Holden Captiva 2013 News

Manufacturers including Hyundai, Holden, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroen and Audi have all issued safety recalls for various models, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Holden has issued a safety recall on the diesel CG Captiva for a production line fault that has seen vehicles built with their fuel feed hose touching the airconditioning suction pipe. The carmaker says that over time the fuel hose could rub against the pipe, creating a hole and the risk of a fuel leak that could catch fire.The recall notice affects 14,230 diesel Captiva 5 and Captiva 7 built February 5 2011 and November 2 2012, powered by the 2.2-litre diesel. The recall is a global one, with the two Captivas built in South Korea and sold in other markets as the Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva respectively.Over the recall period, Holden has sold about 20,000 Captiva 7 and 10,000 Captiva 5 models with both diesel and petrol engines.Holden says there have been some field reports related to the recall in Australia. "There have been four reported cases across Australia of a fuel smell related to the problem, but no fires or accidents," Holden spokesperson Kate Lonsdale told CarsGuide. "This is just a precautionary recall."Lonsdale said the fix would take about an hour. "We just recommend that at their earliest possible convenience owners have their vehicles inspected. The dealers are aware of the recall and will certainly prioritise those vehicles as they're brought in," she said.Holden is contacting customers, who can take their vehicles to their nearest dealer for inspection and replacement of the fuel hose if needed.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

That might sound like a silly answer to a serious question, but it's the best solution for optimum shopping in the back end of 2013. You see, Korea now makes better Japanese cars than the Japanese. And that's a fact.There are some exceptions, and some categories where the Koreans are still getting a foothold, but a Hyundai i30 or a Kia Cerato is a far better choice than a Mitsubishi Lancer, a Kia Sportage makes more sense than a Honda CR-V, and a Hyundai Santa Fe is much better buying than a Toyota Kluger.This Korean tide has been rising for a while, but it's now filled showrooms with quality cars that are backed by industry-leading five-year warranties with capped-price servicing costs. The two Korean juggernauts are also serious about tuning their cars for Australian drivers and roads, which is becoming a serious selling point and also a battlefield for bragging rights between Hyundai and Kia.Even Daewoo, which was absorbed into the Holden empire to provide cut-price cars such as the Barina and Captiva, is now doing a better job as the engineering and design expertise from Fishermans Bend is absorbed deeply into the Korean content on the cars. And don't forget that the Aussie-made Cruze compact, despite its local tweaking and assembly in Adelaide, began its life at the GM Daewoo division in Korea.Without getting into a history lesson, the seismic shift between Japan and Korea comes down to three things. First is the deep-seated rivalry between the two countries, second is the well-lit path to success blazed by Japanese makers including Honda and Toyota, and third is the Global Financial Crisis. How's that?Well, nothing makes a Korean businessman happier than beating a Japanese rival, even though the Japanese were the first Asian companies to achieve success in motoring thanks to cars like the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and the classy machines that followed. These days, the Nissan GT-R is a legend and the Toyota LandCruiser is an icon.So the Koreans assimilated the Japanese business model for cheap, reliable and sensible cars - think of the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Rio - and then found a way to build them with similar quality at a lower price. There was a time when the cabins of Korean cars stank - because of the 'release agent' applied to plastic parts - and the assembly was slipshod and downmarket, but not today. They also have aircon with Japanese efficiency, always a pointer to intelligent engineering in Australian weather.But it's the GFC which has made the biggest difference. While the Japanese brands panicked, cutting costs and stretching the lifetimes of their cars, the Koreans accelerated their development plans, brought new models, and invested in their dealerships in Australia.The results are obvious now as many Japanese cars - we're talking about the Honda Civic and Subaru Impreza - have lost their previous edge, while others - think Mitsubishi Pajero and Subaru WRX - are way overdue for a remake.In the meantime, Hyundai is now plotting a move upmarket with its luxury Genesis models and Kia is setting a global standard for quality styling thanks to its recruiting of design genius Peter Schreyer. Best of all, when you're buying, it's the driveaway pricing that's been a Korean signature since Hyundai blazed that trail in the 1990s to get nervous shoppers over the line.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

The Holden Captiva 5 LTZ comes as standard with 19-inch alloy wheels, leather-appointed trim, eight-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, and automatic wipers.Just as importantly, the Captiva LTZ has a new design of six-speed Gen II automatic transmission replacing the six-speed unit that was introduced in 2011.The new transmission is aimed at reducing fuel consumption and providing very smooth shifts to exactly match driving conditions and Australian drivers’ desires.  This new automatic transmission is installed not only in the five-seat Holden Captiva 5, but also in the Captiva 7 models.Holden Executive Director of Sales and Marketing Philip Brook said the upgrades are aimed at increasing Captiva’s appeal, and pointed out that, “SUV buyer expectations are changing. More and more customers are looking for a richer equipment list and expect their SUV to have all the convenience features normally reserved for more premium models.“The upgrades give us a great opportunity to increase Holden’s presence in the booming SUV market, particularly at the smaller end of the market.”Holden Captiva is built in South Korea by GM Korea and has a lot of Australian design and engineering work included in it. This gives it an advantage over many other SUVs from Asia and Europe as the engineers are intimately aware of Australian driving conditions and the likes, and dislikes, of typical Aussie SUV owners.

