Holden Captiva
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In February 2007, Overlander 4WD magazine ("Australia's original 4WD magazine") ran its annual Four Wheel Drive of the Year testing and awards. Among the top twenty semi-finalists was the new Holden Captiva.
In some ways, it was surprising to see the Holden Captiva lining up alongside more serious off-road vehicles like Jeeps, seeing as the Holden Captiva is more an SUV than a bush-bashing brute. The looks of the Holden Captiva are more that of a modest city car - nicely curved and sleek - albeit a city car with ground clearance (20 cm of ground clearance, in fact). It was this size and shape, rather than any other consideration, that led to the Holden Captiva not making the list of finalists - there wasn't enough space to carry a full sized spare wheel.
Apart from that point, the Holden Captiva is a pretty good little SUV - which is also known as a softroader or AWD - that will take you on the majority of dirt roads (e.g. roads to skifields, angler access tracks to rivers) or across a bumpy paddock.. A prospective buyer has a range of styles to choose from, as well as engine types. Outlander 4WD magazine didn't specify which variant of Holden Captiva they chose for their semi-finalist list - they tested one with a 3.2 litre V6 engine, so it could have been the LX, CX, SX or MaXX. The Holden Captiva illustrated in the magazine article, however, seems to have five seats, so this cuts down the possibilities to either the SX or the MaXX - the LX and CX models are seven-seaters. Possibly they tested the Holden Captiva MaXX, as this has 18" inch alloy wheels but a 16" steel as the spare. The CX and LX models can come with a 2 litre turbo diesel automatic, and the SX has a manual turbo 2 litre diesel variant.
Whichever body style or engine in the Holden Captiva you prefer, it's good to know what the engines can do. The 3.2 litre V6 petrol engine is a 4-valve DOHC with sequential fuel injection. The 2.0 litre turbo diesel, on the other hand, has a Variable Geometry Turbocharger and a particulate filter. The petrol engine is the more powerful of the two, having a maximum output of 169 kW at 6600 rpm in the LX, SX and CX variants, and 167 kW at the same revs in the MaXX (the model Outlander 4WD tested had a maximum output of 169 kW - maybe it was the Holden Captiva SX after all, in spite of the SX having 17" wheels). The diesel engine may have less maximum power - 110 kW at 4000 rpm, but it is torquier (more torquative?), delivering 320 Nm at a low 2000 rpm as opposed to the petrol's 279 Nm at 3200 revs. The diesel engine also comes out much better off in terms of fuel economy, as the manual version consumes 7.6 litres per 100 km on average (automatic: 8.7 l/100 km), while the petrol goes through 11.5 litres per 100 km in all body styles except the MaXX, which needs 11.6 litres to do the same distance.
The handling and stability of the Holden Captiva are excellent - the Outlander's judging panel mentioned the suspension as a point in its favour. The all wheel drive system has a torque split ratio that is very sensitive to the driving conditions, and the level ride suspension is designed to adapt to load and road conditions, making the Holden Captiva a comfortable ride. The Holden Captiva shares the same ESP package as Holden's city cars, but also including active rollover protection and descent control for added grip when doing hill work.
Inside, the Holden Captiva has all the mod cons we have come to expect in a vehicle that is bound to be used as an everyday city car as well as a fun back-country drive. A 12 volt power outlet, MP-3 compatible CD system (6-disc system for all except the SX) and climate control with filtering are all provided. The safety features in the Holden Captiva are also fully up-to-date, including full-size driver and passenger airbags, curtain airbags and pyrotechnic pretensioner seatbelts with load limiters in the front seats. The LX and MaXX variants of the Holden Captiva are the more luxurious, featuring leather trimmed seats, fully electronic climate control and 8-way adjustable driver's seats.
Even if it wasn't one of Outlander's seven finalists, the Holden Captiva is still a pretty respectable and fun SUV that offers great stability and comfort. My pick would be the diesel variant of the Holden Captiva LX, which combines the more luxurious interior with greater occupant capacity, more torque and better fuel economy.
Current model series include:
- Holden Captiva CX 3.2
- Holden Captiva LX 3.2
- Holden Captiva MaXX 3.2
- Holden Captiva SX 3.2
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