Holden Colorado 2013 review

With up to 26 variants, the new Holden Colorado ute comes in three body styles – three-seat Single Cab, Space Cab with rear access doors and two jump seats and the Crew Cab – the last body aimed at providing comfort that’s almost car-like.

Value

Prices start at $26,990 for the entry-level DX two-wheel drive, with most models falling in the range $44,000 to $55,000.

Colorado owners can personalise their vehicles with more than 38 individual accessories, two-thirds of which have been developed in Australia, or choose from four accessory packs available from Holden dealers.

The list includes a snorkel for the 2.8-litre diesel engine, a steel bullbar , body-coloured hard tonneau covers, alloy sports bar and nudge bar, steel and aluminium trays and canopy with unique glass areas.

Holden believes a new fully-integrated tow bar kit for the class-leading 3.5-tonne towing capacity on the 2.8-litre range will prove popular with buyers.

Made by General Motors in Thailand, the new Holden Colorado comes with a three-year 100,000 kilometre factory warranty and up to four servicing bills capped at $295 each.

Technology

The four Colorado models, DX, LX, LT and LTZ, use one of two all-new Duramax four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engines of 2.5-litre or 2.8-litre capacity. These can be mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel generates 132 kW of power and maximum 470 Nm of torque when teamed with the six-speed auto, and a maximum 440 Nm of torque when behind the five-speed manual transmission.

Vehicles with the 2.8-litre motor stump up a class-leading towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes, while the 2.5 litre unit, rated at 110 kW and 350 Nm, is capable of pulling three tonnes.

The 2.8-litre Colorado, when paired with an optional six-speed automatic transmission, delivers 10 per cent more power and 40 per cent more torque than the outgoing 3.0-litre diesel powertrain it replaces.

It also has fuel consumption of 7.8 litres per 100 kilometres, while the mid-range LX 4x2 Crew Cab Pick Up with five-speed manual transmission, spews out 218 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

Holden has measured the entry-level DX 2.5-litre (4x2 only) fuel consumption at 7.9 litres per 100 kilometres, while producing 212 grams of CO2. The top-of-the-range LTZ 4x4 Crew Cab Pick Up with six-speed automatic transmission achieves 9.1 litres per 100 kilometres and 243 grams of CO2.

A new fully-integrated tow-bar kit supports Colorado’s class-leading 3.5 tonne towing capacity on the 2.8-litre range. Every Colorado is rated for a one-tonne payload, with some models able to carry up to 1.4 tonnes.

Design

General Motors’ design studio in Brazil was the focus of exterior and interior design, the team tasked with coming up with features that would fit in with multiple markets around the world.

Taking in feedback from global design clinics, including in Australia, it came up with 26 Colorado packaging combinations to complement Colorado’s workhorse character. State-of-the-art features in the Colorado LTZ are projector headlamps and LED tail lights.

Inside, the Holden Colorado comfort is in proportion to the price paid with cheaper versions not up to keeping occupants too relaxed on long journeys. Instruments and controls are old style and set in swathes of plastic requiring minimum maintenance.

Holden’s Kirsty Lindsay was one of a team tasked with developing attractive interior trim designed to withstand the rigours of a working vehicle.

Safety

Active and passive safety features cover the whole Colorado range, with Electronic Stability Control, ABS Anti-lock Braking System with Electronic Brake Force Distribution. There are front airbags for driver and passenger, full-length curtain airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners with load limiters, front seatbelt sash height adjustment and three rear seat child anchor points on Crew Cab models.

Driving

We did tow testing on a range of country roads with different trailers carting everything from a small road roller to electric elevated platform. The trailer with electric brakes pulled by Colorados with auto transmissions proved the smoothest operators; manual vehicles with brake over-riders provided the odd stutter along the way.

Absent in Colorado is hill descent control. No sweat. As the media found out on a testing trek into the bush during the introduction of the new model – flick the automatic shift lever into manual mode, select first or even second gear and the vehicle cruises down steep inclines at a constant crawl.