Working class Colorado a brawn leader?
Posted by Richard Bosselman for Autos - Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:11
“What kind of utes are those?”
“Holdens. Mate, it’s the new one.”
“(expletive) looks pretty (expletive, expletive) good, mate.”
The remainder of the truckies’ C/B banter about our trio of Colorados, overheard on our own in-vehicle handset radios as we convoyed along the Melbourne motorway network the other day, was lost in static.
But we got the gist. They saw. They (expletive, expletive) liked. It’s this kind of manly conversation – perhaps between the fast lane Kenworth hauling oversized pipes and the lumbering Isuzu working manfully behind me – that Holden will be glad to hear.
For the new face in one-tonne ute ranks to be building a solidly appreciative audience already has to be a good sign; the arena in which it will enter – very likely in the first part of June – has, after all, never been tougher.
The truckies whose radio chat caught us the other day as we were headed for the Victorian country roads around inland Kinglake probably have plenty of questions about the Colorado. The opportunity Holden availed Yahoo! Autos and just two other New Zealand commentators should provide some of the answers.
While Holden isn’t prepared to talk price, it has opened up on the strength of its attack. There will be 15 in this family, nine in four-wheel-drive, in four trim levels (DX, LX, LT and LT-Z) and single, spacecab (GM-speak for cab-plus) and crewcab (doublecab) stylings.
It’s a brand-new truck, taking nothing from the Isuzu vehicles that have previously worn the nameplate. With its marriage with the Japanese now annulled, this Colorado has become a wholly GM effort, being designed and engineered in Brazil, for export to 60 countries, mainly as a Chevrolet. Holden editions will be built in Thailand and would have been here now if not for the spot of wet weather around Bangkok over Christmas, which the factory escaped but suppliers did not.
Peter Keley, a familiar and friendly face to Kiwis – he headed Holden NZ from 2005 to 2008 and is now the executive director of planning and programme management, based in Melbourne – and Scott Doughty, Holden’s vehicle performance manager, spoke frankly after our first drive.
They impressed that the Colorado has been developed to take on the category’s high-fliers and are confident it will “put us right back in the game.”
The men also reiterated that the Holden involvement is way more than badge-engineering. Colorado has become extensively Holdenised through a well-funded and intense finessing and compliance programme on Aussie soil. The process began 18 months ago; well before the production example’s pre-Christmas public unveiling in Thailand (or even the concept’s ‘reveal’ at the 2011 Australian motor show).
Colorado has clocked many thousands of kays through red dirt country and seen some of Australia’s remotest, least hospitable spots. Doughty, who has also been in Brazil on a number of occasions, explained that his team started tweaking Colorado very soon after the initial prototypes were built and have since signed off numerous components bespoke to Holden.
“Australia, in particular, likes creature comforts … so we have to make sure it is presented appropriately. Other places might not see this as so critical; they’re just using it for taking stuff to market.”
Adds Keley: “We tend to be more demanding around the sophistication of the vehicle … the noise and vibration qualities, the ride tuning, the suspension are a bit more critical to us than, say, when the car is being used in a developing market.”
We’d ostensibly piggybacked into an in-house engineering drive programme involving non-saleworthy CTF (captured test fleet) vehicles.
Having come through a run through three states in as many days, the trucks have been allocated to engineers as daily drives, to pin down any unforeseen niggles that might arise in family use.
As a Holden, Colorado will be distinguished by gearing, suspension, trim colours and materials, wheel choices and sizes and equipment expressly tailored for Australasian conditions, I was told.
The key new drivetrain – a GM-provided Duramax 2.8-litre turbodiesel married to a six-speed auto and five-speed manual, both also fresh – will be a major talking point. To feature on every model save an entry rear-drive cab chassis, which takes a 2.5-litre version, the kingpin generates the same 470Nm torque as Ford Ranger’s top dog five-pot 3.2 and 132kW power.
On first impression, the Holden engine is particularly strong for a four-cylinder. The full torque burst occurs at 2000rpm, while peak power emerges at 3500rpm.
Those familiar with the outgoing 120kW/360Nm 3.0-litre Isuzu mill can be assured the 2.8-litre is not as harsh-edged or as raucous, though there’s still enough edge and clattery yammer to the engines I sat behind to suggest the Duramax is unlikely to trump the Ford five for quietness and refinement.
Though pulling around 1500rpm at 100kmh, it relishes some revving but clearly has the right kind of heft in return. A one-tonne payload is a given, and Holden has let slip that their rig will up the ante with a 3.5 tonne braked towing capability – that’s a 150kg advantage over the current best-in-class Ford/Mazda twins. The 2.5 is effectively a sleeved version of this engine, generating 110kW/350Nm.
