Review of the new Chevrolet Captiva - Long Term Test

It's an increasingly familiar family dilemma. You need a seven-seater car but which type to choose? 4x4 or MPV? With larger 4x4s of course, you can have both - but at a heavy price. With this car, the Chevrolet Captiva, however, it's claimed that the best of both worlds is on offer at a figure the average family can afford.

Before you get confused by Chevrolet's pricing structure, that price isn't £18,500, the advertised entry-level figure for Captiva owners. This buys only the five-seater model with the 2.4-litre petrol-engined option that few people in this sector will want. Nearly all Captivas in this country will be sold in the seven-seat 2.0-litre diesel configuration that we've chosen for our long term testcar. This means a price of just over £23,000.

For that, you get the LT model which, in addition to its four-wheel drive system, features 17-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearknob, an eight-speaker CD stereo with MP3 capability, a glove box cooling system and a passenger side under-seat storage drawer, while seven-seat models also get reverse parking sensors as standard.

Feeling flush, we opted for LT-X spec on our car which, for around £27,000, includes full leather upholstery with heated front seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic lighting control and rain-sensing wipers, cruise control, a multi-function display panel, a six-CD changer stereo with MP3 capability, climate control with air quality system, silver-coloured front and rear skid plates, stainless steel sill plates, power-folding heated door mirrors with integrated turn signals and a visible twin-pipe exhaust system with chrome detailing. In comparison with a range topping Honda CR-V, this represents a better equipped, bigger car for around £1,000 less.

"This is the Captiva's key selling point. In certain respects it feels like a vehicle from a class above."

In other words, you're buying into family-sized 4x4 that's nearly Land Rover Discovery-sized for a Land Rover Freelander-ish price. You're not of course getting Land Rover levels of off roading ability - but then that's not too far up most potential buyers' priority lists. It's certainly not very far up mine. With a small family of three girls (Caris aged 9, Ellie aged 6 and Amy aged two), I need a practical, versatile family car with a dash of image, extra seats for when the children invite their friends home from school and the ability to get out of a muddy carpark if need be. I reckon I'm Captiva target market, hence my choice of the car for our long term test fleet.

First impressions when the car was delivered were promising. Interior space has clearly been a key consideration in the design process and the Captiva achieves the kind of roomy passenger accommodation you'd expect in a vehicle measuring 4.6m in length with a 2.7m wheelbase. There's 1.8m in width to play with as well and headroom isn't a problem as this car measures in at 1.7m from rubber to roof rails. Interior durability is another must in a family vehicle where inquisitive little fingers are going to give the fixtures and fittings hell. The Captiva aims for toughness but with quality fabrics and materials for an impressive all-round ambience.

Chevrolet supplied me with a press pack several inches thick proclaiming the virtues of this car's 2.0-litre 150bhp diesel engine. It's a common-rail direct injection diesel that has been developed jointly by GM Powertrain and VM Motori. Using a 16-valve layout, it's capable of producing its 310Nm maximum torque at a usefully low 2,000rpm with peak power unleashed at 4,000rpm. Which means plenty of pulling power, if not much of a sporty feel. Still, we've been getting close to Chevrolet's claimed combined economy figure of 37.1mpg, which isn't half bad for a vehicle of this kind.

I have to confess that with recent rain waterlogging our local fields, I haven't been brave enough to put the Captiva's off road prowess to the test. Supposedly, it should be quite competent. The car features an on-demand all-wheel-drive system which instantly diverts drive to the rear axle when the front wheels lose traction. It also offers the ESP electronic stability programme and HDC hill decent control to help negotiate particularly difficult terrain. Should the worst come to the worst, there's Chevrolet's ARP active rollover protection to keep passengers safe.

Depreciation is a tougher thing to pin down. While the Chevrolet badge will help residuals, the market for this sort of vehicle is stuffed with more well-known and established contenders. That said, the excellent warranty arrangement offered by Chevrolet could help prop up values. Insurance is reasonable and repair costs are said to be among the industry's most competitive.

If space is a key criterion when choosing a budget 4x4, you need to choose one that's significantly less compact than its rivals. This is the Captiva's key selling point. In certain respects it feels like a vehicle from a class above and the seven seat option is certain to prove popular with growing families who don't want to surrender to the crushing mediocrity of an MPV.

Overall ? Well, despite the stars and bars badge, the Captiva is at heart a South-East Asian product with lots of kit for those who don't care too much about dynamics but do value a small asking price.

TOP 4 CAPTIVA DEALS

The results below show the top CAPTIVA deals on buyacar

Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LTZ 5dr [7 Seats] diesel estate
Price £24,840 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £6,090
Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LT 5dr [7 Seats] diesel estate
Price £22,384 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £5,876
Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LT 5dr Auto [7 Seats] diesel estate
Price £23,682 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £5,963
Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LTZ 5dr Auto [7 Seats] diesel estate
Price £26,138 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £6,177
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