Owning an SUV or 4x4 in the current climate is a tricky thing. I've had more than one look since I picked up the Chevrolet Captiva.
The looks would be warranted if I'd said I like nothing better at the weekend than to kill cats and wear their skins. But no. All I said was I was test driving an SUV. Nothing more, nothing less. No cat killing... not even maiming.
Me... I'm from the other side of the fence. I know they guzzle gas quicker than Desperate Dan eating cow pies at an all you can eat restaurant, but for many people, SUVs are a necessity and highly useful.
Take my own situation. Test driving the Captiva couldn’t have come at a better time. The afternoon after borrowing it, I was due to pick someone up at the hospital who had just had trigger point injections. Getting into a normal car may be simple for those of us without hip or back problems, but easing into the Captiva was a relative breeze for the injured party in comparison to lowering down into an average sized car.
And there’s no denying this is a family car at heart. It’s easy to see why – I had the easiest few days driving about with my daughter. Plenty of room for the baby’s car seat. The boot boasts a huge amount of room that easily took a pram, a good shop at Sainsbury's and still had room to fit a small piece of furniture, had I so wished.
There are three models in the Captiva range - a 2.0 Turbo Diesel, 2.0 Turbo Diesel Auto and a 2.4 Petrol. Combined MPG ranges from 37.1 for the former to 31.7 for the latter. For a vehicle of that size it’s pretty impressive. Of course, those are the brochure figures, so it’s probably sensible to expect to come in slightly under that.
The Captiva comes in a five or seven-seat model. Unlike some SUVs in its class - the two additional seats, which essentially removes the availability of a boot, can be used by adults and isn’t limited to anyone roughly the size of an Oompa Loompa.
During the test drive, I didn’t come across any muddy banks, or slam through any rivers. But I was pleased to see that the all-wheel drive system is ‘on demand’. So you’re not confronted with controls and buttons to do what I'm not sure anyone without a degree in rocket science could do.
I doubt the interior will win any prizes for imagination, but what it lacks in creativity, is more than made up for by the many storage areas.
For a family car, such places are a godsend. And everywhere you look, you'll find somewhere useful for storage.
You'll also find that unlike a lot of new vehicles, there is actually somewhere to put your mobile phone. The centre stack houses a box with non-slip lining which was big enough even to take my Nokia E61, a phone more like a brick than a mobile.
All-wheel drive and ESP are standard on the LS models and all models come with Level Ride suspension as well as side and curtain airbags and a split tailgate.
The mid-range LT models qualify for air-con, a glove box cooler, electrochromic rear-view mirror, MP3 and 17-inch alloys.
It’s the first time I've taken an SUV out on the road for more than a few hours. And I liked it.
This isn't a car for those who want to drive through a quarry and splash through the nearest river.
And it's with this in mind that I think Chevrolet has hit its market perfectly. There’s nothing over the top inside. No excessive luxuries.
It’s aimed squarely at the family, and those who are more interested in comfort, space, safety and storage than shiny dash boards and the like.

You can test drive the Captiva or any other model of the Chevrolet range at SERE Ltd, Boucher Road, Belfast. Telephone 02890205100 or Website: www.seremotors.com