Holden Colorado LSX 2019 Review

It might shock you to learn that car companies sometimes make a big deal about something that isn’t. No, on second thoughts, that probably doesn’t shock you.

Which brings us to the Holden Colorado ute, that trusty workhorse of the range shouldering the burden for the company when it comes to sales.

In a market that’s trending down, the Holden Colorado is going up and Holden wants it to keep on motoring past the Mitsubishi Triton into third place in the ute sales race.

To that end Holden’s launched what it calls the MY20 (or model year 2020) Colorado. Okay, we’re only in June, but such are the ways of car company marketing.

Which, to be blunt, is what the MY20 Colorado is all about.

The ‘big’ deal here is a bit of a model line readjustment.

A bunch of 4x2 manual models have been dumped. In addition, the fleet-oriented LT 4x4 dual-cab pick-up has been consigned to order-only status, its place being taken by the Holden Colorado LSX. Previously a limited edition, it has a private buyer skew and a sub-$50,000 price tag before on-road costs.

Holden’s also rolled out a model called the Colorado LTZ+, which is aimed specifically at the novated leasing user-chooser market. To do that it’s had to re-rate the LTZ+ below 1000kg payload. Yes, cut capacity, go figure. It has added in a standard towbar though.

Apart from that, the flagship Z71 gets a bit of extra gear in the MY20 makeover, as does the LTZ. Meanwhile, a new group of accessory packs launched in May offer dress-up options for your new Colorado – was well as price rebates.

Being a bit of a dress-up kit of the entry-level model LS, the Holden Colorado LSX includes 18-inch grey metallic wheels, a gloss black front grille, an extended black sports bar, black fender flares, a soft tonneau cover, a rear Colorado decal, a tailgate lock and a digital (DAB) radio.

That comes on top of seven airbags, a reversing camera and rear park assist, hill start assist and hill descent control, trailer sway control and ISOFIX child restraint anchor points.

But it does miss out on a lot of safety gear applied to LTZ and Z71, including forward collision alert, lane departure warning and tyre pressure monitoring.

No Colorado gets autonomous emergency braking, which is now seeping into other ute brands. The Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Mercedes-Benz X-class and SsangYong Musso all have it and the Toyota HiLux is expected to add it soon.

Holden talks about its five-star ANCAP rating, but that’s a 2016 score and without AEB there’s no way that could be achieved today.

Colorado LSX comfort equipment includes air-conditioning (not climate control), power windows that can be remotely activated, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 7.0-inch touchscreen, cloth seat trim and for all you hose-out fans, a vinyl floor covering.

Pricing is $46,990 for the six-speed manual and $49,190 for the six-speed auto. That lines it up against the Ford Ranger XL and XLS, the GLS and GLS Premium Mitsubishi Triton and Toyota HiLux SR – among many others

The warranty is five-years/unlimited kilometres and service intervals are 12,000km or 12 months. According to Holden’s pricing calculator, five services will cost you $2135.

So nothing changes. Literally nothing. And that’s no bad thing, because the current Holden Colorado is a pretty decent, even if it took a couple of cracks at the current generation to get it there.

If you do click on the link and go back and read that story you’ll notice all the Holden people referring to the Colorado as a truck. But these days they’re all back to good old ute. Market research dontcha know…

Whatever you call it, the Holden Colorado comes with a meaty 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine that produces 147kW in either manual or auto guise, 440Nm as a manual and 500Nm as an auto.

The 4x4 system is part time with dual range, but varies from the ute norm by fitting a helical limited slip diff rather than locker to the rear axle. Holden argues it’s an advantage for all bar the most gnarly of driving situations.

The front suspension is double wishbones and coil springs, the rear-end leaf springs. Brakes are a disc/drum combination.

Colorado LSX key measures are a 2110kg (man)/2103kg (auto) kerb weight, 1040kg (man)/1047kg (auto) payload, a 3500kg braked towing capacity, a 3150kg gross vehicle mass and 6000kg gross combined mass. Tray length is 1484mm and width at its narrowest point 1122mm, which means it can’t fit a standard Aussie 1165mm x 1165mm pallet.

It seems every time the Holden Colorado rolls out for a press drive a drought breaks. On that basis, farmers should be queuing up to buy them.

This time round we were based at the idyllic Victorian country town of Creswick. Idyllic quickly became sodden after we arrived, which made the off-road section of our drive slippery and muddy.

But the Colorado LSX coped with all challenges thrown at it. The lack of a locking diff didn’t prove an issue, although we weren’t testing it out that hard.

On the road the Holden Colorado LSX was – by ute standards – comfortable, reasonably quiet and quite strong in its performance. It does take a little while to respond from tip-in throttle, but that’s turbo lag for you.

Handling is solid, the limited-slip differential undoubtedly plays a role in keeping the rear-end under control in those slimy conditions. Steering too is pretty precise by the vague standards of utes.

One of the Colorado’s strongest assets is its spacious rear seat. It’s one of the best in the class and adults can comfortably sit back here.

Presentation of the dash area is attractive, but there’s no reach adjustment on the steering wheel and storage areas could be more generous.

If you want to burrow in-depth into Colorado and check out how it compares to its rivals then head to our in-depth 2019 ute shoot-out here. Everything you could want to know is there.

And to see how the Holden Colorado fares in a completely different shoot-out; on a dirt version of Mount Panorama with Bathurst 1000 champion Luke Youlden driving go here. It may not help you decide if you want to buy a Colorado, but it’s certainly good fun.

So, no, the Holden’s update to the Colorado and the introduction of the LSX isn’t the biggest deal of 2019. But for Holden it fulfills the purpose of keeping you – and me for that matter – thinking about it. In a congested and crazily competitive ute/pick-up/trucksegment that’s important.

But something significant like the introduction of AEB would have made this exercise far more worthy. Hopefully next year.

How much does the Holden Colorado LSX cost:
Price: $49,190 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder
Output: 147kW/500Nm (auto)
Transmission: Six-speed manual; six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.7L/100km (ADR Combined, manual); 15.3L/100km (ADR Combined, automatic)
CO2: 230g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2016)