Road Test: Holden Captiva 5

Review by Jay Williams - 10/August/2010

Holden's last generation crossover SUV was originally badged as the Captiva MaXX. The Captiva range only featured one engine, a thirsty 3.2-litre V6.

Since then customers now have a choice of three engines : The badged Captiva 5 offers up a 2.4-litre petrol or a 2.0-litre turbo diesel, while the Captiva 7 offers a 3.2-litre petrol or 2.0-litre turbo diesel. The range also offers two-wheel drive or all-wheel-drive.

Our test vehicle was the entry model Captiva 5, 2.4-litre five-speed manual. 

So how does this South Korean model stack up against it's mid-sized SUV competition? Let's find out.

Drive: 3/5

Stylish European design

The large boot offers 430 litres of cargo capacity

Leg and shoulder room is ample up front

The Captiva 5 sits 200mm off the ground which gives drivers a better view of the road thanks to the high riding position. Holden has desigined this vechicle with active duties in mind - going to the supermarket, commuting to work, picking up the kids from school or sports, gathering up the family and heading away for the weekend.

For these activities, the car holds up very well. It's got plenty of storage space and numerous pockets and holders for putting items large and small. The spacious boot offers 430 litres of cargo capacity with the rear seats upright.

Rearward visibility isn't great, and you can't see what's going on below the rear window line, but the reversing proximity sensors warn you of any hidden objects which is very handy. In general it's a very relaxed vehicle to drive once you get used to the cars large dimensions.

The brakes aren't going to win any awards but they do a solid job of decelerating the sizable Captiva, and with ABS and ESP there's not much to worry about in terms of driving safety.

By SUV standards the Captiva isn't the best drive. Steering response is vague and the two-wheel-drive set up only offers moderate levels of front-end grip before you begin to feel uneasy. The ride is a bit soft and it becomes more noticeable when the car is on a corrugated road with small pot holes and ruts.

Engine: 2/5

The model we test drove featured the 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine which produes 103kW of power at 5200rpm and 220Nm of torque at 2400rpm.

The 103kW of power didn't go far in haulling the massive 1.7-tonne Captiva 5 around. The engine felt dull and unresponsive, and overtaking almost felt unsafe. The car did show it's limitations when it was loaded with passengers, the engine had to be revved out more than normal to make it up hills and such.

The manual transmission works well but was let down by the lack of power produced by the cars engine. The gears shifted smoothly and without hassle, and the clutch felt light under foot which was suprising after dealing with the laborious clutch found in the Holden SV6.

Over the course of a week the Captive 5 returned a a fuel consumption figure of 12L/100km which was combined highway/city driving. The 12L/100km fuel consumption average fell well short of the official ADR figure of 9.7L/100km.

Exterior: 3/5

The Captive 5 features niceties like 6-disc CD audio system, fog lights and bold 17inch alloy wheels. It looks pretty good on the whole, with a contemporary, somewhat European front end design. 

The rear end styling isn't quite as appealing as the front, and it's Korean design origins are more obvious in the toy-like brake light design. There's also an adventurous lookingbash plate on the front. Sadly it's made of plastic, so it could be better termed a crumple plate. Overall though, it's a modern looking SUV that's not without character.

It sits confidently on the road with a decidedly European front end and, though designed in Korea, you can see the input that Holden's design team had with the vehicle.

Interior: 3/5

Inside the car drivers are greeted with a modern looking design, particularly the instrument cluster and centre console, with both featuring orange backlighting. The design is very contemporary and highlights the Holden Captiva's objective - modern city vehicle. 

Leg and shoulder room is ample up front, while rear seat passenger comfort is great, with enough leg room to keep most adults comfortable.

The centre console is quite attractively styled, and is easy to use. The climate control dials are straightforward, as are the stereo controls. The trip computer was also very intuitive. 

The lack of an AUX stereo input for MP3 players and iPods seemed like blaspheme in this modern age of tech savvy people. However the stereo is an 8-speaker setup which provides good sound quality, and is hooked up to a 6-disc CD stacker. But, I did have a moment while trying to load multiple CD's into the steero system, it seems you have to press the eject button to load another CD.

The Captiva has a solid safety suite, with driving aids like ABS and ESP to ensure that traction is rarely lost. Passive safety features include front and side curtain airbags covering all passengers.

Overall: 3/5

The Holden Captiva 5 has a long list of standard features and is competivitly priced, but that's about it. The under powered and unresponsive engine, vauge steering controls and soft suspention let the Captiva 5 down. 

Holden could have done a lot better with this car and it's a shame because the modern European styling and the comfortable and roomy interior are actully pretty good.