It’s understandable why the Colorado caught the truckies’ attention. It has an immense road presence that some will inevitably slam as being intimidating. Because this truck will mostly be seen around the globe in its alter-ego Chevrolet guise – it’s only a Holden here and in Aus for the time being - that’s the direction the styling necessarily heads. There’s a US-centric air to the look that seems slightly ironic given the States is one of the few places not down to see this rig.
From front on there’s a genuine air of authority but, like the Ranger, it’s a genuinely big vehicle - up to 5.3 metres long, with a wheelbase of 3096mm, 1792mm high and up to 1882mm wide. The tray length measures from 1484mm on the crewcab to 1795mm on the space and is 1534mm wide, narrowing to 1122mm between the arches. The tailgate is lockable and opening it is something of a muscle-builder; though the bonnet is even heavier.
The reason why many new-generation utes have stepped up in car-like appointments and dynamics is obvious. These machines have become dual-purpose vehicles, with buyers using them for the traditional duties during the week and then as a family hauler on weekends.
Holden has answered that call on most fronts. It stepped up in standardizing front and side curtain airbags, electronic stability control and anti-lock braking system with electronic brake force distribution. Traction control and cornering brake control also feature.
There’s no crash testing rating yet, of course, but Holden is confident it’ll do okay. It’ll need to – the Ranger has thrown down a gauntlet by being the first dual-cab ute to receive the top five star crash-test safety rating from the independent crash testing authority ANCAP.
Every Colorado has power windows, remote entry, Bluetooth, USB and aux input, air conditioning and an alarm. It’s little disappointing that Holden’s Bluetooth only accepts one phone/device at a time, but the bases seem to be covered. The entry singlecab has a bench seat, vinyl and 16-inch steel rims; from thereon it’s cloth, comfortable buckets and 16/17-inch alloys.
The appointment levels of the models I drove – two four-door crewcabs (LT-Z rear-drive drive with six-speed automatic and LX five-speed manual four-wheel-drive) plus a four-wheel-drive auto LT-Z spacecab – also encompass cruise control, steering wheel controls and, in the flagship, projector headlights, LED tail lamps, fog lamps, electronic climate control, electric seat adjust on the driver’s side, side steps, a soft tonneau cover and, for crew cabbers, the not mandatory sports bar.
Slide (actually, step up) into the cabin and you’ll see that GM only seeks to go only so far with the trend toward turning the behind the wheel environment into something your mum would like. It certainly lends far more toward comfort and convenience than before, but it’s still more like a man shed than the lounge. No places to put flowers here and plenty of hard-wearing, mainly grey, plastics.
The claim of segment-leading front- and second-row shoulder room, headroom and seat height, providing “outstanding levels of interior comfort for drivers and passengers alike”.? was supported by the drive. Having set up the driver’s seat for my tall frame, I found there was plenty of room behind for a twin of my physical dimension. The rear pew is also comfortable.
It’s a good-looking cabin, too. The instrument binnacle is dominated by two tubes containing the speedo and tacho, each with smaller dials for water temperature and fuel, all with blue LED backlighting. LT-Z appointments require a major fascia redesign; this model takes a swank and entirely bespoke climate control system with circular display surrounded by a main rotary control.
The programme has advanced far enough for Holden to divest its trial vehicles of camouflage; as the photos show, the vehicles we drove were fully badged up and appeared to be production-ready. Actually, the example going into the showroom will be better still, we were told.
Some plastics will change, or at least finishes upgraded, and Holden is also gunning to stop the exhaust briefly punching out soot under hard acceleration. Another point, reinforced before the drive and again in end-of-day briefing, was that only the spacecab was close to the suspension tune that Holden has determined is right for us.
With that in mind, I’d hesitate to say exactly what we can expect on the dynamic front, but broadly-speaking the Colorado seems set to follow a traditional path.
The ladder-framed chassis and recirculating ball steering dictate a degree of swagger to its demeanour and vagueness to the steering – Ford’s move to rack and pinion resolved the latter, but Holden protests that it is happy with recirculating ball.
There also seems to be a feeling among the GM people that, ultimately, their truck will prove tougher in a wider range of conditions. Bear in mind that we weren’t allowed to go off-road on this expedition.
The crewcab I took through the hills tracked well, but fell easily into understeer and leaned easily in bends. Holden says this vehicle was to an Asia market spec and assured its own setup will not be as woolly; a good call.
But then, we were visiting a project still in the making; things may well yet change.
Speaking to the differing dynamic characteristics, Keley reassures that ride and handling are at the forefront of Holden’s DNA. Melbourne is also aware that the truck-of-the-moment was also designed on the other side of town, at Ford’s Broadmeadow’s plant. It’s a challenge Holden will not ignore, but aspires to meet and beat.
“We certainly strive to get the best handling and performance characteristics within the boundaries of the chassis.”
Adds Doughty: “The truck we have got today is just as comfortable as anything on the road. It just happens to carry a big load as well. The basic architecture (of Ranger) is very similar to ours.”
