Diesel smoothy added to Captiva menu

The new Captiva’s DOHC turbo and intercooled diesel engine is one of the most powerful, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly engines in its class.

More and more South Africans are swinging to diesel power (in spite of the grotty low-class products that flow from our local forecourt pumps) and technology has long ago progressed from the clattering farm bakkie genre of slow, dirty and sluggish engines.

Precisely how far diesel technology has progressed is succinctly transmitted by this new Captiva diesel. The engine is smooth, powerful, fast and remarkably subdued (particularly at cruising speeds) considering it's a 2.2-litre chunk of metal that produces a hearty 400Nm of torque AND lugs an extremely spacious and comfortable seven-seater shell around with it.

What's more the new Captiva's DOHC turbo and intercooled diesel engine is one of the most powerful, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly engines in its class, thanks to all sort of intricate technology which I am not even going to begin to explain so best you get the sales staff at your local GMSA dealership to earn their keep.

A very smooth act to follow

However, what you do need to know is that the new Captiva's power-plant really is exceptionally smooth and vibration free and when you put foot it pulls with passion and cruises as happily as a tail-wagging Labrador. In fact, it will gallop the 0-100km/h stretch in about 10 seconds and get to 190km/h before running out of breath.

What's more, you don't have to be a carrot-juice-and-lentils person to appreciate the fact that the Captiva's exhaust system has a filter good enough for a life-time free of maintenance - and it complies with Euro-5 emissions standards. By reducing the weight of some of the inner workings of the engine and generally smoothing out things Chevrolet has also done a fine job of keeping fuel burn down to a minimum. They reckon that on the open road the Captiva could get consumption down to 6.7 litres/km and on the combined cycle it could be around 8 litres/100km.

Another key feature of this new Captiva is its custard-smooth six-speed automatic transmission which is also designed to function smoother, quieter and more efficient than most other auto cog-boxes in this class.

It’s a gentle vehicle to manoeuvre in crowded city streets.

At the media launch I drove the big Chevy diesel over a couple of mountain passes in the Oudtshoorn-De Rust- George area and could not help but be impressed. This really is an exceptionally nice vehicle, not at all like the high, rather unwieldy, heavy and even slightly clumsy-looking people-carrier it looks like at first glance.

The ride is smooth and firm with hardly any body roll or movement through fast corners or under hard braking and thanks to its permanent all-wheel drive and ESP assistance it holds the road with aplomb. It's a gentle vehicle to manoeuvre in crowded city streets and when you point its boldly emblazoned bow-tie nose towards the R62 it happily goes into purr mode, never grumbling, even if you flog it rather harshly.

The ABS is boosted by brake assist, so the anchors are more than capable of slamming this big easy people-hauler to a halt.

Keeping it all under control downhill

One of the features of Captiva's transmission I particularly liked was the fact that it is clever enough to slow the vehicle down when you head downhill. Thanks to some fancy electro-gadgetry the transmission remains in a lower gear rather than shift up if it senses that the vehicle is decelerating or coasting on a downgrade. This reduces the need for the driver to ride the brakes, particularly as the system can even sense whether or not a trailer is hitched to the vehicle.

Just a last point about the transmission: it is filled with a special fluid (called DEXRON-VI, if you wear an anorak or simply must know) which does not need to be changed over the life of the transmission. Now how's that for a bragging point when the lads get together to sink a few puts of lager at the 19th hole after the game!

Precisely how far diesel technology has progressed is succinctly transmitted by this new Captiva diesel. The engine is smooth, powerful, fast and remarkably subdued.

However, there is a lot more fingers-in-the-lapel stuff to throw in once you start bragging about your new Captiva... It boasts a fully adjustable steering column, power adjustable driver's seat, climate control, electric windows all round, electric mirrors with heating and fold-away function. To that you can add moisture-sensitive windscreen wipers, cruise control, automatic anti-dazzle rear view mirror, rear park assist, sunroof, eight-speaker front loading radio/CD combination with RDS/MP3/AUX/Bluetooth, audio adjustment controls on the steering wheel and, oh yes, an on-board computer, of course.

When it comes to safety features General Motors have also dealt the Captiva a full house: zillions of airbags, a high level brake light, hill start assist, fog lamps front and back, ISOFIX child seat anchorage, three point seat belts with pre-tensioners and an electronic park brake are all standard.

Then, just before the eyes of your golf buddies begin to glaze over, finish up with the Chevy's R427 000 purchase price which includes a five-year/120 000km warranty, roadside assistance for the full term of the warranty, a three-year/60 000km service plan and service intervals of 15 000km or once every 12 months.

Specifications

Chevrolet Captiva 2012 HD Video

2012 Chevrolet Captiva CRASH TEST

Chevy Captiva 2012 - REVIEWED!!!