It’s been a decade since Holden had a body-on-frame 4x4 wagon in its product line-up, Robert Barry sampled the new Colorado on-road and off-road recently in Melbourne. Ten years is a long time between drinks, and when the last of the 4WD Holden Jackaroo and Monterey wagons rolled off the dealers’ yards in 2003, no-one at GM could have foreseen the explosion in SUV sales almost a decade later.
Holden is now running very hard to plug the model gaps in its SUV offer, and the “tough truck” Colorado 7, which was designed in Brazil for international markets, will be joined later this year by the compact Korean-built Holden Trax SUV, and there will be more models in the pipeline to follow.
All New Zealand bound Colorado 7 models have a 5-star NCap safety rating, and are sourced from GM Thailand, where they are built in the same Rayong factory as the Colorado Ute.
The new Colorado 7 ventures into popular territory currently occupied by other ute-based wagons such as the Nissan Pathfinder, which is heavily related to the Navara, and the Mitsubishi Challenger which is all-Triton underneath. Both these tough trucks have been around for a while now, which gives the freshly-minted Holden a competitive advantage as the new boy on the block.
Two grades of trim are on offer, the Colorado 7 LT with 16-inch alloy wheels and cloth upholstery at $62,900, and the Colorado 7 LTZ with 18-inch alloy wheels and leather upholstery at $66,900. Hill descent control, rear park assistance, Bluetooth connectivity, and a reversing camera are standard on both models as is a six-speed automatic transmission. The towing capacity with a braked trailer is 3 tons.
Interestingly, the difference in alloy wheel size correlates to a difference in minimum ground clearance. Holden quotes the LT at 219mm of ground clearance while the LTZ said to have 231mm of ground clearance! Both have a 30 degree approach angle, a 22 degree departure angle and a 22 degree ramp break-over angle.
All Colorado 7 models are equipped with the same four-cylinder 132kW/470Nm Duramax 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine as the Ute, but it feels and sounds a great deal quieter and more refined in this application. More use of sound insulation, I wonder, and possibility better engine mounts?
Although it’s clearly based on the Colorado utility, the chassis of the new 7 has been engineered independently with a bias towards passenger comfort. Up front is an independent double wishbone suspension while at the rear there is a five-link live axle suspension setup.
Inside the cabin the Colorado 7 offers a flexible seven-seat layout, with as many as 30 storage spaces located throughout. The dashboard set up is very similar to the Colorado Ute but has a nicer tactile and quality feel to it, and we found the electrically adjustable leather seats in the LTZ are firm but comfortable for long journeys on- road and off-road. No seat heaters though – a minor minus point.
For maximum flexibility the Colorado 7’s second row has 60/40 split folding seats which can be stowed in a forward tumble motion with a single latch in the seat back. The second row seat backs also recline by up to six degrees, while the third row has a 50/50 split configuration. Both rows fold to create a flat load space.
There’s a 235-litre rear cargo area with the third row in use, which increases to 878 litres with the third row folded into the floor. Additional storage is available with the second row tumbled (1,780-litres) and folded (1,830-litres).
Passengers in the second and third rows benefit from roof-mounted air-conditioning controls with four air vents, a nice touch which allows them to choose a temperature suited to their needs, rather than being controlled from up front by the driver and front seat occupant.
Driving impressions.
After the introduction of the Colorado ute elicited a lukewarm response from some media in terms of its quality and overall drive train performance, I was curious to see if the Colorado 7 would be tarred with the same brush.
I’m pleased to say that it’s a great deal better than the ute and I was quietly and pleasantly surprised by the refinement and the capability of this vehicle, not to mention the specification, which really does provide value for money in this segment.
On the tarmac at low and higher speeds the cabin of the Colorado 7 is noticeably quieter to travel in than the Colorado ute on all types of road surfaces, and the levels of noise, harshness and vibration from the engine and suspension are noticeably improved over the Pickup, too.
The ride quality and handling of the 7 are also more car-like than the ute’s, but occasionally over corrugations and bumps, a mild pitching from the rear suspension still subtly reminds you that this is a tough truck and not a large all-wheel-drive crossover such as the Ford Territory or Mazda CX-9.
From urban Melbourne the media party headed northeast to the Toolangi State Forest for a brief off-road excursion to test out the low range gearbox and the hill descent control systems.
Recent rain had turned the normally dry and sandy forestry roads into a slippery challenge, particularly on one steep incline, where mud and rocks almost defeated one driver who had managed to gum up his road tyres with muck and debris.
As we were the second to last vehicle to cross this particular incline, I selected low ratio second gear and squeezed the accelerator gently. The Colorado 7 responded perfectly and we bounced steadily over the rocky muddy patches and up to the crest of the hill without any drama.
Though the off-road drive was short, it provided enough difficult terrain and fording conditions to suggest that the Colorado 7 is equally capable off the beaten track as its ute sibling.
Where the more luxury-orientated Colorado 7 will score more Brownie points over the workaday Colorado ute for private and fleet buyers, will be its ability to carry seven passengers in comfort or five occupants and a considerable amount of luggage with greater ease and efficiency.
.
Prices:
Holden Colorado 7 LT $62,900
Holden Colorado 7 LTZ $66,900
