Chevrolet is thinking big with its Captiva, but is the price too much for its target audience? Paddy Comynreports.
There is arriving fashionably late, and then there is just being downright rude. When we first heard about the Chevrolet Captiva it was due to arrive in the middle of 2006, but delays in making a right-hand-drive version meant that it was almost a year before the first diesel-powered Chevrolet arrived here.
And it enters an Irish SUV market that is suddenly very crowded, and that out of nowhere has been dominated by the marketing stroke of genius that is the Nissan Qashqai.
While the Qashqai couldn't have suited Ireland better if it spouted Guinness from the exhaust pipes, any other SUV hoping to do well here has to either do something unique, or be very cheap. Korean models such as the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe have done well because they have small diesel engines and are cheap.
Then the Nissan Qashqai came in offering an even smaller engine and even better value with tons of standard equipment. One imagines that Chevrolet will regret its tardiness as a result.
Despite its American badge, the Captiva has been mainly developed in South Korea by GM Daewoo, and it is very much seen as a global product, with a similarly-styled Opel-badged Antara coming here too while, in the US, there is a Saturn version called the Vue.
With the Captiva, Chevrolet is hoping to cash-in on the seemingly relentless desire for SUVs in this part of the world, despite the dark cloud of CO2 emissions that hovers over the genre.
But as we have seen here in Motors from talking to owners of SUVs, they are attracted to the genre, not only because of the prestige that they appear to bring to their owners, but also the sense of security that they bring through their height and obvious bulk.
With diesel engines under the bonnet, owners feel, rightly or wrongly, that they are not really hurting the environment in the way that their US counterparts are with their mammoth V8 monsters.
With the Captiva, Chevrolet is very much appealing to those people who want the look and feel of an SUV without necessarily wanting to conquer mountain ranges. The 2.4-litre petrol version comes with front-wheel drive only, and the diesel has a fairly straightforward torque-on-demand automatic four-wheel-drive system.
There are three engines available for the Captiva. First off is the 2.4-litre petrol engine, with 127bhp, which sadly is the entry-point for the Captiva range, because it is an engine that is largely redundant for Ireland. We would fail to see why anyone would choose an engine that is going to use more fuel and will be virtually impossible to sell on.
The fact that it is €4,000 cheaper than the entry-level 2-litre diesel should not be tempting to potential owners. Buying a petrol SUV in Ireland in any shape or form is simply not clever. Unless, of course, you plan to get down on one knee and propose to your car, because believe me, you will be married to it. Leaving the petrol model aside, the real entry-point is the 2-litre 127bhp diesel version with front-wheel-drive and five seats. At €36,995 this remains in the price range marked "good value" and is likely to make up a large part of the sales. However, choosing the 127bhp version means you are getting less power than many of its rivals can offer.
For our test we moved up the range a notch, and spent a few days of lengthy driving in the more powerful 150bhp diesel, which is about the median in terms of power at this level.
Our model had seven seats, an automatic transmission and came in LT trim which added things like 17" alloy wheels, ESP, leather-trimmed steering wheel and gear knob, cruise control and parking aids to the already generous specification of the LS version.
At €45,495, however, the Captiva starts to look anything but cheap.
Visually, the Captiva is an imposing-looking vehicle, very much in the theme of several of its rivals. Inside, the quality is refreshingly good. The plastics are high quality and while we had some gripes about the overall finish of the interior, the overall impression was good. Despite our concerns about the price at this level, the car was wanting for nothing in terms of equipment, with good air conditioning, a decent stereo which had somewhere to put the ubiquitous iPod and very comfortable seats.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON the driving were good, too. The steering has the usual vagueness that you will find in this type of car, but it is better than some of its bulky rivals such as the Sorento, but not as sharp as the likes of the Toyota Rav4 or Land Rover Freelander.
Where it does score points is on comfort. We did a Dublin-Cork-Dublin run and were very impressed by its quietness, reasonably accurate automatic box and the very comfortable seats.
As this model came with seven seats, this will make it a viable alternative to anyone who doesn't fancy an MPV, and the rear seats cleverly and easily fold out from the floor of the boot and will be suitable for children or small adults at a push.
If you need more luggage space, the second row of chairs can also be folded flat to give a total of 1,565 litres of luggage space. Twinned with the automatic transmission, the fuel consumption is slightly more compromised, and the manufacturer's claimed 8.7 l/100km on the combined cycle could best be described as optimistic. The computer in the car showed that even on motorway driving alone we were averaging no better than 11 l/100km.
From our calculations this would get you about 640km from a full tank of diesel which cost about €64 to fill at current prices.
Safety is a major consideration to potential owners of SUVs and in this regard the Captiva is well appointed.
ESP features in all 150bhp models and there is a total of 10 airbags, which include those for front-seat passengers, along with curtain-shaped roof airbags and side airbags.
Other active safety features include Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA), which increases braking pressure in an emergency, a Descent Control System (DCS), which slows the car down on steep downward inclines at the touch of a button, and Active Rollover Protection (ARP), which automatically detects heavy steering inputs and brakes the front outside wheel to slow down lateral acceleration, reducing the effect of such a manoeuvre on the car's centre of gravity.
Rather than guess, we decided to ask potential owners what they thought of the Captiva, and the response was generally good.
Most said that they liked the styling and the fact that it had seven seats, but they all expected the seven seats to be standard and all baulked at the €45,495 price of our test car.
On reflection we feel that this was an opportunity lost for Chevrolet. If the Captiva 2-litre 127bhp diesel came with seven seats, front-wheel drive and a full bells-and-whistles equipment list for around €35,000 then, like the Qashqai, there would be queues outside Chevrolet dealers around the country for the Captiva.
On its own merits, the Captiva is a likeable SUV and it can be recommended because of its ability, comfort and the long list of safety features.
Where it falls down is by not offering seven seats as standard at entry level and having a redundant 2.4-litre petrol as the entry-point into the range.
Anyone looking for an SUV-type vehicle with five seats is still likely to stick with this year's runaway success, the Nissan Qashqai, or with the old favourites of the Toyota Rav4 or Hyundai Santa Fe instead.
Michael McAleer is on leave
Factfile:
ENGINE:1991cc four-cylinder diesel engine putting out 150bhp @ 4,000rpm and 320Nm of torque @1,400rpm. Five speed auto transmission
SPECIFICATION:Standard features include 16" alloy wheels, air conditioning, dual, side and curtain airbags, remote keyless entry, tilting steering column, four-channel ABS, power windows front and rear, rear fog lamps, six-speaker CD player with MP3 player jack and steering-wheel mounted audio controls, roof rails, twin tailpipe exhausts and storage areas.
The LT specification adds 17" alloy wheels, On-demand All Wheel Drive, ESP, Descent Control System, front fog lamps, a leather-covered steering wheel and gear knob, telescopic and tiltable steering column, eight-speaker CD system with MP3 jack, cruise control, electric mirrors, parking aid system and rain sensor wipers.
The flagship LT Leather model gets full leather interior, 18" alloy wheels, power-folding mirrors, sun-roof, heated seats, eight-way power seats for driver and passenger, a six-CD autochanger and a multifunction trip computer.
L/100KM (MPG)
URBAN: 11.0 (26.4)
EXTRA-URBAN: 7.3 (38.7)
COMBINED: 8.7 (32.5)
CO2 EMISSIONS:233 g/km
ANNUAL ROAD TAX:€539
PRICE:€45,495
(€32,995 to €49,495)