The first-generation Chevrolet Captiva offered buyers a lot of car for their money. It was a large, seven-seater SUV with powerful diesel engines and decent off-road capability thanks to its four-wheel-drive system. A facelift in 2011 brought revised looks and simplified the engine line-up down to just a single diesel. Two models are available: an entry-level, five-seat, two-wheel-drive version and a high-spec, seven-seat, four-wheel-drive one. Although all Captivas are comfortable and well equipped, they don't lead the class when it comes to efficiency and the range-topping LTZ specification can be quite expensive.
Despite its name, it seemed like the Chevrolet Captiva was merely content as the wallflower of the compact crossover segment. While everyone else boasted head-turning good looks or formidable performance (or both), the Captiva had an available diesel variant and seven seats. Sure, it was enough for a select few to part money for one, but the vast majority of Filipinos passed on it. Well, Chevrolet has finally understood that having a diesel and seven seats maybe good for few, but an updated styling and some spec tweaks are much more important. Enter the 2015 Captiva, a compact crossover that’s now slicker than your average. While it’s not a real fuel miser, at least it handles tidily. Along with the new engine, the 2015 Captiva receives a re-tweaked suspension. Chevy calls it a soft ride suspension, but it feels firmer than the pre-facelifted version. It sharpens the road manners, but the flip side is the ride isn’t as relaxed as it should be for this class. Bumps get easily transmitted into the cabin which isn’t helped by the less than solid feeling body structure. It doesn’t flop or flip through corners, but the overall experience is still very pedestrian. The steering isn’t as quick and feels rather numb, mainly because it still relies on a non-variable ratio hydraulic assist steering, but at least there’s still good grip. Unlike more modern offerings, it doesn’t have stability control to speak of and this causes the front tires to chirp at full throttle. But at least the torque steer is largely controlled.
The Kia Borrego was a body-on-frame sport-utility vehicle, with rear- or four-wheel drive, offered in the U.S. for only the 2009 model year. The Borrego was added to the Kia lineup above the Sorento crossover, and took on more traditional SUV models like the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner, and (from that era) Nissan Pathfinder. Whether you go fro the 276-horsepower, 3.8-liter V-6 engine or 337-hp, 4.6-liter V-8, you'll end up with a Borrego with plenty of power on reserve. V-6 models got a five-speed automatic, while V-8s added a gear. The Borrego did also feature a full-time Torque on Demand 4WD system that served it well either in bad-weather on-road conditions or tougher off-road environs. And towing was a strong point; it could tow up to 7,500 pounds when properly equipped.
The Kia Mohave, marketed in North America as the Kia Borrego, is a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) manufactured by the South Korean-based Kia Motors. The Borrego uses body-on-frame construction, with available adjustable air-suspension, hill-descent control and a high- and low-range automatic transmission. The Borrego has three standard rows of seats in the US. The Borrego will be fitted with either the 3.0 L VGT diesel V6 (in 2010), second-generation Lambda II 3.8 L V6 producing 276 horsepower (206 kW) or the recently developed 4.6 L V8 Hyundai Tau engine. The Tau V8 will be tuned to give less power but more torque than in the Hyundai Genesis sedan, and creates 361 horsepower (269 kW). The V8 has a towing capacity of 7,500 lb (3,400 kg), and the V6 is able to tow 5,000 lb (2,300 kg). It has a navigation system available as an option.
