Holden Captiva 7 2015 Review

Scepticism was rife when Holden launched the original Captiva in October 2006.

Holden, in need of a new SUV to take on Ford’s established and super-successful Territory, as well as Toyota’s Kluger – and even some of the mid-sizers, including the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V – brought to market a Korean-sourced car that was developed with significant Australian input.

Whether Holden could really convince local buyers the Captiva was a suitable alternative to the larger Territory, or whether it would end up competing against the smaller SUVs such as the RAV4 and CR-V seemed uncertain.

Time has shown the Captiva hit a successful formula: Even before it got fully into stride in 2010, it was heading for the top of the sales charts, surpassing the Ford Territory, and only recently succumbing to the blistering pace set by Mazda’s smaller CX-5.

The reasons are simple enough. The Captiva mixes an appealing road presence with accessible pricing and competitive equipment levels. For most buyers, it surely represents a chance to get into something that looks impressive and quite sizeable on the road for less money than you might expect. And there’s the choice of five or seven-seat configurations.

Pitched against a new generation of competitors including Kluger and RAV4 Toyotas, as well as the latest Hyundai Santa Fe and the all-conquering Mazda CX-5, the Captiva is beginning to look a little dated though.

Across a range that begins at less than $27,000 (before on-roads), spanning front-drive and AWD, V6 and four-cylinder petrol engines – and a diesel – it still offers the original value deal, and still scores well on packaging. But the others – the Territory an exception maybe – have further extended their respective leads in terms of refinement, dynamics and eco-friendliness.

A recent stint in a top-spec LTZ version of the Captiva 7 compounded our view that, while the Holden still makes an enticing proposition at showroom floor level, it is well and truly ready for the full remake we don’t expect to see before 2016.

As it stands, the now eight-year old Captiva must make the best of its proven strengths.

And, with a price range that tops out at less than $42,000 for the bells and whistles top model, the diesel LTZ, it undercuts all of its serious competitors which generally – apart from the $49,420 (pre on-roads) Mazda CX-5 Akera – exceed $50,000 at the premium level.

The LTZ’s standard kit doesn’t leave much out: sat-nav, dual-zone climate control, power sunroof, heated front seats with eight-way power adjustment for the driver, leather trim, electrochromatic rearview mirror, rearview camera and 19-inch alloys are all standard.

The LTZ Captiva’s standard powerplant is the locally-built 190kW/288Nm direct injection 3.0-litre V6 driving through a six-speed auto transmission, delivering to an on-demand AWD drive system that operates as a front-driver until the rear wheels kick in when extra traction is required.

Climbing into the Captiva 7 brings the feeling it’s a bit larger than the likes of CX-5, CR-V or RAV4 with its spacious-feeling cabin and oversize steering wheel. All-round space is ample, if not generous, the cargo area looks promising and proves to be, with 465 litres of boot space when the third-row seat is folded. Typically of a seven-seater, there’s precious little at the back (85 litres) when all seats are being used.

Generally, the controls are laid out logically enough and are easy to use, although getting access to phone/trip computer functions required – In our case – recourse to the owner’s handbook.

Something that was maybe a little disturbing was the delay in imaging the view through the reversing camera. On startup, the Captiva failed to prioritise the view out the back. Ideally, it should pop onto the screen the moment reverse gear is selected.

The front seats reveal the car’s basic origins with little sign of real lateral support and only the driver gets lumbar adjustment on the eight-way power seat. The front passenger makes do without lumbar-adjust or power controls.

Getting under way, the V6 is quiet, smooth and agreeably responsive and there are no complaints about its compatibility with the six-speed auto transmission.

But the rack and pinion steering tends towards heavy, with a loose, imprecise feel to it and requires close to three turns to twirl from lock to lock. It is not helped by the large-diameter wheel that gives false impressions of the Captiva’s decent, locally-tuned ride-handling balance. In practice the turning circle, although reasonable at just under 12m, doesn’t feel all that handy either.

On the road, the Captiva is quiet and comfortable enough on a freeway cruise, although in hot weather the climate control system struggles to keep the cabin comfortable.

We didn’t come within cooee of Holden’s combined fuel consumption claim of 10.1L/100km for the V6 LTZ Captiva either. Our average, which included extensive freeway driving, was 12.2L/100km, which begs the question why you’d bother with the V6 when a (cleaner) diesel 2.2-litre claming 8.1L/100km is available for only $1000 more.

Even if our petrol Captiva didn’t match the official claim in real-world use, the diesel is still clearly the more economical alternative that would make better use, when cruising, of the 65-litre fuel tank. And with 400Nm of torque against 288Nm it is better set up to make use of the Captiva’s 1500kg (braked) towing capacity. The Captiva LTZ tends towards heavy, too, with a quoted tare mass of 1852kg.

None of this is new to the Captiva of course. It has always balanced its pricing, equipment, perceived size and appealing style against a tendency to be less refined than most of its competition.

The problem is that the competition continues to widen the gap. The next generation Captiva, though still some way off, should be something to look forward to.

2015 Holden Captiva 7 LTZ pricing and specifications:
Price: $40,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 190kW/288Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 241g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five star (ANCAP)