CHEVROLET is reaching out to a newer and more affluent group of customers in Singapore with the seven-seat Captiva sport utility vehicle (SUV), according to the General Motors-owned car maker.

'Those who are buying it may be driving European cars like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, or mid-sized Japanese sedans and Japanese five-seater SUVs,' said a GM executive. 'They say they like the Captiva for its European handling and value for money.'

The 2.4-litre Captiva was introduced here in March and GM says an average of 20 units are sold each month through its two dealers.

The Chevrolet marque was launched in Singapore in September 2003 after GM took over Daewoo of South Korea. Although it quickly entered into the list of top 10 most popular makes here, the mainstream brand is usually perceived to be a lower-end car with a small engine size. Until now, that is.

'The Captiva has a wider market because it is a global product,' explains John Thomson, director of GM Asean sales and marketing. He is also Chevrolet's vice-president of sales, marketing and after-sales and based in Thailand, where the Captiva will be made.

'It is a very important product,' he says in a recent interview in Bangkok, 'especially in Thailand, where the SUV is replacing the MPV van segment. It looks cooler if you drive an SUV'.

Mr Thomson reveals that the situation is similar to the US market, where the SUV has a tough and rugged image, while the MPV is like 'vanilla ice-cream'.

The Captiva has four-wheel drive, although 'it won't do what the Hummer will do off-road'.

'But 95 per cent of people who buy SUVs don't go off-road,' says Mr Thomson.'Thai buyers like the Captiva because of the better traction in wet and slippery conditions.'

And he says its interior is 'equal to the finest luxury car', with excellent fit and finish, and double stitching on the seats. An important reason for the Captiva's ability to reach a wider market than, say, the Optra sedan, is that the SUV will also be offered in the United States.

'The Optra is sold almost in the entire world except in the US. The US market is huge, about 17 million vehicles a year,' says Mr Thomson.

The Captiva is the first global compact SUV model from GM and it will be offered as the five-seater Saturn Vue in the US. The five-seat version will also be available in the UK and Europe as the Vauxhall Antara and Opel Antara respectively. In Australia, it will be called a Holden Captiva.

For Asia and Europe, the seven-seat variant will bear the Chevy nameplate.

'The Captiva has three rows of seats, with a rear aircon,' says Mr Thomson. And because of its unibody design - as opposed to the body-on-frame construction used by pick-up trucks - 'it has a smoother car-like ride and a quieter cabin'.

In Singapore, the Captiva starts from $94,888 with COE. A premium version for $5,000 extra comes with an electric sunroof, cruise control, rain sensor, side-steps and bigger 18-inch alloy wheels (from 17 inches).

For now, the cars sold here come from South Korea but by the fourth quarter, they will be imported from Thailand after production in the Asean country begins soon.