Volvo Es90 vs HSV Colorado

What's the difference?

Do you like swimming against the tide? Do you like to zig when everyone else is zagging? Are you unafraid of making the unpopular choice?

Well, if you align with the above, I have just the car for you.

The Volvo ES90 pushes against most current trends. The luxury sedan used to be the measure of a brand, but not anymore. These days the luxury market is defined by SUVs and sedans have been reduced to an afterthought for many.

But if you’re willing to think outside the SUV-shaped box, there is a lot to like about Volvo’s new luxury offering. Whether it’s a true sedan or not is open to debate, but what it isn’t is an SUV and for those willing to live that counter-culture lifestyle this may be right for you.

The SportsCat Series II is perhaps not the kind of HSV we've grown accustomed to over the years. But that’s ok. Because HSV is no longer the brand we’ve grown accustomed to, either. Their core product has changed, you see. And so their core buyer has changed right along with it.

In fact, HSV sees itself as almost starting again; rebuilding its customer base (and even its newsletter subscriber base) as it shifts from power-soaked Commodores to imported Camaros and this: the Holden Colorado-based SportsCat Series II.

It looks tough, and has better equipment and finishes than the Holden, but there is not one kilowatt of extra power on offer from its diesel - yep, diesel - engine. 

“We see it as performance, just a different kind of performance,” HSV tells us, pointing to the ute's off-road chops rather than any blistering power figures.

So does this Colorado-turned-SportsCat live up to HSV’s history? And more importantly, does it paint a rosy picture of HSV’s future?