“Holdens. Mate, it’s the new one.”
“(expletive) looks pretty (expletive, expletive) good, mate.”
The remainder of the truckies’ C/B banter about our trio of Colorados, overheard on our own in-vehicle handset radios as we convoyed along the Melbourne motorway network the other day, was lost in static.
But we got the gist. They saw. They (expletive, expletive) liked. It’s this kind of manly conversation – perhaps between the fast lane Kenworth hauling oversized pipes and the lumbering Isuzu working manfully behind me – that Holden will be glad to hear.
For the new face in one-tonne ute ranks to be building a solidly appreciative audience already has to be a good sign; the arena in which it will enter – very likely in the first part of June – has, after all, never been tougher.
The truckies whose radio chat caught us the other day as we were headed for the Victorian country roads around inland Kinglake probably have plenty of questions about the Colorado. The opportunity Holden availed Yahoo! Autos and just two other New Zealand commentators should provide some of the answers.
While Holden isn’t prepared to talk price, it has opened up on the strength of its attack. There will be 15 in this family, nine in four-wheel-drive, in four trim levels (DX, LX, LT and LT-Z) and single, spacecab (GM-speak for cab-plus) and crewcab (doublecab) stylings.
It’s a brand-new truck, taking nothing from the Isuzu vehicles that have previously worn the nameplate. With its marriage with the Japanese now annulled, this Colorado has become a wholly GM effort, being designed and engineered in Brazil, for export to 60 countries, mainly as a Chevrolet. Holden editions will be built in Thailand and would have been here now if not for the spot of wet weather around Bangkok over Christmas, which the factory escaped but suppliers did not.
Peter Keley, a familiar and friendly face to Kiwis – he headed Holden NZ from 2005 to 2008 and is now the executive director of planning and programme management, based in Melbourne – and Scott Doughty, Holden’s vehicle performance manager, spoke frankly after our first drive.
They impressed that the Colorado has been developed to take on the category’s high-fliers and are confident it will “put us right back in the game.”
The men also reiterated that the Holden involvement is way more than badge-engineering. Colorado has become extensively Holdenised through a well-funded and intense finessing and compliance programme on Aussie soil. The process began 18 months ago; well before the production example’s pre-Christmas public unveiling in Thailand (or even the concept’s ‘reveal’ at the 2011 Australian motor show).
Colorado has clocked many thousands of kays through red dirt country and seen some of Australia’s remotest, least hospitable spots. Doughty, who has also been in Brazil on a number of occasions, explained that his team started tweaking Colorado very soon after the initial prototypes were built and have since signed off numerous components bespoke to Holden.
“Australia, in particular, likes creature comforts … so we have to make sure it is presented appropriately. Other places might not see this as so critical; they’re just using it for taking stuff to market.”
Adds Keley: “We tend to be more demanding around the sophistication of the vehicle … the noise and vibration qualities, the ride tuning, the suspension are a bit more critical to us than, say, when the car is being used in a developing market.”
We’d ostensibly piggybacked into an in-house engineering drive programme involving non-saleworthy CTF (captured test fleet) vehicles.
Having come through a run through three states in as many days, the trucks have been allocated to engineers as daily drives, to pin down any unforeseen niggles that might arise in family use.
As a Holden, Colorado will be distinguished by gearing, suspension, trim colours and materials, wheel choices and sizes and equipment expressly tailored for Australasian conditions, I was told.
The key new drivetrain – a GM-provided Duramax 2.8-litre turbodiesel married to a six-speed auto and five-speed manual, both also fresh – will be a major talking point. To feature on every model save an entry rear-drive cab chassis, which takes a 2.5-litre version, the kingpin generates the same 470Nm torque as Ford Ranger’s top dog five-pot 3.2 and 132kW power.
On first impression, the Holden engine is particularly strong for a four-cylinder. The full torque burst occurs at 2000rpm, while peak power emerges at 3500rpm.
Those familiar with the outgoing 120kW/360Nm 3.0-litre Isuzu mill can be assured the 2.8-litre is not as harsh-edged or as raucous, though there’s still enough edge and clattery yammer to the engines I sat behind to suggest the Duramax is unlikely to trump the Ford five for quietness and refinement.
Though pulling around 1500rpm at 100kmh, it relishes some revving but clearly has the right kind of heft in return. A one-tonne payload is a given, and Holden has let slip that their rig will up the ante with a 3.5 tonne braked towing capability – that’s a 150kg advantage over the current best-in-class Ford/Mazda twins. The 2.5 is effectively a sleeved version of this engine, generating 110kW/350Nm.
