[anantu2001]

Hi T-BHP'ians,

Decided to write this as there were not many Captiva Ownership reviews on the forum.

Note: I am a novice writer so please accept my limited writing skills.


Background & Selection:

It was three full years since we had bought a new car after our purchase of Civic in 2007. We have always been selling our
cars every three years and Civic was no different. It is a beautiful car though and we enjoyed every moment of being in
it. It is pure pleasure. Now that we had decided to sell the Civic, we wanted to try something different this time with the
new purchase. I was always smitten by the "TURBO" bug after I drove the Swift a year back and the "Kick back in the seat"
feeling was amazing. Hence it was decided that it has to be a Oil Burner!

Our requirement was this:

1. A powerful diesel motor
2. A spacious car with option for 7 seats (Our family would be getting bigger in a years time)
3. Comfort
4. Safety
5. A vehicle with better ground clearance than the Civic (Tired of hitting the speed breakers in Bangalore)
6. A tougher vehicle compared to the Civic

All this requirement meant that we go in for a MUV or an SUV and hence the search started. We were not interested in MUV's
from the beginning and hence zeroed in on all the SUV's available. Day after day did TD's of all the SUV's available. Here
is my take on them:

1. Fortuner: A good vehicle although the waiting period was a deal breaker. Waiting for 4 months was just out of question and also its similarity to Innova in terms of interiors put us off.

2. Endeavour 4x4: Was thrilled by the power this monster generates and surprised by the space it has. But the good things end there. Comfort is literally absent in this, with all the leaf spring suspension! It was really a back breaking experience.

3. Outlander: What an amazing vehicle this is!! was blown over by the equipment level they offer and the music system. Just mind blowing. The deal breaker was the petrol engine and the fact that its a 5 seater.

4. CRV: We had rejected this before even taking a TD because of the senseless pricing. Just too high!!

5. CAPTIVA: Took the TD of this vehicle and to my surprise the diesel engine was good enough although being a 2 litre engine. 150 BHP seemed good enough although there was some turbo-lag before 1800 rpm. But after that the engine comes into its own and I dare say it has one of the best Mid-range compared to other SUV's. It suited our requirements better than any other vehicle and hence the decision was made. It was the CAPTIVA.

Buying and Delivery Experience:

Sundaram Motors is where I went for a TD and since I knew people there (Already using a SPARK which I bought from them) it was a bit easy getting all the details. Mr. Manoj (SR) treated us well with all the necessary information he gave during the test drive. We took a week's time after the TD before we confirmed and he was following up all through the week during which we discussed with him about the discounts he would be offering. Sadly, they don't offer any discounts for the Captiva even though this being December. All he could do was reduce Rs. 20000/- from the insurance amount and that is all what we could manage.

We took another TD of the vehicle before we confirmed and asked him if he can deliver the vehicle immediately. He said they have a Black Automatic and a Pearl White Captiva Xtreme in stock. We didn't want an automatic since we already had a Spark at home and since I will be driving both the cars we felt that both cars should be either manual or automatic (Did not want to make mistakes while driving). Hence we booked the Pearl White Captiva Xtreme.

Rear View Camera and sensors were ordered and the sunfilm was installed. Barring theses two the OTR came to Rs. 2296847 /-. In the meantime, we sold our 2007 Civic which fetched us 7.5 lacs and the for the remaining we went for a loan from Tata Capital at a fixed rate of 9.5%. With all the formalities done, we were ready to take delivery of the car!! It was a
moment where all of us missed our CIVIC very much although a 20+ lac SUV was coming home!

Thanks to T-BHP for the PDI list which helped us while taking delivery of the car. After everything was fine and a final go ahead was given, Mr. Manoj briefed us about all the features the car has. The sun & moon roof made us smile wider than usual and after all the customary pitures taken we were all set to take our car home. The ride back home was uneventful although there was an air of nervousness on our faces. Being in Bangalore traffic with a new car is a horrible experience I must say!! But all is well that ends well. We are finally home and as it is already late, we have planned to take more pictures
tomorrow morning. A special mention here for the sales staff at Sundaram motors as we found them to be very courteous and informative. Everything from booking to the delivery was handled smoothly without any hassles.

