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By
ALISTAIR KENNEDY
11 August 2008
For the second time in the past two years, one of Australia’s
best-known light commercial nameplates has been replaced.
Last
year it was Ford switching from Courier to Ranger, now it’s
Holden going from Rodeo to Colorado. In each case the long-serving
local names (both had been around since the late 1970s) have been
replaced by their respective global names.
While
Ford made the name change by choice, Holden’s hand was forced by
General Motors recent sale of its Isuzu subsidiary, the terms of
which included the Japanese company’s retention of the Rodeo
name. One of the consequences of this is the possibility that the
name may well return here as an Isuzu Rodeo.
Apart
from the name change there have been a number of styling changes
that distinguish between the outgoing Rodeo and the incoming
Colorado and give the newcomer a more rugged look.
At
the front, the grille design has been changed with the addition of
a horizontal chrome bar that links Colorado to Holden’s Captiva
SUV. There’s also a new bonnet and squarer headlamp design. At
the rear are a new tailgate and tail lamps with roof-mounted stop
lights being added to extended cab models. New squarer wheel
arches also add to Colorado’s tougher stance.
As
before, there’s a choice between three engines (two petrol, one
diesel), two body styles (utility and cab chassis), three cab
lengths, four- or two-wheel drive, manual or automatic
transmission, and three equipment levels. Not all possible
combinations are available although there is still a total of 35
variants, down from the 47 that were available with Rodeo.
Engine
options are 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol, 3.6-litre V6 petrol
and 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel. The smaller of the
petrol engines is only sold in the entry-level DX 4x2 single cab
chassis and, with its sub-$20,000 price tag, is aimed mainly at
suburban tradie users.
With
rising fuel prices Holden anticipates the greatest demand being
for the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel. With a maximum power output of 120
kilowatts at 3600 rpm and 360 Nm of torque at just 1800 rpm it
will cope with the work or towing requirements of most users.
That
latter diesel torque figure is for a five-speed manual. The engine
has had to be detuned when mated to the four-speed automatic
transmission, to bring it down to 333 Nm at just 1600 revs.
The
3.6-litre V6 petrol engine is closely related to the one used in
the VE Commodore and provides a more refined feel to the Colorado
than do the diesels.
Towing
capacity with a braked trailer ranges from 2000 kg behind the 4x2,
2.4-litre petrol engine up to 3000 kg with a 4x4 turbo-diesel.
As
with Rodeo, Colorado comes in three cab lengths: the two-door
single and space cabs and the four-door crew cab.
Equipment
levels are the entry-level DX, mid-spec LX and the new sports
model LT-R which replaces the previous Rodeo LT model. Prices
range from $19,990 for a 2.4-litre DX manual single cab chassis up
to $47,990 for a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel automatic LT-R.
Aware
that any name change can be risky, Holden is getting in early and
using its advertising to clearly identify the Colorado as the
‘new Rodeo’ so shouldn’t suffer any serious sales
repercussions.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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