GM Korea Chevrolet Captiva

After the name change from GM Daewoo Auto and Technology to GM Korea Company since March 2011 and successfully transformed all Daewoo cars into Chevrolet cars except the Damas, Labo, and the flagship sedan Alpheon, the company seems to be gaining a lot of customers from South Korea to worldwide. With the introduction of the Orlando ALV, Aveo 5-door, Camaro, and the Corvette C6 to the Korean market, the fifth out of the eight planned models is now out and the new Chevrolet Captiva (쉐보레 캡티바) is the new name of the Daewoo Winstorm SUV, which was launched since Autumn 2006.

2012 GM Korea Chevrolet Captiva

The whole world will see this as a minor change but here in South Korea, it's their debutante. A new name for the once forgotten Daewoo Winstorm, which didn't share success against the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Kia Sorento. For the debutante in South Korea, the GM Korea Chevrolet Captiva gained an aggressive front view based on the Chevrolet Aveo/Sonic while the Winstorm rear was retained. With its strikingly bold design, I'm sure that there is hope for this crossover built from Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.

2012 GM Korea Chevrolet Captiva interior

The interior has mildly revised to be more premium while retaining its 7-seater capability. With equipments such as Bluetooth connectivity, leather-wrapped steering wheel, six airbags, USB Integration, Bluetooth connectivity, and Touch-screen system, the Chevrolet Captiva is one handy crossover suitable for your hectic lifestyles. This SUV can be perfect on your weekend getaway when you need it. Also, the seats can be folded for enhanced luggage-carrying conveniences and other things to do.

Two engine types are available for the Chevrolet Captiva such as the 2.4L Ecotec petrol engine and the 2.2L VCDi (Variable Turbocharger Common Rail Diesel Injection) engine. The 2.2L CRDi engine with VG Turbo intercooler makes 184 PS of power output and 40.8 kg.m of torque. In fuel economy, the Chevrolet Captiva 2.2L 6MT 2WD variant gets 15.9km/L of fuel economy while the Captiva 2.2L 6AT 2WD offers the fuel economy of 13.9km/L.

The available 4WD system on the GM Korea Chevrolet Captiva splits the torque between the front and rear wheels, depending on what road conditions this crossover may face. At first, it runs on 2WD mode for optimized fuel efficiency but when it seeks a 4WD-only terrain, about 50% of torque applies to the rear wheels. The Electronic Stability Control and ABS brakes are the major functions for the Captiva's 4WD system.

My thoughts about the Chevrolet Captiva:

The world market will see the new Captiva as a "kouki" or minor change but in the South Korean market, the Chevrolet Captiva name is a debut name and replaces the weakened Daewoo Winstorm as part of turning the weak Daewoo into the internationally-known Chevrolet. There is hope that The Covenant Car Company Incorporated will bring the Captiva minor change soon but even with the CRDi-VGT engine armed on the new Captiva, it still wont compete against our Mitsubishi Montero Sport GTV but the design is truly a global winner. Need I say more? Enjoy the debut, Chevrolet Captiva, and the 18 roses are waiting for you...

Photo: GM Korea Company