.1 / 10

Usable traction, people-carrying versatility and great lifestyle looks. Chevrolet’s new Captiva looks an appealing prospect. Andy Enright looks at the brand’s most important new model yet

Just what the world needs, another Compact 4x4 – except that Chevrolet’s Captiva is something more. A car that’s as practical for an extended family as it is for an extended landholding.

Though it looks at first glance like a natural Land Rover Freelander/Toyota RAV4/Nissan X-Trail competitor, Chevrolet are keen to stress that this vehicle shouldn’t be thought of as a ‘4x4’ or an ‘off-roader’. Instead, they’re positioning the Captiva (priced from around £17,000) as a compact SUV (sports utility vehicle) aimed at capturing sales from MPV-style people carriers. Instead of opting for a seven-seat MPV, they say, why not go for something a little more stylish? That’s the reasoning at least.

Pragmatists will know that there are already several rivals on the market that quietly target these same buyers, although no manufacturer has yet been quite so upfront in their intentions. No competitor’s product however, looks quite as good as the Captiva and while it may have taken the public a while to get used to a Chevrolet badge on the bonnet of a Matiz, that chunky cross on the grille of an SUV looks a whole lot more natural.

The design is clever in reducing the perceived bulk of what is a surprisingly spacious vehicle. Viewed in isolation, the Captiva looks to be about the size of a Toyota RAV4 or a Suzuki Grand Vitara but the tale of the tape shows that it’s a much heftier piece of metalwork. For a start, it’s fully 4,639mm long, compared with the 4,415 of the Toyota and the 4,470mm of the Suzuki. Even if we play Chevrolet’s game and compare it to the leading seven-seat mini-MPV, the Vauxhall Zafira, we find Luton’s finest breaking the tape at just 4,467mm. That’s why the Chevy has room for three rows of seats - and thus, seven passengers - thanks to its long wheelbase of around 2.70 metres. Five seat entry-level versions are being offered for those who prioritise luggage over the extended family.

Given the media spin, you could quite reasonably expect the Captiva to ride on a front-wheel drive chassis, and you’d be half right. In fact, if, as Chevrolet claim, they are positioning the Captiva as a tarmac-biased MPV rival, it’s perhaps surprising that there is an all-wheel drive variant at all. Front wheel drive versions of compact 4x4s have proven to be a big money spinner for companies such as Honda, who quickly realised that many customers were buying cars like the HR-V not for their perceived ‘go-anywhere’ characteristics but merely for their styling and raised ride height. This isn’t a novel realisation, as Matra Simca twigged in the early Eighties with their Rancho ‘faux by four’: styling and attitude are often more appealing than pure off-road capability. The Captiva is offered in a front-wheel drive entry-level guise, an option which would probably be very popular if you could have it with diesel power. Unfortunately, buyers can only opt for the 2.4-litre petrol unit that will probably have a minority appeal.

All the diesel models get all-wheel drive, offering what Chevrolet describes as ‘a safer and more secure drive’ in poor road conditions. It’s hard to argue with that contention, especially on our wet roads. The ability to squirt swiftly and safely out of a T-junction in the rain or onto a roundabout is often denied drivers of front wheel drive models. It’ll also help when negotiating muddy tracks but the company is keen to stress that it’s not tilting at Jeep or Land Rover with this one.

The Captiva’s 4x4 set-up is an on-demand system, meaning that as driving conditions require, the rear axle is instantly selected via an electromagnetic coupling to give maximum traction through all four wheels. The set-up also seamlessly interacts with the ESP and ABS systems, enhancing driver control of the vehicle and safety margins. The ESP itself has additional functions like HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assist), HDC (Hill Descent Control) and ARP (Active Rollover