Product Reviews

Having lived in Canada for two years and loving a "Chevy pickup truck" that I drove out there I was ever so excited about the opportunity to test the Captiva for a week. When it rolled up outside our house my wife and I looked at the size of it and smiled. The immortal words "mummy truck" came out of my wife's mouth. The leather trim, the 6 cd changer and the heated seats are things that we have never had before. Having one baby boy and a camping weekend coming up we thought this a great opportunity to test it out properly. The boot looked a good size except when the number 6 and 7 seats are unfolded, at which point there was no way a trip to the local supermarket was going to fit in. We would also be reluctant to put anyone in the very back seats because their heads are so close to the rear window and the crumple zone.

Driving the Captiva was good on the open road but going round the winding country roads was hard work as the power assisted steering didn't really seem to assist. Our arms were growing muscles by the end of the week. But the drive height was nice and the seats comfortable. The height of the rear seats too made it easier to put in and lift our little monkey from his car seat.

With the prospect of a very wet camping weekend looming we began to pack everything we needed - frame tent, cooker, airbeds, travel cot, changing stuff, pushchair, sleeping bags and waterproofs. It was when we were packing with the double split seats folded - so only one rear seat was used for Ollie - that we realized just how small the boot really was. In our current estate we can easily pack the pushchair and the tent. In the Captiva however we found we could not put pushchair and tent in the back - the boot was narrower (due to the excessive wheel arches) and shorter than our estate (presumably due to the better leg room for passengers on the rear seat). Overall we were not impressed with the boot and were very glad we only had one child.

On the muddy field that was our campsite we were happy that we were in a 4 x 4 as we slipped gently across the ruts and mud.

That brings us onto fuel economy. As a family with a mortgage and interest rates climbing fuel economy is high on our list of priorities. Our current estate car provides approx 700 miles on a 65 litre tank. We understood that fuel economy would go down with being a 2 litre petrol engine and a four wheel drive but from a 70 litre tank we only got 346 miles - half what we usually get - ouch! Although if you have bought a car this size I guess you don't need to worry about such things as fuel economy.

Comfort: 4 out of 5 (leg room excellent, seats good, driving position good)

Fuel Economy 2 out of 5

Boot size - as a 7 seater - useless - 1 out of 5

Boot size - as a 5 seater - 3 out of 5 (the wheel arches take up too much room)

Cost - 3 out of 5 - starting at £21,000 for the 7 seater - good compared to similar vehicles in the class but we felt you could get much more for your money with other vehicles.

Best Feature: Leg room in back Worst Feature: Boot space and poor turning circle Verdict: Looking for fuel economy + space for kids and gear?May not be the car for you!

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