It’s understandable why the Colorado caught the truckies’ attention. It has an immense road presence that some will inevitably slam as being intimidating. Because this truck will mostly be seen around the globe in its alter-ego Chevrolet guise – it’s only a Holden here and in Aus for the time being - that’s the direction the styling necessarily heads. There’s a US-centric air to the look that seems slightly ironic given the States is one of the few places not down to see this rig.
From front on there’s a genuine air of authority but, like the Ranger, it’s a genuinely big vehicle - up to 5.3 metres long, with a wheelbase of 3096mm, 1792mm high and up to 1882mm wide. The tray length measures from 1484mm on the crewcab to 1795mm on the space and is 1534mm wide, narrowing to 1122mm between the arches. The tailgate is lockable and opening it is something of a muscle-builder; though the bonnet is even heavier.
The reason why many new-generation utes have stepped up in car-like appointments and dynamics is obvious. These machines have become dual-purpose vehicles, with buyers using them for the traditional duties during the week and then as a family hauler on weekends.
Holden has answered that call on most fronts. It stepped up in standardizing front and side curtain airbags, electronic stability control and anti-lock braking system with electronic brake force distribution. Traction control and cornering brake control also feature.
There’s no crash testing rating yet, of course, but Holden is confident it’ll do okay. It’ll need to – the Ranger has thrown down a gauntlet by being the first dual-cab ute to receive the top five star crash-test safety rating from the independent crash testing authority ANCAP.
Every Colorado has power windows, remote entry, Bluetooth, USB and aux input, air conditioning and an alarm. It’s little disappointing that Holden’s Bluetooth only accepts one phone/device at a time, but the bases seem to be covered. The entry singlecab has a bench seat, vinyl and 16-inch steel rims; from thereon it’s cloth, comfortable buckets and 16/17-inch alloys.
The appointment levels of the models I drove – two four-door crewcabs (LT-Z rear-drive drive with six-speed automatic and LX five-speed manual four-wheel-drive) plus a four-wheel-drive auto LT-Z spacecab – also encompass cruise control, steering wheel controls and, in the flagship, projector headlights, LED tail lamps, fog lamps, electronic climate control, electric seat adjust on the driver’s side, side steps, a soft tonneau cover and, for crew cabbers, the not mandatory sports bar.
Slide (actually, step up) into the cabin and you’ll see that GM only seeks to go only so far with the trend toward turning the behind the wheel environment into something your mum would like. It certainly lends far more toward comfort and convenience than before, but it’s still more like a man shed than the lounge. No places to put flowers here and plenty of hard-wearing, mainly grey, plastics.
The claim of segment-leading front- and second-row shoulder room, headroom and seat height, providing “outstanding levels of interior comfort for drivers and passengers alike”.? was supported by the drive. Having set up the driver’s seat for my tall frame, I found there was plenty of room behind for a twin of my physical dimension. The rear pew is also comfortable.
It’s a good-looking cabin, too. The instrument binnacle is dominated by two tubes containing the speedo and tacho, each with smaller dials for water temperature and fuel, all with blue LED backlighting. LT-Z appointments require a major fascia redesign; this model takes a swank and entirely bespoke climate control system with circular display surrounded by a main rotary control.
The programme has advanced far enough for Holden to divest its trial vehicles of camouflage; as the photos show, the vehicles we drove were fully badged up and appeared to be production-ready. Actually, the example going into the showroom will be better still, we were told.
Some plastics will change, or at least finishes upgraded, and Holden is also gunning to stop the exhaust briefly punching out soot under hard acceleration. Another point, reinforced before the drive and again in end-of-day briefing, was that only the spacecab was close to the suspension tune that Holden has determined is right for us.
With that in mind, I’d hesitate to say exactly what we can expect on the dynamic front, but broadly-speaking the Colorado seems set to follow a traditional path.
The ladder-framed chassis and recirculating ball steering dictate a degree of swagger to its demeanour and vagueness to the steering – Ford’s move to rack and pinion resolved the latter, but Holden protests that it is happy with recirculating ball.
There also seems to be a feeling among the GM people that, ultimately, their truck will prove tougher in a wider range of conditions. Bear in mind that we weren’t allowed to go off-road on this expedition.
The crewcab I took through the hills tracked well, but fell easily into understeer and leaned easily in bends. Holden says this vehicle was to an Asia market spec and assured its own setup will not be as woolly; a good call.
But then, we were visiting a project still in the making; things may well yet change.
Speaking to the differing dynamic characteristics, Keley reassures that ride and handling are at the forefront of Holden’s DNA. Melbourne is also aware that the truck-of-the-moment was also designed on the other side of town, at Ford’s Broadmeadow’s plant. It’s a challenge Holden will not ignore, but aspires to meet and beat.
“We certainly strive to get the best handling and performance characteristics within the boundaries of the chassis.”
Adds Doughty: “The truck we have got today is just as comfortable as anything on the road. It just happens to carry a big load as well. The basic architecture (of Ranger) is very similar to ours.”
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