About the Car(Review):

What I will be stating here is just my initial experience and as time goes I would be updating this thread with more details. My first impression was good enough for taking a decision. Interiors were better than most SUV's we have on roads. Exteriors had this no nonsense look with clean lines flowing all through the car. Space was more than enough as the tallest person in our family was me at 5" 6'. So, legroom was not at all a problem even in the last row and most important of all was the powerful diesel engine on offer. As I never intented to do off-roading, this car was perfect for all my requirements.
Now for a few positives and negatives about the car.

Positives:

1. Powerful Diesel engine with good mig-range power delivery.
2. Leg room in the front and middle row
3. 8 way electrically adjustable drivers seat
4. Heated OVRM's
5. Sun and Moon roof
6. Excellent overall fit and finish
7. Good ride quality
8. Option for 7 seats
9. 320 Nm of Torque
10. Remote Operated Flip-up Type Tailgate Glass (Very practical)
11. Infotainment Controls on Steering Wheel
12. Automatic Level Ride Suspension
13. Flexi-Seating - with all the seats folded one can have a clear flat storage area.
14. Cooled glovebox

Some negatives:

1. Turbo-lag till around 1800 rpm.
2. Handbrake- although stylish, its an ergonomic failure with the elbow touching the drivers seat. Can manage though.
3. Media controls on the steering are not illuminated. Difficult to operate during night.
4. Last row seats strictly for short people.
5. Being the Xtreme model, it comes with red and black combination leather seats as standard fitment. Some may like it and some may not. For us it was alright.
6. Another ergonomic failure would be the MID at the centre console. The MID is way at the top and the temperature controls at the bottom of the console. It gets quite irritating to look up and down every time one adjusts the settings.

MANY MANY MANY THANKS TO T-BHP. Please pour in your comments.

Day time pictures will follow soon

[vkochar]

Nice to see someone go for a Captiva. Everyone seems to be rushing towards the Fortuner.

This is so better equipped.

Tell me one thing - even though you got no discount why did you not go and buy this in 2011. Why buy such an expensive vehicle a few days before the year ended. It obviously means a lot when you resell.

[anantu2001]

Originally Posted by vkochar

Nice to see someone go for a Captiva. Everyone seems to be rushing towards the Fortuner.

This is so better equipped.

Tell me one thing - even though you got no discount why did you not go and buy this in 2011. Why buy such an expensive vehicle a few days before the year ended. It obviously means a lot when you resell.

@vkochar - Thanks for your comments.

Prices are supposedly going to go up by 2.5% from next year (not sure though, I read it somewhere) and moreover we wanted a car badly because we had already sold our CIVIC.

We wont be selling this vehicle for 5 to 6 years maybe. We will be rather selling our SPARK and going in for a VENTO

[camchennai]

Congratulation on your new buy Anantu, Captiva is a well designed practical vehicle and I am sure you would love it.

BTW, did you get any maintenance package like what they offer for Beat and Spark??
Also why you dint consider Pajero or X1?? Any specific reason behind it??

Love to see some interior pictures. please post them

[anantu2001]

Originally Posted by camchennai

Congratulation on your new buy Anantu, Captiva is a well designed practical vehicle and I am sure you would love it.

BTW, did you get any maintenance package like what they offer for Beat and Spark??
Also why you dint consider Pajero or X1?? Any specific reason behind it??

Love to see some interior pictures. please post them

Hi Camchennai,

No, Captiva is not entitled for the 3 year maintenance package which they have given for my SPARK.

Pajero is too outdated now and the X1 exceeded our budget of 25 lacs. Also, the X1 has a waiting period of almost 3 to 4 months which is just toooo long a wait!!

Interior pics will be up by tomorrow sir

[Akshay1234]

Post some pics of the interior. I love the Red and Black interiors on the Xtreme. They look great. Congrats on the car.

[prince_pervez]

Congrats on the latest purchase. We have a Captiva in the family and it is a powerful car. I have driven it from Bangalore to Hoganekkal and back. Its a gentle giant to say the least. Drive safe!

[bharath1]

Congrats on the purchase. Do post some shots of the interior.

[princey]

Congratulations on the Captiva. It is a good vehicle in it's class.
Did you consider and test drive the Hyundai Santa Fe while going in for the Captiva.
Is there a much price difference between the manual and extreme versions.
Wish you many happy motoring miles ahead!!!

[raj_5004]

Congrats buddy, I love this vehicle, its so much better than the fortuner for urban & highway commutes!

The only thing i would say is bad is that it does not come with rear AC vents. that was a deal breaker in my case. Now i am waiting for the facelifted version & hopefully it will come with rear AC vents.

[ACM]

Anantu congrats.

