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By
EWAN KENNEDY
8 January 2007
As it approaches its fourth year on the Australian market,
Holden's Rodeo has received an appearance upgrade to let it battle in
one of the hottest of all Australian market segments. That of the
sporting utility.
Rodeo was one of the first to get away from the
idea that a ute was purely a transportation appliance and that
looks weren’t of any real importance. Instead, when it was
launched in March 2003 the Rodeo surprised its competitors with a
big, bold look. The Rodeo was also significantly bigger at the
same time, something that did it plenty of good in the sales race.
A larger body and bold look let tradies make a
major statement with their new Holden. Now that statement can be
even stronger thanks to a Rodeo revamp which sees it with a
stronger shape of the headlights and taillights, as well as an
even more striking styling of the wheel-arch flares. The
turbo-diesel models receive a bonnet scoop to provide more air to
the engine.
Which is just as well, because Mitsubishi, Nissan
and Toyota have all come out with big tough looking utes in the
intervening years. Ford is about to introduce its bigger bold
Ranger range, which is a copy of the Mazda BT-50, launched only a
matter of weeks before the end of 2006. Is it no surprise that
this is one of the most aggressive of all market segments?
Even more important than the upgraded looks, the
Rodeo now features a new turbo-diesel engine. A 3.0-litre unit, it
sits in the vanguard of new light-commercial diesel design,
because at 120 kW it not only has about 25 per cent more power
than before, but achieves this while meeting the stringent new
Euro 4 emission control regulations.
To go into more detail: the Holden's new 3.0-litre
turbo-diesel puts out 360 Newton metres at a mere 1800 rpm. So
from not much over idle it’s already pulling like a train. Note
that these figures are for a five-speed manual, the engine is
tuned slightly differently when a four-speed automatic
transmission is specified. The automatic turbo-diesel engine has
333 Nm at an even lower 1600 revs.
The aforementioned peak power of 120 kilowatts
comes in at only 3600 rpm, in both the manual and automatic. Power
is of less importance in diesels than petrols, but getting that
sort of power from low revs means it’s a pretty efficient unit.
Both transmissions are new units modified to cope
with the extra grunt being fed through them.
Towing loads have been increased substantially
with the turbo-diesel engine when it’s mated to the 4WD
transmission. A braked trailer of up to 2500 kg can be hauled with
a manual gearbox, and 3000 kg with an automatic transmission.
As well as the upgraded diesels, Holden continues
to offer the Rodeo with a 3.6-litre petrol engine, a modern
twin-cam unit that’s a close relation to the one used in the VE
Commodore and that gives added refinement over the big
four-cylinder turbo-diesels.
Interior reworking sees additional comfort in the
front seats and a new design of the dashboard and instrument
cluster. And what Holden considers to be more ergonomic gear
levers.
Holden Rodeo continues to be offered in a
staggering array of models. Some with rear-wheel drive, others
with four-wheel drive; there are single cabs, extended cabs, dual
cabs and even some cab-chassis for which you can have custom
bodies designed.
The best news of all is that there are no price
increases for these 2007 Holden Rodeo models. They range from
$19,490 for the 4x2 DX Single Cab 2.4-litre cab chassis, to
$46,990 for the topline 4x4 LT Crew Cab 3.0-litre utility.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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