So much for the push towards greener cars. In automotive terms Australia is about to become the 51st state of the USA.Australians are moving closer to North Americans in their taste in vehicles. For the first time ever there is now almost an exact 50:50 split between the sales of passenger cars – and utes and SUVs. The same ratio seen for decades in pick-up and SUV-loving USA. Twenty years ago passenger cars accounted for more than 70 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia.Official figures released today confirm January 2013 was the strongest start to a year in Australian automotive history, eclipsing 85,000 deliveries for the first time – and the previous January record set in 2008 before the Global Financial Crisis.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reports 41,957 passenger cars were delivered in January compared to 41,595 utes, vans and SUVs – a slim gap of 362 sales, or the equivalent of just three days of deliveries for the top-selling car, the Mazda3.“The trend towards SUVs and away from classic passenger cars is all to do with their style and versatility and mass-acceptability,” says David Chalke, a cultural change analyst with AustraliaScan. “Everybody’s doing it, there’s now a fear of being left out.”Chalke says SUVs are no longer the heathens of the road thanks to their new levels of fuel-efficiency. “The new ones use comparatively so little fuel most people don’t think they’re driving a 4WD,” he said. “In fact in many cases they’re not. They are often two-wheel-drive with the appearance of a 4WD.”FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says the mining boom is also driving ute and SUV sales. “Part of is the mining boom, part of it is private buyers seeking new levels of flexibility and cars that better suit their needs.”Australia’s three local car makers – Toyota, Holden and Ford – failed to cash-in. January is typically a slow month for sales of locally-made cars but they dropped by 28 per cent to an all-new low.Just 2722 Australian made cars were delivered in January – which means the combined sales of the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Ford Territory, Toyota Camry and Toyota Aurion ranked third -- an unprecedented status. Mazda3 was the top-selling car (3345 sales), followed by the Toyota Corolla (2960), the Toyota Hilux (2747), and the Nissan Navara (2474).The Ford Focus (2364) had its best month ever -- and helped drive Ford to a 33 per cent sales increase – but it outsold the Falcon by three-to-one. The Falcon (778 deliveries) is now selling at the same rate as the Mitsubishi 380 in the year before the factory closed. Ford’s Broadmeadows throughput is topped up by the production of Territory (up 44 per cent) and ute (down 22 per cent), but sales of both models are well down from their peaks.Holden says it has scaled back production of the Commodore (1650 deliveries) ahead of a new model due in showrooms in June. Toyota sold just 557 Camrys and 227 Aurion V6 sedans (down 57 and 77 per cent respectively). The FCAI’s Weber dismissed the weak sales of locally mades cars as “just one bad month, let’ see where it goes”. “We’re going to continue to see more and more market segmentation,” Weber said. “We won’t see just one car reach the massive volumes of years past.”In other highlights:Toyota was down 5 per cent but is set to lead the market for the 11th year in a row;Mazda outsold Holden to be second in the market for the fourth time ever (previous monthly second-placings: April, September and Dec 2012);Nissan is closing-in on Ford, less than 500 sales behind, threatening to push the Blue Oval brand to sixth;Honda had a blinder month, up 141 per cent from a low base – but still well down on its best year;Audi outsold BMW for the fourth January (previous wins were in ’09, ’11, ’12) and the sixth time ever (after previous wins in Feb ’11, Oct ’11) but Mercedes was top luxury brand;Sales of passenger cars fell by 1 per cent in a market that grew 11 per cent driven by surges in utes (up 43 per cent) and SUVs (up 20 per cent);The delivery of 1878 heavy trucks (up 10 per cent) takes January tally to 85,430.Top selling cars in January 2013Mazda3 3345Toyota Corolla 2960Toyota HiLux 2747Nissan Navara 2474Ford Focus 2364Hyundai i30 2006Holden Captiva 2155Mazda2 1665Holden Commodore 1650Holden Cruze 1630Mazda CX5 1625Top selling brands in January 2013Toyota 13,375 down 4.9pcMazda 8912 up 5.1pcHolden 8811 down 2.8pcFord 7721 up 32.3pcNissan 7248 up 35 pcHyundai 6816 up 4.7pcMitsubishi 4449 down 2.6pcVolkswagen 3824 up 13.6pcHonda 3816 up 141pcSubaru 3104 down 3.2pcThis reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling