Design
The Chevrolet Captiva which is based on General Motors Theta platform has been completely designed in-house at GM's South Korea design centre, under the expert tutelage of Max Wolf. The design is by no means ground-breaking but still comes across as handsome. Strangely enough, the Captiva emits a different appearance from different angles. It is as if the designers collected a wide range of SUVs in a bag, gave it a thorough shake-up and the end result was the Captiva. Hard to miss are the smart grille with the Chevy bowtie logo, the crisp and pronounced waistline ending into sporty air dams on both flanks, side rear view mirror integrated LED indicators, flared wheel arches and the aluminium front skid plate. The Captiva has also been blessed with a sporty aura which is accentuated by the curvy coupe-like roofline, roof rail and the embedded twin exhaust pipe which looks rather suave. The body is more or less well-proportioned and looks tough as a nut. The glossy 17inch alloy wheels and the chrome door handles look quite up-market and give the Captiva an air of elegance.

The interior of the Captiva is archetypical General Motors layout with a lot of plastic involved, the latter being of rather good quality and bettering that of even the Ford Endeavour. At first sight the interior looks bright and airy with a good play of beige with black. The plush two-tone soft touch dash looks splendid with brushed metal inserts and even faux wood strips running its length giving it a high-class look. The air-con controls, 6 CD changer entertainment system and the LCD information display sit neatly on the centre console. The instrument cluster design which seems to have been borrowed from the Optra nevertheless stand out for clarity.

As you move your eyes through the rest of the cabin you come to notice the good looking steering wheel with integrated audio controls, which are very easy to use and come naturally to hand. You will also notice the multi-information display above the audio system which gives you a range of information from distance travelled, direction of travel to information specific to the a/c. One neat feature that the Captiva can boast of is an Air Pollution Sensor, which senses the quality of outside air and automatically switches from fresh air to re-circulated air when needed. The handbrake also stands out for its unique looks but sadly loses out on user friendliness.

The Captiva's interior is genuinely spacious and comes with a 5+2 seating configuration The 3rd row of seats is one-touch folding. The leather seats are of fine quality but the rear seats lack adequate thigh support, especially in the 3rd row of seats which is also a bit cramped for knee space. The front seats are well cushioned though and offer a panoramic view of the outside world. Another factor worth mentioning is the 8-way power adjustable driver seat which makes life a whole lot easier for shorter drivers. The seats also provide adequate lumber support but the icing on the cake has to be the stupendous legroom and shoulder room available that the Captiva offers. The Captiva's interior is highly flexible and practical and has immense storage space for all kinds of nick-knacks. However boot space in the Captiva is a bit of a let down. With only 465 litres of space liberated with the 3rd row folded down, comparatively the Renault Logan is far better with 510litres of boot space!
Comfort
The Chevrolet Captiva is built on a monocoque chassis which enhances on-road dynamics and improves handling. The front McPherson strut twin-gas tube suspension and the rear multi-link suspension are nicely paired and offer good ride and handling, but present a bit of understeer when taking quick corners. There is also a bit of body-roll as expected, and the car has a tendency of wallowing and jerking a bit, especially in the rear. The steering wheel is a bit vague though and does not weigh up sufficiently even as you add more steering lock. There is also a pronounced torque steer due to the front wheel drive system.

Engine, Transmission and Performance
The Chevrolet Captiva has a turbocharged diesel engine under its hood that makes use of Bosch's Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDi) system and delivers fuel at up to 160 bars. This is the same engine which is currently in service with the Optra Magnum diesel but is tweaked to produce 150bhp, which is a good 28bhp more than the Magnum. It uses only a single camshaft to open and close all its 16 valves. The 1991cc engine comes with the coveted Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT) which is behind the linear power delivery. The impressive 320Nm of torque is only available at 2,000rpm therefore the low rpm response is a bit weak. The car only comes into its stride above 2,000rpm and transforms into a sprightly performer, racing strongly ahead till 4,000rpm. The engine which has been developed in Chevrolet's plant in South Korea is strong in character and has an excellent mid-range acceleration which makes it idle for the city where it can overtake other cars with relative ease. If driven well, the Captiva is faster than the Ford Endeavour but stays a little behind the more powerful and much lighter Honda CR-V. Nonetheless it can still easily rake up a speed in excess of 160kmph and to make the 0-100 sprint it takes just 11.6 seconds, which is pretty impressive for a 1,820kg behemoth. Even though the Captiva is a car capable of attaining high speeds it does tend to stagger a bit at speeds in excess of 130kmph when driven in top gear. The short shifting 5-speed gearbox is not as polished as that of the Honda CR-V but still good by Chevrolet's standards. Inspite of these shortcomings the engine is quite refined as it uses balancers shafts and also mounted on bearings to reduce vibrations. Probably the only disappointing factor about the Captiva is the engine noise which is quite audible especially when cold starts are called for. To make up for this default the Captiva returns a rather decent fuel economy of 9.5kmpl in the city and 11.5kmpl on the highway.
Safety
The Chevrolet Captiva is a safe SUV. It is comes standard with 4 channel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Break force Distribution (EBD) as well as driver and passenger airbags. It also comprises 4 extra-strong side impact zones which cushions the passengers seated inside. Last but definitely not the least, the Captiva has seatbelts with pre-tensioners and a load limiters which help to enhance passenger safety. Priced at Rupees 17,73,999 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi), the Chevrolet Captiva is priced aggressively and may succeed in carving out a small market for itself between the significantly more expensive CR-V, which also happens to have no diesel option, and the significantly cheaper Endeavour, which is frankly not in the same league. Will the diesel Captiva succeed in captivating the market is anybody's guess, but one thing is for sure, the premium SUV segment in India has never had it this good!