Holden launches Colorado with Oz accent

Holden has launched its all-new Colorado ahead of the start of official sales this Wednesday (June 13), with extensive input by Holden engineers, four airbags and electronic stability control as standard across the range, a wide range of accessories – most of which are unique to Holden – and a class-leading 3500kg towing capacity on some models being the major highlights.

Backed by what is reported to be the largest advertising budget for any new Holden model ever, the redesigned Colorado is built in Thailand and was designed and engineered in Brazil, but Holden says it played a key role in its development for more than 60 markets globally.

“The design, execution and validation of this vehicle was managed by an international GM team including dedicated Holden engineers, who amassed some two-and-a-half million test kilometres over five continents during the development program,” said GM Holden Executive Director of Engineering, Greg Tyus.

“This truck has well and truly been put to the test so we are in no doubt of Colorado’s hard-working, tough credentials.”

In addition, the new Colorado will be available with no fewer than 38 accessories, more than two-thirds of which were designed, developed and engineered in Australia.

The Colorado accessories line-up includes a snorkel for the 2.8 litre diesel range, steel bull bar, body-coloured hard tonneau covers, alloy sports bar and nudge bar, steel and aluminium trays, a canopy with unique glass areas and a new fully integrated tow bar kit, which will enable 2.8-litre versions of the new ute to tow a hefty 3.5 tonnes.

“Every locally designed accessory has been put through a rigorous testing process to ensure it has the longevity, durability and strength to withstand Australia’s toughest working conditions,” said Holden Accessories Engineer, Keegan Brown.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve carried out numerous computer-aided, laboratory and on-road durability tests to simulate heavy-duty use well beyond the average lifecycle of an LCV accessory. Colorado owners can be confident every accessory is engineered to be a fully integrated part of their car and as tough and hard-wearing as the Colorado it’s fitted to.”

As before, the new Colorado will be available in three body style configurations - Single Cab, Space Cab and the Crew Cab and four model variants – DX, LX, LT and LTZ – powered by 2.5 and 2.8-litre versions of GM’s new Duramax four-cylinder turbodiesel engines.

While the Colorado no longer comes with Holden’s Melbourne-made petrol V6, the 2.8-litre turbodiesel generates 132kW of power and peak torque of 470Nm when matched with a six-speed automatic transmission (440Nm with a five-speed manual). The 2.5-litre offers 110kW and 350Nm and has a maximum towing capacity of 3000kg.

Every Colorado in the range comes with a one-tonne payload and some models are able to carry up to 1.4 tonnes.

The new Colorado cannot come soon enough for Holden, with sales of the outgoing model slumping by almost 65 per cent (4x2, in which it accounts for just 1.1 per cent of the segment) and more than 55 per cent (4x4, 4.1 per cent) so far this year.

However, Holden says the new Colorado has received strong response from potential customers during a rolling national promotional ‘road show’ over the past few months.

“Colorado plays a vital role in our portfolio,” said Holden Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, John Elsworth. “It’s traditionally one of our best selling models and extremely important to our brand so this launch couldn’t come quick enough.

“We’ve been thrilled with the response we received during our pre-sell campaign. Thanks to its bold design, gutsy diesel engine range, confident handling, overall refinement and class-leading 3.5-tonne towing capacity on the 2.8 litre models, it’s generated genuine excitement across our dealer network and in the marketplace.”

Like its predecessor, the new Colorado is built at GM’s Rayong assembly plant in Thailand, while its new Duramax diesel engines are made exclusively at GM’s Thailand engine operations, which opened alongside the vehicle plant in September last year.

Holden released pricing for the new diesel-only Colorado in April, with prices starting at $26,990 for the DX two-wheel drive single-cab-chassis with a 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine and five-speed manual gearbox. The 2.8-litre turbodiesel LTZ 4WD Crew Cab with six-speed auto is the most expensive model, at $51,990.

Standard features across the range include electronic stability control (ESC), an anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), twin front airbags, twin full-length side curtain airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners with load limiters and front seatbelt height adjusters.

Watch this space for our full launch review.

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