Captiva meets Territory challenge too

GM HOLDEN has joined Toyota in responding to Ford’s Territory MkII facelift announcement by revealing a realigned Captiva range that comprises fewer model variants, as well as higher prices and more equipment at base level.

Leading the upgraded Captiva’s reinvigorated charge will be the entry-level SX variant, which (like the mid-range CX and top-shelf LX) now comes standard with seven seats, and also gains automatic headlights.

Holden has discontinued the manual version of the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel all-wheel drive SX, while all other SX variants come in for a $1000 price rise, with the Captiva range now kicking off with the front-drive diesel SX manual at $35,490.

Holden says that makes it the most affordable seven-seat medium SUV on the market, while the all-wheel drive diesel automatic SX is priced at $39,490 and the 3.2-litre petrol V6-powered AWD SX auto now costs $38,490.

In the absence of the discontinued petrol-only Captiva Maxx, which was also sourced from Daewoo in Korea but was a smaller model directed at Europe and offering only five seats, the LX is now the Captiva flagship.

LX-spec Captivas gain a reversing camera and leather gearshifter cladding for an extra $500, with the AWD petrol auto now priced at $43,990 and the AWD diesel auto now costing $44,990.

The mid-spec Captiva CX adds automatic headlights for no extra cost, with prices unchanged at $40,490 for the AWD petrol auto and $41,490 for the AWD diesel auto.

Bolstered by diesel-engined versions that now comprise 70 per cent of its sales, Holden’s Captiva outsold Toyota’s top-selling Prado and the petrol-only Territory, which is expected to receive a major engine upgrade in 2010, including diesel power for the first time in January.

After the first two months of 2009, the Captiva is Australia’s best-selling medium SUV with more than 2000 sales, putting it narrowly ahead of Toyota’s Prado and Kluger – a special-edition ‘Altitude’ version of which was announced yesterday – with the once-dominant Territory now a distant fourth in the segment.

2009 Holden Captiva range pricing:
SX 2WD 2.0L diesel	$35,490
SX 2WD 2.0L diesel (a)	$37,490
SX AWD 3.3L petrol (a)	$38,490
SX AWD 2.0L diesel (a)	$39,490
CX AWD 3.2L petrol (a)	$40,490
CX AWD 2.0L diesel (a)	$41,490
LX AWD 3.2L petrol (a)	$43,990
LX AWD 2.0L diesel (a)	$44,990

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