Nice and to the point selection / thought process outline.

This vehicle should suit you the best and will be a hard to replace option in 3 years time.

Happy motoring.

[anantu2001]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Post some pics of the interior. I love the Red and Black interiors on the Xtreme. They look great. Congrats on the car.

Thanks akshay. Yes will be taking interior pictures today and will be posting it right away. Thankfully the Xtreme model does not come with Beige interiors which is a task in itself to maintain.

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Congrats on the latest purchase. We have a Captiva in the family and it is a powerful car. I have driven it from Bangalore to Hoganekkal and back. Its a gentle giant to say the least. Drive safe!

Thanks prince_pervez. This is our first diesel vehicle and I'm just amazed by the torque available at low rpms. Have taken an oath that all my future purchases will be oil burners

Originally Posted by princey

Congratulations on the Captiva. It is a good vehicle in it's class.
Did you consider and test drive the Hyundai Santa Fe while going in for the Captiva.
Is there a much price difference between the manual and extreme versions.
Wish you many happy motoring miles ahead!!!

Thanks princey. Yes we did consider the Santa Fe but the bookings were closed till May 2011. Hence did not do a TD.

First of all, Xtreme is actually manual. Xtreme is a what I would call a Mid-level variant which comes with Black and red leather seats, sun roof and a few exterior changes. Other than this its the same as a lower end model. Xtreme costs around 1 lac more than the base model and the LTZ(AT) costs 2 lac more than the base model.

Originally Posted by bharath1

Congrats on the purchase. Do post some shots of the interior.

Thanks bharath. Yes sir will do it today.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Congrats buddy, I love this vehicle, its so much better than the fortuner for urban & highway commutes!

The only thing i would say is bad is that it does not come with rear AC vents. that was a deal breaker in my case. Now i am waiting for the facelifted version & hopefully it will come with rear AC vents.

Thanks raj. We also checked for the facelifted version. The sales team have no clue when its going to arrive. Its only going to come during 2011 diwali according to some reports. Could not wait for so long you see

Originally Posted by ACM

Anantu congrats.

Nice and to the point selection / thought process outline.

This vehicle should suit you the best and will be a hard to replace option in 3 years time.

Happy motoring.

Thanks ACM. Yes we HOPE to keep this for 5 to 6 years at least. But one never knows when the "This car is quite old now" bug hits us.

[the VTEC guy]

Congratulations. Did you consider Santa Fe. I believe it also ticks most of your requirements. Plus the engine is very powerful.

My bad. I think you have already addressed this.

[Caramelo]

i am assuming you knew about the new captiva launch and didn't wanna wait for it. i watched an interveiew of chevrolet india CEO, in which he told the viewers that in six months or in 2011 they are goind to launch 6 new models for india. they are setting up the powertrain plants for different engines. this obvisouly included the new captiva. the new captiva comes with a 2.2 more powerful and refined turbo diesel engine with 187 bhp. with airbags all around and all important safety systems like TCS and ESP.

i am surprised to know that they didn't give you good discounts, after all its the end of the year! i read that you wanted a car without the brutal waiting period so. nice choice i might add, if you consider the waiting periods. enjoy being captivated. i personally feel its like a mini audi Q7

[anantu2001]

Originally Posted by Caramelo

i am assuming you knew about the new captiva launch and didn't wanna wait for it. i watched an interveiew of chevrolet india CEO, in which he told the viewers that in six months or in 2011 they are goind to launch 6 new models for india. they are setting up the powertrain plants for different engines. this obvisouly included the new captiva. the new captiva comes with a 2.2 more powerful and refined turbo diesel engine with 187 bhp. with airbags all around and all important safety systems like TCS and ESP.

i am surprised to know that they didn't give you good discounts, after all its the end of the year! i read that you wanted a car without the brutal waiting period so. nice choice i might add, if you consider the waiting periods. enjoy being captivated. i personally feel its like a mini audi Q7

Thanks Caramelo. Yes I knew about the new captiva and checked with the dealer also. But I think its not going to make it to our roads before Diwali 2011.

Yes we were short of one car and wanted it immediately. Hence this decision.
Feels like an AUDI?? Hmmm.....I wish i could buy one

Originally Posted by the VTEC guy

Congratulations. Did you consider Santa Fe. I believe it also ticks most of your requirements. Plus the engine is very powerful.

My bad. I think you have already addressed this.

Thanks VTEC guy. Yes they've stopped bookings till May.