The Chevrolet Captiva is an American-badged 4x4 that's not afraid to trade under the old 'more metal for the money' banner. In LS trim with the 2.0 VCDi diesel engine installed, its value proposition looks strong. There are only five seats in this version and no four-wheel-drive but the price is correspondingly low and you still get a sound engine along with that voluminous interior. Not bad.

It was a tactic that served American car manufacturers very nicely for a very long time, in their home market at least. Why should they bother with trivialities when the simple equation of big, impressive-looking car plus small price tag equalled lots of sales and healthy profits. Chevrolet was a fine exponent of this. Back not too long ago, it turned out its share of chrome-spangled behemoths that occupied two lanes and drank like a camel on a stag night. Some might point to the brand's US market SUV range and venture that it still does. Today, Chevrolet is building a name for itself in the UK with models designed around European tastes but the Captiva 2.0 VCDi LS proves it's still not adverse to the old 'more metal for the money' magic.

The Captiva is a large and spacious compact 4x4. In certain guises the model is even available with seven seats but the Captiva 2.0 VCDi LS is very much a five-seater designed to prop-up the rest of the diesel range with its tempting sticker price and respectably fulsome equipment list. Chevrolet is keen to point-out just how affordable the car is compared to equivalent versions of rivals like Nissan's X-TRAIL and Hyundai's Santa Fe, a tactic that's unlikely to be wasted on the UK's cost-conscious compact 4x4 buyers.

Chevrolet offers seven models in the Captiva range and it's a measure of the importance they put on diesel motive power that all but one of them features the 148bhp VCDi diesel engine under the bonnet. The other option is the oft-forgotten entry-level 2.4-litre petrol model and like that car, the Captiva 2.0 VCDi LS we feature here is front-wheel-drive only. This lack of four driven wheels shouldn't concern buyers unduly as most will never take the Captiva off-road and the extra on-road traction can be replaced to an extent by a little more care taken in the wet.

"Perhaps the price of a 2.0 VCDi LS is all you need to pay to get the best bits of the Captiva.."

The engine itself is a good one. It will punt the big-boned Chevy to a top speed of 112mph. High speed refinement would be helped by the fitment of a six-speed gearbox although there is a more relaxed automatic option available at a price. The peak torque of 320NM arrives at a lowly 2,200rpm which gives the powerplant a nicely sinewy feel.

The Captiva's 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, the Captiva is fully 4,639mm long, compared with the 4,415 of the Toyota and the 4,470mm of the Suzuki. That's why the Chevy has room for three rows of seats or, in the case of this LS model, a prodigious boot of 465 litres. This can rise to 930 litres with the rear seats folded.

It's low pricing (the cost is £18,295) and equipment levels are as important to the Chevrolet Captiva's value proposition as its size. It undercuts a whole heap of rivals on price but the LS version still comes with a decent amount of standard kit. There are 16" alloy wheels, electric heated door mirrors, eight-way adjustment for the driver's seat, a CD stereo with a socket for plugging in an MP3 player, audio controls on the steering wheel, remote central locking and roof rails. Buyers also get the Captiva's split opening tailgate where the glass can be raised-up seperately providing access to the boot where space is tight.

Safety equipment on the Captiva includes front side and curtain airbags along with anti-lock brakes but the ESC stability control system is not standard. The plusher trim levels do have it and they look more appealing generally but it would be easy to conclude that the LS has most of the features that you really need, even if that ESC system would have been a worthwhile inclusion.

The Captiva VCDi LS probably isn't going to break the bank to buy and running it shouldn't send you to the wall either. The diesel's 38.7mpg combined fuel economy figure is a whole lot more palatable than the petrol's 31.7mpg result and emissions for the two are 195g/km and 217g/km respectively giving diesel a further edge. The front wheel drive LS model also has a slight advantage over the heavier four-wheel-drive derivatives which return 37.1mpg and 197g/km emissions.

Depreciation is a tougher figure 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.

The Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 VCDi LS puts a strong case forward for itself. As the most affordable diesel model in a Captiva range that counts size, low costs and equipment provision as core strengths, this is a car would seem a sensible destination for buyers' money.

There's no four-wheel-drive and no seven-seat option in the LS but why pay for them if you're not going to use them? The car has the size, the economical oil-burning engine and it doesn't feel particularly lacking in anything from an equipment perspective. Perhaps the price of a 2.0 VCDi LS is all you need to pay to get the best bits of the Captiva.

TOP 5 CAPTIVA DEALS

The results below show the top CAPTIVA deals on buyacar

	Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 VCDi LT 5dr [7 Seats] Off Road
	ETR	Mthly £325	Saving £4,236	Price £16,998
	Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 VCDi LTX 5dr [7 Seats] Off Road
	ETR	Mthly £366	Saving £4,745	Price £19,034
	Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 VCDi LTX 5dr Auto [7 Seats] Off Road
	ETR	Mthly £384	Saving £4,960	Price £19,895
	Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 VCDi LT 5dr Off Road
	ETR	Mthly £306	Saving £4,011	Price £16,098
	Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 VCDi LT 5dr Auto [7 Seats] Off Road
	ETR	Mthly £342	Saving £4,451	Price £17,860

typical 11.90% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000