Holden Crewman Pricing and Specs

No, the manual and automatic versions of the Crewman are rated to tow up to 1600kg and 2500kg respectively with a braked trailer. This is to protect the clutch of the manual versions which could easily be damaged trying to tow the automatic's 2500kg.

It's generally accepted that the more progressive take-up from rest of an automatic transmission makes it the better solution for a tow-car in the first place. And that extends beyond any single make or model.

If you're looking for a dual-cab ute with an emphasis on comfort and performance, then a Holden Crewman suddenly comes into sharp focus. These are around for the money you're talking about and even though some of them are getting close to your age cut-off, they provide ride quality and dynamics that even modern dual-cab utes struggle to reproduce.

The Holden in question is not an off-roader by any means, but it can do all the sorts of things that ute owners love them for. By going down this route, you also side-step the potentially troublesome common-rail diesel problems that can include blocked DPFs and internal clogging from soot and oil. If you can find one, there was even a V8 version of the Crewman which, if you find a good example, will provide lots of reliability and even more performance.

Make sure the engine is tuned properly at all times, resist the urge to carry gear you don’t need (utes are bad for this) and make sure the tyres are correctly inflated. All those things will directly affect how much fuel your car uses. But really, the biggest change you can make to the Crewman’s drinking habits it to control your right foot. Driving behaviour will have a much greater affect than anything else, but it’s worth noting that the Holden Crewman earned a reputation for being a guzzler early in its life.