2018 Holden Colorado vs Isuzu D-Max

What's the difference?

The Holden Colorado Z71 Xtreme is a good open-road tourer, and the addition of all the extra gear definitely has plenty of potential customers.

But the cost is pretty high, and I’d personally be tempted by a more affordable Colorado model fitted with a few of the accessories in the brand’s extensive parts catalogue. 

The D-Max was already a solid choice for those interested in a functional family-friendly ute and it seems Isuzu might be justified in banking on the new LS-T’s premium appeal, as well as the range’s safety upgrades, extended service intervals and styling tweaks for even more sales.

You could consider the Z71 Xtreme a response to the Toyota HiLux Rugged X model - it’s an off-road-focused model plastered with genuine accessories, but rather than being assembled at a dedicated local production line, as the Toyota is, Holden gets its dealers to fit the gear to each Z71 ute. It’s available through about 120 of Holden’s 180 or so dealers.

There are a lot of additions, here - almost $20,000 worth, in fact - which helps explain the sizeable asking price for a new Z71 Xtreme. More on that below.

But as, er, eye-catching as the big stickers on the tailgate and hind quarters of the tray are, it mightn’t look quite as monster truckish as some buyers may want.

In terms of functional elements that change the form of the ute, at the front there’s a winch bar with an integrated 10,000 pound (4535-kilogram) winch and 30 metres of synthetic line (which, Holden is eager to point out, the army also uses, rather than steel rope), plus there’s an LED light bar - and the suspension at the front has been upgraded to cope with the extra mass. The uprated springs have been designed to mimic the regular model in terms of the trim of the vehicle, and can be had on any model with frontal protection (bull bar, safari bar, nudge bar or winch bar).

Further visual differentiators include a black grille and a bonnet bulge - we’ll get to what it's covering in a sec.

Other changes include a roof tray kit, fender flares, tubular black side-steps, a heavy-duty steel rear-step and black sports bar (which, unlike those of some competitors, isn’t load rated), a soft tonneau cover and under there you’ll find a vehicle recovery kit, including a rated recovery tongue for the tow pack. 

At the back the Z71 Xtreme includes a towing pack with towbar and wiring (but not electric trailer brakes), plus you get 18-inch wheels with Goodyear All Terrain Wrangler tyres. Shame they aren’t a different design wheel to the cheaper versions in the range…

A bit like a tradie who has worked as hard on the job as he has at the pub, it is made for the rough stuff… but could be prettier.

Nothing has changed on the D-Max’s outside – it looks chunky, solid and purpose-built for adventure – but the LS-T’s interior now has that perforated leather on body-contact areas and soft-touch leatherette elsewhere. Inside the cabin remains functional but it now has a more premium feel.

The interior is identical to before, so just like the Z71 that this model is based on, you get leather seats with heating up front, plus there’s an 8.0-inch touchscreen media system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That system is a cinch to use, and while the overall feel of the cabin is on the cheap side - including the graphics on the screen’s native menus - having phone mirroring lifts the ambience.]

There’s good loose-item storage, including cup holders up front, bottle holders in all the doors, and a spacious second-row seat with a flip-down armrest hiding a pair of cup holders too.

Compared with the likes of the Toyota HiLux, Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton and Mercedes X-Class, the Colorado offers really decent back-seat space.

It’s on par with the Isuzu D-Max and Ford Ranger for leg room and headroom, but can’t match the width on offer in the Volkswagen Amarok.

The dimensions are marginally impacted by the bars front and rear, but not dramatically: the regular Colorado dual-cab measures 5361mm long (on a 3096mm wheelbase), 1872mm wide and 1800mm tall. 

The tray dimensions are unchanged, at 1484mm long, 1534mm wide (1122mm between the arches) and 466mm deep. 

We didn’t have the opportunity to spend very much time in the D-Max this time around but it appears to have retained the previous generation’s easy-to-live-with attributes. Everything is clear to see (the 8.0-inch touchscreen is a good unit), easy to use (big buttons, dials and knobs abound) and the cabin is roomy, comfortable, and hard wearing. Build quality and fit and finish remains solid and touring-ready.

The D-Max's tray is 1552mm long (at floor level), 465mm deep and 1530mm wide across the top, 1105mm wide, between wheel arches. It has four tie-down points in the tray, one at each corner.

This D-Max has a 1024kg payload, 3050kg GVM, a maximum braked towing capacity of 3500kg and 750kg unbraked.

There are 23 variants in the D-Max line-up, ranging from the 4x2 single cab chassis SX manual ($28,600) through to the new LS-T (formerly known as the LS-Terrain), costing $54,700 (recommended retail price).

There are four variants in the crew cab (dual-cab) range – SX, LS-M, LS-U and the new LS-T (formerly known as the LS-Terrain), which we’ll focus on in this yarn. There are 4x4 and 4x2 variants for everything in the 2018 D-Max range; and manual or auto transmissions for a lot of the line-up everything.

The LS-T is auto only and costs $54,700 (recommended retail price). Available in 4x4 or 4x2 guise, the LS-T gets, above and beyond what came before, perforated leather on body-contact areas, soft-touch leatherette in other spots (also in LS-m and LS-U), 18-inch wheels, sat nav, roof-rails, and two USB charge points.

Safety upgrades include trailer sway control for all new D-Maxs – except the 4x2 low-ride SX single cab chassis manual – and rear bumper and reversing camera as standard on everything, except cab chassis models, but it is an option on those.

There are also three new exterior colours available for the D-Max: 'Magnetic Red Mica', 'Cobalt Blue Mica' and 'Graphite Grey Metallic'. The new MU-X also has the Magnetic Red Mica option.

The bonnet bulge is misleading, because the engine is the same. Despite quite a bit of extra weight being added to this version of the Colorado, there’s no power bump. 

