The production Antara is a four-door, five-passenger crossover built on the corporate Theta platform, which also underpins the Chevrolet Equinox and the current Vue. Sister models to the Antara in other global markets include the recently unveiled Chevrolet Captiva and the Daewoo Winstorm.

The Antara will make its public debut this fall at the Paris Motor Show and will go on sale in Europe shortly after that, priced from around $34,000. Features include intelligent active four-wheel drive with electrohydraulic differential and stability control.

In Europe, Opel will market the Antara with a range of gas and diesel engines. When the vehicle heads to North America in late 2007, the engine lineup is expected to include a 140-horsepower DOHC 2.4-liter four-cylinder and a 224-hp DOHC 3.2-liter V6.

Unlike the Antara, which will be assembled in Korea by GM-Daewoo, the new Vue is expected to be built in Mexico.

What this means to you: Saturn’s new Vue will be truly global — engineered in Korea, built in Mexico and marketed in Germany.

The Opel Antara is a mid-size crossover SUV, which is based on the GM Theta platform. It is closely related to the Daewoo Winstorm (made in Korea by GM Daewoo, also sold as the Chevrolet Captiva), and shares the engine lineup with it, but has a different exterior and interior, as well as different exterior dimensions. The Antara is scheduled to be launched in the summer of 2007. In the UK, the model will be sold as Vauxhall Antara.

In Australia, this will be the top model of the Captiva lineup of the Holden brand, called Captiva MaXX. In the United States and Canada, the vehicle is known as the second generation Saturn VUE. In the Middle East, the vehicle is sold as the GMC Terrain[1]. In Mexico, it will be sold as the Chevrolet Captiva (unrealted to the European market version).

There is a new engine for the 2008 Opel Antara: a new 127 hp entry-level diesel engine. The 2008 Opel Antara Edition and Cosmo now come with Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) as standard and the 3.2 V6 Antara now comes with Automatic Leveling System (ALS) as standard.

The Antara was previously available with three engines: one 2.4-liter, 103 kW/140 hp, four-cylinder gasoline unit, one 2.0-liter 110 kW/150 hp common-rail turbo-diesel – the customers’ clear favorite – and one 3.2-liter V6 gasoline engine with 167 kW/227 hp, the top engine in the range. Opel now offers the 2.0 CDTI for the Antara and Antara Edition in a second, especially
economical variant with 93 kW/127 hp. Combined with the standard five-speed manual transmission, the efficient diesel unit with diesel particulate filter gives the elegant crossover an acceleration time of twelve seconds from zero to 100 km/h, and a top speed of 174 km/h.

To make the Antara even more attractive, Opel also enhanced its equipment: the Edition and Cosmo variants now both come with Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) as standard. This innovative system ensures that dangerous swinging when towing a trailer (due to side wind or a sudden turning)
is recognized quickly and reduced by electronic intervention. The Antara Edition now boasts a non-slip leather steering wheel and gear shift knob. The top Cosmo variant has heavily tinted heat-absorbing glazing in the rear. The Antara 3.2 V6 now comes with Automatic Leveling System (ALS) as standard, and the flat-folding front passenger seat is now a feature of the Edition and Cosmo packages.

The integrated carrier system Flex-Fix, familiar from the Corsa, is now also available for the Antara, making the Opel crossover even more versatile. The highly practical carrier system 2008 Opel Antara
stows away almost invisibly into the rear bumper. Just like other intelligent Opel systems such as Flex7 or FlexSpace, Flex-Fix also provides complete on-board functionality. So no parts need to be mounted or dismounted, and nothing need be stored away.

The integrated rear carrier can be extended easily and carry up to two bicycles or a specially designed transport box, which allows for an extra payload of up to 25 kilograms. The box has a capacity of 160 liters, is made from robust, watertight plastic and mounted with an integrated lock. The transport box is black ex works, but can be color-keyed by an Opel Service Partner.

engine lineup with it, but has a different exterior and interior, as well as different exterior dimensions. The Antara is scheduled to be launched in the summer of 2007. In the UK, the model will be sold as Vauxhall Antara. In Australia, this will be the top model of the Captiva lineup of the Holden brand, called Captiva MaXX. In the United States and Canada, the vehicle is known as the second generation Saturn VUE.

Opel Antara GTC concept

The Antara was first previewed by the three-door Opel Antara GTC (”Gran Turismo Crossover”) concept car, presented in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The Antara GTC was based on the Chevrolet T2X 5-seater, but has no rear hinged doors and features different styling. A similar 2-door concept was later displayed at the New York International Auto Show as the Saturn PreVue. The production Antara, however, will be a longer, 4-door 7-seater vehicle very similar to the Chevrolet S3X and its derivatives Winstorm and Captiva. Similarily, the 2008 Saturn VUE is heavily based on the concept, but will only be available as a longer 4-door vehicle. New vehicle pricing around 35000$.

2.0 L common rail turbodiesel I4, 150 hp (112 kW) (developed with VM Motori) – 5-speed manual
2.4 L Ecotec I4, 142 hp (106 kW) (from Holden) – 5-speed manual
3.2 L Alloytec V6, 225 hp (168 kW) (from Holden) – ActiveSelect automatic

A special version of the Antara has competed in the 2007 Dakar Rally, and it finished 35th place out of the 190 competitors. The race car was built by the private Hungarian “Szalay Dakar Team”. The base of the car is one of the first production models and it is powered by a 395 hp (295KW) engine. Building the race car took only 2 months due to the lack of time. Some major modifications are planned for 2007.