Opel Antara to head Holden's Captiva range

HOLDEN has pulled yet another rabbit out of its corporate hat by announcing its first ever medium 4WD range will be headed by a flagship based not on GM Daewoo’s South Korean-built Captiva but on GM Opel’s more upmarket Antara luxury SUV.

The surprise news was contained in a press release issued on Friday that revealed engine, transmission and equipment details for the upcoming Captiva line-up – pricing and release details have still not been revealed.

GoAuto sources indicate the twin-pronged Captiva range will go on sale in November following its official public unveiling at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney opening on October 26 and its media launch early next month.

Following hot on the heels of the VE Commodore sedan (September) and WM Statesman/Caprice sedan (October) releases, Captiva won’t be the last new model in a busy year for Holden.

Just as Captiva plugs a gaping hole in Holden’s SUV product portfolio, another GM Daewoo-sourced model - the Epica sedan - will technically replace Vectra to give Holden a mid-sized Camry rival for the first time in December.

Captiva pricing is expected to undercut that of both Toyota’s AWD Kluger, which opens at $41,990 for the 172kW/328Nm 3.3-litre auto-only CV and tops out at $59,490 for the identically-powered Grande, and Ford’s top-selling Territory, which opens at $39,490 for the 190kW/383Nm 4.0-litre auto-only TX RWD and tops out at $65,490 for the 245kW/480Nm Ghia Turbo AWD.

Expect pricing to match that of Australia’s other Korean-sourced medium SUV, Hyundai’s new Santa Fe (which starts at $35,990) and for a large price gap to separate the German designed Maxx, which will also be sourced from GM Daewoo in South Korea.

All four Captiva variants will be powered by a Holden-built 3.2-litre Alloytec V6, which in SX, CX and LX guise will produce 169kW at 6600rpm and 297Nm of peak torque at 3200rpm.

Curiously, the flagship Captiva Maxx will offer two fewer kiloWatts of peak power - 167kW at the same 6600rpm. No fuel consumption figures have been issued, but expect them to be somewhere between that of the 2.7-litre V6 Santa Fe and Territory.

An "Active Select" five-speed automatic transmission will be standard across the range, as will 200mm of ground clearance.

According to Holden, all Captivas will also offer "active" all-wheel drive, Descent Control System, cruise control, four power windows, twin front airbags and, significantly, ESP stability control as standard. CX, LX and Maxx will add side curtain airbags as standard (optional on the base SX).

Unlike Territory and Kluger, in which a third row of seats (bringing the total to seven) is optional, the entry-level Captiva SX and top-spec Antara-based Maxx will be available only with five seats, with a 60/40-split folding rear seat.

The mid-spec Captiva CX and LX will come with seven seats as standard, with a 60/40-split folding second row and a 50/50-split folding third row – both of which will fold flat.

Holden says SX and SX will feature cloth seat trim and 17-inch alloy wheels, while LX and Maxx will feature leather-faced pews and 18-inch alloys.

Official cargo volume for SX, CX and LX is 930 litres with rear seats folded and 1565 litres with the front passenger seat also folded. The smaller Antara-based MaXX offers will offer 865 litres with rear seats folded. No figures were released for cargo space with all seats in use.

Sound systems will all be MP3-compatible, including the base SX’s single-CD player and the six-CD system in CX, LX and Maxx. Captiva will be available in seven exterior paint colours, with six available for Maxx.

"It makes sense to launch two models under the same nameplate given it’s an all-new model for us, because it will avoid confusion," Holden spokesman Jason Laird told GoAuto. "Pricing will be competitive given we’re entering a mature market segment." Rightly, Holden says Captiva will give it a "legitimate presence" in Australia’s competitive SUV landscape, in which it’s currently represented only by slow-selling models in the VZ Commodore wagon-based Adventra AWD and the Suzuki-sourced Cruze mini-SUV.

The latter will eventually be replaced by a compact SUV based on GM Daewoo’s T2X concept, which followed the S3X show car that became Captiva.

Holden showed both the T2X and S3X concepts at this year’s Melbourne motor show, indicating a commitment to address its dearth of serious SUV models.

Australia will be one of the world’s first markets to receive the Opel-developed Antara, which will make its global debut in final production form at the Paris motor show late this month. It first appeared at the 2005 Frankfurt motor show as the three-door, four-seater Antara GTC concept, riding on 20-inch wheels and powered by a 400Nm 1.9-litre turbo-diesel mated to a six-speed auto.

"Captiva has eye-catching appeal and extensive testing in Australia will ensure that it delivers Holden’s proven ride and handling requirements for local conditions," said GM Holden chairman and managing director, Denny Mooney.

"It has excellent interior flexibility, advanced safety technologies and offers a high level of specification across the range. Captiva represents an opportunity for Holden to make significant ground in the SUV segment," he said.