With a heavily facelifted Ford Territory showing up on the radar screen Holden has released the Series II version of its own mid-sized Captiva SUV with three new engine choices, six-speed transmissions, safety improvements and revised styling. Captiva has been a big success for Holden during its four and a half years on the Australian market reaching the number two spot in the medium SUV sales race for 2010, and outselling Territory in each of the past two years.
Although built in South Korea by GM-Daewoo, Captiva has a multi-national heritage with the three engines coming from three different continents: the 3.0-litre V6 petrol is a home grown unit from Australia, the 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol hails from the USA and 2.2-litre turbo-diesel from Korea.

There’s has also been considerable Australian input in its style and chassis dynamics, most notably from one-time Holden designer Mike Simcoe who was largely responsible for the original Captiva’s lines, most of which have been carried over to the Series II. As before Captiva is offered with either five or seven seats - hence the names Captiva 5 and Captiva 7, and with the choice of two or four-wheel drive.

External changes to both variants are concentrated at the front of the vehicle where Captiva 7 gets the large wide-mouthed, meshed lower grille that’s all the rage in car design at the moment. It works well and gives the Holden SUV a much more contemporary look. The Captiva 5 also gets a mesh grille, but one that is shorter but wider.  The 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine in the previous Captiva has been replaced by Holden’s 3.0-litre V6 Spark Ignition Direct Injection (SIDI) engine that provides the three-way benefits of increased power (190 kW compared with 169 kW), reduced fuel consumption (11.3 L/100 km against 11.7) and lower CO2 emissions 268 g/km, down from 279.

The previous 2.0-litre turbo-diesel gives way to a new 2.2-litre unit that provides 80 Nm of additional torque as well as extra power and lower fuel usage and emissions. The new 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol again provides improvements in all areas and, for the first time, is available in a seven-seat Captiva.

As before the Captiva 5 four-cylinder petrol is the only model to be offered with manual transmission although it gets an extra ratio, now providing six speeds. All other variants, including the five-seat diesel, get a six-speed automatic  We were able to test all three engines during the Captiva press launch in the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne – the V6 petrol and turbo-diesel in the Captiva 7 and the four-cylinder petrol in the Captiva 5. The clear winner in our eyes was the turbo-diesel where the extra torque pulled the largish wagon with ease. The extra weight in Captiva over Commodore tested the V6 SIDI at times on hilly conditions, although it cruised comfortably and smoothly on the flat.

Holden engineers have worked on improving the previous Captiva’s handling and it’s noticeably better than before with improved cornering and less body roll. Towing capacity is disappointing at just 1700 kg with the V6 or diesel engines and 1500 kg with the petrol four. Holden Captiva II offers excellent value for money with additional equipment combined with price reductions, no doubt courtesy of the soaring value of the Aussie dollar.

All models now come with six airbags, ABS brakes with brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution, stability and traction control, 17-inch alloy wheels, cruise control and Bluetooth phone and music. The conventional parking brake has been replaced by a flip lever that frees up space in the centre console.

The mid-specced CX model adds 18-inch alloys, front fog lamps, climate-control air conditioning, electronic compass, and six-disc CD player; while the top-level LX also gets 19-inch alloys, powered driver’s seat, satellite navigation, reversing camera, USB and SD card sockets, 7-inch touch screen monitor and leather seat trim.
The Captiva 7 offers up to 32 different seat combinations with the third row of seats folding beneath the floor, the second row folding flat with a single movement and a front passenger seat that flips over for extra long-load space (up to 1565 litres) or a flat desk area. The extra equipment combined with price cuts of either $1000 or $2000 make the new Captiva an even better buy than before, especially with the new diesel engine under the bonnet. The new Holden Captiva Series II range will go on sale in mid-March.

Captiva 5 2WD 2.4-litre petrol five-seat five-door wagon: $27,990 (manual)
Captiva 5 AWD 2.4-litre petrol five-seat five-door wagon: $29,990 (automatic)
Captiva 5 AWD 2.2-litre turbo-diesel five-seat five-door wagon: $33,990 (automatic)
Captiva 7 SX 2WD 2.4-litre petrol seven-seat five-door wagon: $32,490 (automatic)
Captiva 7 SX 2WD 2.2-litre turbo-diesel seven-seat five-door wagon: $35,490 (automatic)
Captiva 7 CX AWD 3.0-litre petrol seven-seat five-door wagon: $38,490 (automatic)
Captiva 7 CX AWD 2.2-litre turbo-diesel seven-seat five-door wagon: $39,490 (automatic)
Captiva 7 LX AWD 3.0-litre petrol seven-seat five-door wagon: $42,490 (automatic)
Captiva 7 LX AWD 2.2-litre turbo-diesel seven-seat five-door wagon: $43,490 (automatic)

Contact your local Holden dealer for driveaway prices.