Holden Captiva 7 LS Family Car Review

Table of Contents

The Holden Captiva 7 LS offers families looking for an SUV or 7-seater car an affordable option with versatile seating.

Not only does the car offer a low purchase price, but it also provides a car with low maintenance costs as the Captiva is backed with lifetime capped servicing fees. Ideal when trying to manage a family budget.

Speaking of budgets, if you’re considering buying a Holden Captiva and whether it’s right for you it’s easier than you think to get an actual price on any car.

Drive

The Captiva LS is an easy car to drive. The smaller shape and feel give the sense that you are driving a smaller car. The car has a good turning circle and has hill start assist to help when starting on steep hills. At times the 6-speed auto transmission seems uncertain which gear to choose, however for most suburban driving it functions well. In eco mode the car appears a bit slow to respond, however, this improves dramatically when eco mode is disabled.

The dash is separated into 3 sections. The first has a 7-inch touch screen showing your trip information, movie, sound options, temperature control as well as the rear camera vision when reversing. Below this, you have your radio, music, Bluetooth connection buttons and below this still, you have your climate control option. Although it appears disjointed, the layered approach is simple and easy to operate while the buttons for each function can be located quickly.

The Bluetooth works well and is straightforward when paired with your phone. The Bluetooth buttons on the dash will only enable you to redial your last call and answer/hang up the phone. Any numbers you wish to dial will need to be dialled on your handset.

The Captiva LS Offers dual-zone air conditioning which can be set separately or synced easily. On the steering where there are a number of steering wheel-mounted controls offering a quick ability to control your music, cruise control, Bluetooth and more.

In terms of car features, the lack of aircon vents for the 2nd row of seats is disappointing as it means that the children are likely to experience discomfort in summer. While you can turn the air con up high in the front for it to hopefully provide some relief in the back, I don’t wish to be in Antarctica while the children are still hot and sweaty. This also means that when using the 3rd row, the air con able to hit it will minimise even further and is unlikely to be felt at all.

There are drink holders in the 2nd row, however, they are in a pull-down section in the middle seat, making them useless if there is a child sitting there. There is one drink holder in the 3rd row.

In terms of fuel efficiency, my average with mostly suburban driving was around 13 litres/100km.

Family-Friendly Features

Keyless Entry and Auto-Lock

The keyless entry is fantastic as it offers mums the ability to open the car without searching for the keys. The Holden Captiva also has keyless drive and because it has Auto-lock, you do not even need to find your keys from the minute you leave the house until you return home and need to open the front door. I really appreciated the Auto-lock feature. Often I will have to walk back to the car wondering if I have locked it. The Auto-Lock feature gives me peace of mind knowing that the car always locks itself.

Child Anchor Points

There are 3 standard child anchor points and 2 ISOFIX anchor points. Although there are 3 anchor points, we were not able to fit 3 car seats on the second row. In fact, we needed to use the 6th seat for our eldest as the space between the two car seats was too small for my daughter to sit comfortably. It is unlikely you will be able to fit 3 car seats (regardless of size) on the back row, making the Captiva ideal for a family of 4 or a family of 5 with older children not requiring car seats.

Versatile Seating

The Holden Captiva offers extremely versatile seating options with all seats (apart from the drivers) being able to fold down. The seats are very easy to fold down and put back up. It literally takes seconds, so it offers an ideal solution when needing to often change the configuration of the car if bringing friends home.

Boot

When used as a 5 seater, there is a large boot. As a 7 seater, the boot space diminishes to very little. As you can choose to have the car as a 6 or 7 seater; the Captiva offers the ability to have half a boot which is ideal when needing only 6 seats and still wanting some boot space.