Colorado7: Holden's big SUV debuts at Dubai

Holden is poised to tackle Toyota Australia’s 4WD heartland with a modern day Jackaroo. The Chevrolet Trailblazer concept unveiled at the Dubai motor show overnight will be sold in Australia as the Colorado7 from early 2013 priced from around $45,000.

The seven-seater 4WD will fill the void Holden left a decade ago with the departure of the Jackaroo – and give General Motors a direct rival to popular vehicles such as the Nissan Pathfinder, Mitsubishi Challenger and an expected wagon version of Ford's new Ranger.

As is the case with its three main rivals that share their underpinnings with a ute (Navara and Triton) the all-new Colorado7 shares much of its underpinnings with the next generation Colorado pick-up.

But the Colorado7 has a shorter wheelbase than the Colorado ute and, as with its peers, gains car-like multi-link rear suspension instead of the leaf spring rear end favoured by utilities.

The arrival of the Colorado7 will give Holden a much needed heavy hauler. The Captiva7 SUV has a meagre towing capacity of just 1700kg -- the weakest in the class -- but the Colorado7 has a towing capacity of 3000kg.

The Colorado twins were the result of a $US2 billion investment over five years. Vehicles destined for Australia will be made in General Motors’ Thailand factory, but the models will also eventually be made in Brazil and Russia for other markets.

Brazil was the design and engineering development centre for the Colorado range but General Motors did an Australian sign-off drive over three days last month.

The Ford Ranger and its imminent seven-seater sibling was developed in Australia over the past five years.

The Colorado7 is due in Australian showrooms about one year after the pick-up, which is scheduled to arrive in April 2012 pending the recovery from the interruption to production caused by severe Thailand floods.

At the unveiling in Dubai, General Motors claimed the Colorado7 will have class-leading space in the second- and third-row seats.

General Motors is yet to announce all engine options apart from a 2.8 turbodiesel, but an executive told Motoring.com.au that at least one variant – if not all – would have a 4WD system that could be driven on sealed roads. Most ute-based 4WD systems can only be driven on loose surfaces.

“We chose Dubai for the world debut because this is a fierce SUV market and we plan to win,” said Tim Lee, the president of General Motors Internationa Operations.

“This [Colorado 7] represents our latest play when it comes to a tough body-on-frame 4x4 that can tow anything and go anywhere. It will be our toughest yet most refined SUV yet.”

The chief engineer for the vehicle, Brad Merkel, said both vehicles would earn a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating when equipped with the full complement of six airbags and stability control.

“The Trailblazer [Colrado 7] is five-star [safety] right out of the shute,” said Merkel, adding that was according to the newer, stricter protocol.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site