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NEWS
Holden Trax on sale from September
Tiny SUV priced from below $24k, comes equipped with Mylink and Bluetooth audioHolden has announced pricing and specifications for its latest model, the Trax, a small SUV aimed at capturing market share in the burgeoning segment.
Sales in the segment for the year to date fall just short of 43,000 units, according to VFACTS. That leaves plenty of pie for the new Holden ahead of the launch of Renault's Captur and Ford's EcoSport. In the segment the Trax will be targeting established rivals such as the Hyundai ix35, Nissan Dualis and the Mitsubishi ASX.
"The SUV segment continues to grow rapidly with small SUV sales growing 20 per cent this year," explained Philip Brook, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing at Holden, as quoted in a press release.
"Trax offers a great package at an exceptional price point and we believe it will pose an immediate challenge to established models when it arrives in Holden dealerships in September. None of the best-selling vehicles in this segment currently offer the same features for this price.
Built at Bupyeong in South Korea, but with Australian engineers calibrating drivetrain, steering and suspension for the local market, NZ, South Africa and Russia, the Trax will be sold through Holden dealers from next month, starting at $23,490 for the Trax LS, and rising to $27,990 for the Trax LTZ.
Power is produced by the Cruze's 1.8-litre DOHC petrol four-cylinder, which drives to the front wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. The manual Trax is rated at combined-cycle fuel consumption of 7.0L/100km and the base-grade Trax LS can be optioned (for an all-up price of $25,690) with a six-speed automatic transmission, which is standard for the Trax LTZ. Fuel consumption for the auto Trax is 7.6L/100km. Engine output peaks at 103kW and 175Nm.
Holden's local development team has worked on the Trax project for two years and, according to Holden has undertaken the drivetrain calibration for over 20 different markets, including Australia. GM entrusted Holden engineering staff with this responsibility following positive results out of global programs for Camaro, Captiva, Cruze, Barina and Malibu.
"We've had a significant amount of input into the way Trax is tuned for Australia so we set out to reward the driver with a secure and confident handling feel," said Holden Vehicle Dynamics Specialist Engineer, Michael Barber.
"Trax's damper tuning provides good body control and compliance for high levels of handling stability and ride quality even on rough roads. We've also tuned the rear axle bushes to reduce interior noise, which is especially important on some of Australia's notorious coarse chip bitumen surfaces.
"Trax's Electric Power Steering has also been tuned by Holden to provide the best possible feel and connection between driver and tyres with additional focus on gravel road response and communication. Light steering efforts also make Trax easy to drive and park around town."
The car's compact dimensions also ease parking concerns. At 4278mm long (on a 2555mm wheelbase) and 1776mm wide, the Trax is externally smaller in every direction than Nissan's Dualis, but still provides 908mm of rear-seat legroom and 356 litres of luggage capacity. At the front the Trax is suspended by MacPherson struts, complemented by a torsion beam at the rear. Braking is handled by front ventilated discs and rear drums.
Standard equipment across both grades will include alloy wheels, cruise control, auto-on/off headlights, a seven-inch infotainment touch screen, MyLink, reversing camera, rear parking sensors and Bluetooth connectivity with audio streaming. The wheels fitted to the Trax LS measure 16 inches in diameter (with 205/70 R16 tyres), but those fitted to the LTZ variant are 18-inch rims shod with 215/55 R18 tyres.
Additionally, both grades come with air conditioning and a leather-bound steering wheel with remote audio controls. For the Trax LS, the seats are trimmed in Jet Black cloth. The audio system also integrates USB/iPod ports for Bluetooth-compatible phones and SIRI eyes-free. Other apps MyLink will support are: Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio and BringGo navigation. Holden warns that not all apps will work in all Trax variants.
Standard features the Trax LTZ boasts include heated front sports seats, fog lights, storage tray under the passenger seat and a trip computer.
Safety equipment across the range consists of six airbags, stability/traction control, Hill Start Assist, Descent Control system, break-away brake pedal and ISOFIX child safety seat anchorage. The vehicle is constructed for optimal strength and stiffness, with 65 per cent of the structure formed from high-strength steel. Trax has been tested by Euro NCAP for crash safety and was rated at the full five-star score.
The exterior colour selection comprises: Summit White, Velvet Red, Snowflake Pearl metallic, Carbon Flash metallic, Boracay Blue metallic, Orange Rock metallic, Nitrate metallic and Satin Steel Grey metallic. Specifying one of the premium paint colours will add $550 to the overall purchase price of the Trax.
Holden is capping the price of Trax servicing at $185 for each of the four scheduled services over the first three years or 60,000km, whichever comes first.
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Written byKen Gratton
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