Review of the new Chevrolet Captiva LTZ

Why shell out for a luxury 4x4 with a premium badge when you can secure a vehicle with similar capacity and equipment levels while saving £20,000? That's the question Chevrolet is rather optimistically asking with its Captiva LTZ. The answer, of course, is that luxury 4x4 buyers buy luxury 4x4s for the powerful six-cylinder engines, the classy cabin and the kudos that only a prestige model can offer. Even the range-topping Captiva can't hope to compete on equal terms with the elite of the 4x4 world but if you're after a pragmatic family vehicle with an element of luxury, this could be a winner.

The Captiva is one of the largest and most spacious compact 4x4s around and there are a lot of them around these days. It's at its plushest in LTZ trim with what appears to be the entire options list decanted into it, so Chevrolet is hoping to attract buyers who like their 4x4s fully-loaded.

The better of the Captiva's two engine options is fitted to the LTZ. It's a 2.0 VCDi diesel unit and it's mated to Chevrolet's all-wheel drive system which incorporates hill descent control as well as the more commonplace stability and traction control systems. This lends the Captiva a modicum of off-road ability although ride height isn't huge, so proceed with caution.

The engine itself is a good one. It will punt the big-boned Chevy to a top speed of 111mph. 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 2,000rpm which gives the powerplant a nicely sinewy feel.

"The Captiva has always had the whiff of value for money about it"

The Captiva isn't one of these SUVs that tries to tone down its styling in a bid to look more like a conventional car. It's unashamedly 4x4 in appearance. The 18" alloy wheels on the LTZ do a good job of filling the Captiva's cavernous wheelarches and the front-end is suitably butch when looming in your rear-view mirror.

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. That's why the Chevy has room for three rows of seats in some versions. A prodigious boot of 465 litres can rise to 930 litres with the rear seats folded.

So we arrive at the main point of the LTZ, the stuff you get with it. There's no denying that the outlay of £27,000 or so brings a lot of equipment. The cabin has full leather trim with electric adjustment of the leather driver's seat and privacy glass in the rear. Climate control, cruise control, automatic lights and automatic wipers are also included, as are electrically folding mirrors and ESC stability control.

The highlight of the LTZ could well be the 7-inch colour display screen which hosts a satellite navigation system and a reverse parking camera. The Captiva is a fair old size but reversing manoeuvres are greatly simplified by the camera system which gives a clear view of what's behind. Combined with the rear parking sensors, it should make any rouge obstacle virtually impossible to hit.

Even in plush LTZ guise, the Captiva isn't going to break the bank to buy and should be affordable to run too. The manual car emits a fairly respectable 197g/km of carbon dioxide, although the automatic is notably less efficient and its 225g/km showing will attract bigger bills. At the pumps, expect 38.2mpg combined fuel economy.

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 plan is for the range-topping Chevrolet Captiva LTZ to lure compact 4x4 buyers and, ideally, people who were considering the purchase of more prestigious and expensive models, into Chevrolet's clutches. The Captiva has always had the whiff of value for money about it and with full leather trim, satellite navigation, a parking camera and oodles of other extras, the LTZ version makes the car positively fragrant. It's no substitute for a luxury 4x4 but as a large and relatively posh family vehicle, it might make sense.

TOP 4 CAPTIVA DEALS

The results below show the top CAPTIVA deals on buyacar

Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LT 5dr [7 Seats] Diesel Estate
Price £21,850 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £5,830
Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LT 5dr Auto [7 Seats] Diesel Estate
Price £23,286 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £5,929
Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LTZ 5dr [7 Seats] Diesel Estate
Price £24,242 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £6,038
Chevrolet Captiva 2.2 VCDi LTZ 5dr Auto [7 Seats] Diesel Estate
Price £25,678 Read Captiva Reviews	Save £6,137
VIEW MORE DISCOUNT CAPTIVA DEALS