Chevrolet Captiva V6 -

America has always baffled me and It’s the little things that baffle me most of all. The way the middle classe don’t wear socks, the way they address one another in such loud voices across the hotel swimming pool, the inability they all have to locate themselves, or anyone else, on a map of the world, the love affair with country music, the mullets, the television ad breaks, the way they don’t offer you a cup of coffee or a drink when you go to their houses. I always feel like a civilized human amongst a sea of uncouth individuals.

The strangest thing about America, though, and possibly one of the very the best is that half the cars sold there every year are not cars at all. They’re SUVs.

Now, a pick-up truck, is made by nailing a couple of slabs of pig iron onto a chassis that would be recognizable to the makers of any 19th-century covered wagon. Then you simply add leather seats to make it feel like a premium product, but an SUV is a lot more complex. The theory is a blend of urban city clicker and off road explorer with all the creature comforts one could ask for . So Bluetooth, power electric seats, climate control, sat nav & sun roof. The list continues.

When you have a pick-up, you are not an IT engineer from Vodacom. You are a frontiersman who likes his beer cold, his springbok raw and his music hill billy. An SUV on the other hand is a different story and the new Chevrolet Captiva is in a class of it’s own.
Without further ado, I arranged with Chevrolet to borrow one of its new Captiva models. It arrived sporting 19 inch alloys, skirting trim, chrome roll over bars and leather interior. And it lasted three days before I had to top it up, so fuel economy – not so much. Something to note: This is a V6 and if treated as such the R440 000 range topper is easier to digest.
Where do we start? The ride is more comfortable than the Nissan Quashqai 2 . The performance is spectacular and the space in the back is far from a joke. And it’s all very well pointing at the undeniably large boot. That’s the beauty of the Chev Captiva, it doesn’t look out of place in any situation, whether you are wearing jeans and a T Shirt or a suit and tie – it’s got charisma, stance and energy. And no matter what kind of music you enjoy – hippie hop, Gregorian chants or the karaoke version of umshini wam – the performance sound system will play it flawlessly.
There’s one problem. In it’s last budget, South Africa decided that too many people were using tax-deductible vans and pick-ups as family cars at the weekend. And as a result, those that do will be clobbered.
As a tax-avoidance scheme, then, the SUV days are OVER, which means it must be judged as a vehicle. And I have to say it’s one of the best I’ve ever driven.