Up front, the Captiva 7 lacks the polish of many of its newer rivals. It feels aged against fresher rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, which have neater, classier feeling cockpits. The Captiva’s is let down by vinyl-like dash plastics and poor quality knobs and dials.
Under the bonnet lies an Australian-made petrol V6 engine, which has reasonable power outputs, but its peak power (190kW) isn’t reached until 6900rpm, and peak torque (288Nm) is delivered at a high 5800rpm. The result is a less-than-relaxed drive experience, with the engine requiring plenty of right foot application in order to get the most out of it.
The main issue is perhaps not with the engine, but with how much work is expected of it. At 1920 kilograms, the Captiva 7 LT is no lightweight â€" and the engine feels strained as a result. The six-speed automatic transmission does it no favours, either, struggling to choose the correct gear during urban driving and even feeling unsettled at highway speeds.
As a result, the Captiva is thirsty. Claimed consumption is pegged at 10.1Â litres per 100 kilometres, but we saw well above that on our long 350km test loop across multiple disciplines, with a figure of 14.9L/100km.
Many similarly priced models only offer front- or rear-wheel drive layouts, so the Holden may appear to families who like to head off-road, and for ski bunnies chains may not be required in some national parks. That all-wheel drive system is biased towards the front hoops, with 100 per cent of the engine’s power typically sent to the front. Power can be split 50:50 if the traction control system detects the need.
Comments
Post a Comment