Not too long ago, my nephew told me his Captiva was experiencing engine overheating problems. He wanted to know whether he should sell the car or keep it. I then thoroughly tested the car for around 1200km and made certain observations which I will detail in this post. There is indeed an overheating problem, but it can be avoided if you follow these points. Please also refer to my earlier article on how to detect and avoid engine seizures.

• The car’s handling is excellent, and the suspension is smooth.
• On the Bangalore highway, when I drove at 140 km/h in 4th gear continuously for 30km, I noticed the temperature gauge increased from the constant point by 1 mm. Seeing this, I eased off to 100km/h, and the temperature came back to normal.
• Upon repeating the experiment, the same problem occurred once again. Because of this observation, I was able to save the engine. Many drivers fail to notice the shift in the temperature gauge and end up damaging the engine.
• Note that I am not saying it is a fault of the driver. There is definitely a problem in the Captiva engine, and it could be any of the following: 

1. The Engine Cooling System is not designed to withstand 150 bhp.
2. Improper design or poor quality of radiator, intercooler, thermostat and radiator fan.

• When I test drove an automatic Captiva, I did not notice this problem because unlike manual gearboxes, automatic gearboxes don’t allow you to drive at 140 km/h in lower gear, so you will be driving at 140 km/h with lower engine rpm.
• Captiva owners who drive only in the city will be unlikely to suffer this problem, and they will be happy with their vehicle. This problem will affect primarily highway drivers who go fast.

On the whole, the vehicle is fine, but because of the above problem, I recommend automatic over manual (unless you are fine with not pushing the car). To all Captiva owners – please keep these points in mind, and don’t think about selling the car because of this problem because you will not get good resale value. Just think of the Captiva as having 120bhp instead of 150bhp, and you will not encounter this overheating problem.