It retains the existing 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel ‘Duramax’ engine with outputs of 147kW of power and 500Nm of torque.

Officially, the Xtreme is only available with the company’s six-speed automatic transmission, so it still gets class-leading torque for a four-cylinder.

We’ve heard that if you really want to add the pack to a manual Colorado, it could be possible…

Towing capacity remains among the better ratings in the class, with a 750kg un-braked trailer and 3500kg braked towing capacity.

With about 150kg of extra weight fitted to the Xtreme model, the payload has copped a slight dent - Holden says the capability remains at about 850kg, which is still pretty strong considering the Rugged X version of the HiLux has 748kg.

The gross vehicle mass (GVM) is rated at 3150kg, while the gross combined mass (GCM) is rated at 6000kg. 

The Euro 5 compliant 3.0-litre four-cylinder common rail diesel engine, producing 130kW at 3600rpm and 430Nm from 2000-2200rpm, stays, and is matched to a six-speed Aisin-sourced automatic transmission.

According to Holden, the Xtreme model exhibits no difference to the fuel consumption figure of the Z71 dual-cab diesel auto 4x4 ute it’s based upon. 

That means a rating of 8.7 litres per 100 kilometres. On our drive - which consisted of 99 per cent high-speed travel on loose gravel - we saw a trip computer indicated 11.3L/100km. 

Fuel tank capacity is 76 litres, meaning a theoretical mileage range of 1145km if you can get the claimed consumption, or 860km at what we we saw.

We only got the chance to spend very little time in any new models and we’d have to drive it for a week or more to get a good handle on real-world fuel consumption but Isuzu claims the D-Max gets through 7.9L/100km (combined cycle). It has a 76-litre fuel tank.

It’s pretty much identical to a Z71 Colorado to drive in normal everyday scenarios. That means it’s pretty decent, especially without anything in the tray.

We did some limited driving in and around Coober Pedy, and while the traffic was hardly what you’d see in Sydney or Melbourne, it proved fine.

The acceleration from the 2.8-litre engine is decent, though there’s just a bit of turbo lag to contend with down low in the rev range. The six-speed auto does a good job of keeping things moving, and responds quickly to sudden throttle inputs.

The brakes pull up okay, but the pedal action is a little soft.

The ride, though, is the most impressive element. With three adults on board and nothing in the tray, it was really well sorted over little lumps and bumps, without much jostling from the tray at all.

The steering is a little slow at really low speeds, but reacts decently through roundabouts and the like.

We only did brief drive loops on the launch, including a decent off-road course and towing a 1750kg boat with a D-Max on a twisting bitumen road, designed to replicate real-world driving conditions.

Running 20 psi (pounds per square inch) in our Bridgestone Dueler or Toyo Open Country tyres, the Isuzus handled everything on the 4WD loop with ease, including runs up and down steep greasy-muddy hills peppered with rocks and tree-root hazards, tight turns in between trees, plowing through mud puddles and more. 

No surprise at its efficacy on rough terrain because it works off the proven 4X4 'Terrain Command' system, operated via a dial near the auto shifter, and which can be switched on the fly from 2High to 4High at speeds of up to 100km/h. To engage 4L you need to be stationary.

The LS-T is 5295mm long, 1860mm wide (excluding wing mirrors), 1855mm high (excluding roof rails) and has a 3095mm wheelbase and 1570mm track. It has a 12.6m turning circle. Kerb weight is listed as 2026kg.

It has 235mm ground clearance, 30 degrees approach angle, 22.7 degrees departure angle, and 22.3 degrees ramp-over angle. The LS-T's wading depth is 600mm.

The Isuzu ute retains the previous generation’s hill start assist (designed to hold gear during climbs) and hill descent control (which maintains engine-braking speed on downhills and is able to be regulated with acceleration or braking).

The D-Max’s underbody protection includes under-front steel plate skid/splash shield and steel plate guards on the sump, transfer case and fuel tank leading edge; and sheet steel under the fuel tank.

It has double wishbones and coil springs up front and leaf springs at the rear, reduced from a five-span spring set-up to three, which has resulted in a softer and more comfortable D-Max ride than before. 

We had the opportunity to drive a 2017 and a 2018 model back-to-back through lumpy sections at different speeds and the newer model exhibited a clear advantage in the ride and handling stakes over its older version.

The D-Max has a maximum five-star ANCAP rating from November 2016. As mentioned, noteworthy safety upgrades include trailer sway control for all new D-Maxs – except the 4x2 low-ride SX single cab chassis manual – and rear bumper and reversing camera as standard on everything, except cab chassis models, but it is an option on those. 

Other standard safety gear includes six airbags (dual front, side and full-length curtain), ABS with electronic brake-force distribution, ESC, traction control and EBA (emergency brake assist), 'Hill Start Assist' and 'Hill Descent Control', plus three top-tether ISOFIX child-seat points in the rear seat.

Holden’s range-wide five-year unlimited kilometre warranty is applicable to the Colorado range, and that’s good news. The remainder is transferable to the next owner if you decide to move on, too.

The Colorado range persists with the annoyingly short service intervals of nine months/15,000km. That means you’ll be visiting the dealer for maintenance a bit more than some competitors which require annual servicing - the Navara, for instance, only needs servicing every 12 months/20,000km.

At least the costs are reasonable: the average cost per visit over five years works out at about $422. Read our full Holden capped price servicing story here.

It has a five-year/130,000km warranty, with five years of roadside assist and five-year/75,000km capped price service costs. Servicing is recommended at 12-month/15,000km intervals. Prices are: $350 (at 12 months/15,000km), $450 (at 24 months/30,000km), $500 (at 36 months/45,000km) $450 (at 48 months/60,000km) and $340 at 60 months/75,000km – for a total cost of $2090.