Paris show: Holden’s new-look Captiva emerges

CHEVROLET has previewed the last of four global debuts it will present at the Paris motor show on September 30, providing a clear clue to what Holden’s facelifted Captiva will look like when it goes on sale here in the first half of 2011.

While it is not yet clear which of the four new Captiva engines Australians will have access to, expect the first major upgrade of the Korean-built mid-size SUV since it was launched here four years ago to feature the new front-end treatment as the Chevrolet version shown here, but with a Holden grille and badging.

The revised Captiva line-up will make its world premiere at Paris alongside the Australian-designed Cruze and Aveo (Barina) hatchbacks, which will go on sale here later next year, and the Orlando people-mover, which is under consideration for sale by Holden and was also designed in Port Melbourne.

Up front, the revised Captiva features a reshaped bonnet with new surface sculpting and a new front bumper with larger grille and ‘prism-style’ headlights, while LED indicators are now integrated into the side mirrors and the side air-vents have been made more angular.

From top: Chevrolet Captiva, Chevrolet Aveo (Barina), Chevrolet Cruze five-door and Chevrolet Orlando.

Wheel sizes will again range between 17 and 19 inches in Europe, where the Captiva is offered in both five and seven-seat guises, as in Australia.

Chevrolet says a range of interior upgrades also aim to make the Captiva cabin more upmarket, including new seat fabrics, ‘ice-blue’ backlighting and a new ‘wrap-round’ fascia design that melds with both front doors to create a dual-cockpit look that is yet to be revealed.

Fresh technologies will include hill-start assist to stop the vehicle rolling backwards on inclines during takeoff, an electric parking brake that opens up space for further storage in the centre console (including two one-litre cup-holders), and a new sound system incorporating aux-in, USB and Bluetooth connectivity. A touch-screen navigation system with rear-view camera will be available in Europe.

Improved acoustic engineering is claimed to reduce road, wind and engine noise, but it is under the bonnet that most mechanical changes have taken place.

In Europe, the 2011 Captiva will come with three new engines, matched with either a new manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

A new 2.4-litre petrol engine produces 127kW – up from the 103kW output of the petrol four in the front- and all-wheel-drive ‘Captiva 5’ launched in Australia late last year.

The 3.2-litre petrol V6 available here is not offered in Europe, where two versions of a new 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four delivering outputs of 121kW and 137kW will replace the model’s current 2.0-litre diesel engine.

Chevrolet says the Daewoo-built Captiva continues to come standard with electronic stability control and curtain airbags while the chassis has been retuned to improve handling dynamics and ride quality.

The Holden Captiva is Australia’s second-best-selling medium SUV so far this year behind the Toyota Prado, ahead of the Toyota Kluger and Ford Territory.