As modern as it may still look on the outside, after seven years in the market, the five-seater Opel / Vauxhall Antara compact SUV (sold as the Saturn Vue Mk2 before GM shut down the brand in 2010) is showing its age and is in need for a replacement.
The same applies to its more conservatively styled seven-seater Chevrolet sibling, the Captiva, and of course, Holden Australia’s versions of the two models, the Captiva 5 (Antara) and 7.
The development for the successors to the Captiva and Antara has begun in Europe, and will no doubt be sped up after GM’s recent decision to invest €4 billion (US$5.25 billion) over the course of the next four years.
This new set of spyshots offers us our first look at a very early test mule that is used to develop the platform for the two SUVs, hidden under the shortened body of the Chevrolet Orlando minivan. A photo of the car’s undercarriage reveals the 4×4 system, which is not available on the Orlando.
Named internally D2XX, the next Captiva and Antara’s platform is a derivative of the architecture that will be used on the all-new 2015 Chevrolet Cruze and other compact models from GM. A new generation of smaller displacement and turbocharged petrol and diesel engines will provide power for the two SUVs.
Needless to explain, there’s nothing to say about the looks of the Antara and Captiva since this is a test mule, but as is often the case, both Opel and Chevrolet are likely to preview the designs of their respective models with concepts in the very near future.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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