We had the LX TD Crew Cab 4X4 4 SP automatic and the LTR V6 4X2 Crew Cab 5 SP manual to test.
What’s it’s Purpose
Honest Trade Ute that doubles as family leisure vehicle on the weekend. Honest not flashy
What’s it Like?
Pretty good actually. The Colorado is one of those vehicles that you could own and use and it would not let you down. The Crew Cab is smaller than many in the segment but has adequate room for four, comfortable and easy to drive. In fact that easy, honest assessment is spot on. The Colorado is easy to use and own. The pick for us was the LX TD Crew Cab.
What’s Good & Not so Good
What’s Good?
• Both Engines
• Robustness
• Towing and off road capability for TD W
What’s not so Good?
• Smaller rear seat and leg room
• 4 Sp Auto
• Basic interior
Drive Notes
Outside
From the outside the Colorado looks pretty good. The word honest keeps coming up. Not too stylish or slab sided the designers have done a reasonable job especially the front nose treatment.
The LTR is distinguished by a number of sports features including sports bars, soft tonneau cover, side steps, front fog lamps and 16 inch alloy wheels inside muscular wheel arches.
Inside, Comfort & Features
The inside of both Colorado’s is fairly basic. That is not to say bland or lacking but they are designed for their purpose.
The LTR has a few extras as you would expect with sports interior trim, leather steering wheel, Bluetooth and rear park assist. (which is handy)
Safety
Driver and front passenger airbags, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Side impact door beams and Engine immobiliser
Performance. Engine, Transmission & Suspension etc
The diesel engine is a 3.0 litre, 4-cylinder, common rail, turbo charged – intercooled electronic fuel injection producing 120kW @ 3600rpm and the Auto produces 333Nm @ 1600rpm.
The V6 Petrol engine is a 6-cylinder, 24 valve, DOHC, sequential fuel injection producing 157kW @ 5300rpm and 313Nm @ 2800rpm Transmissions are either a 4-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual transmission.
Performance from both engines is spritely enough, and the diesel responds well. It begs for a 5 SP auto box though.
Fuel economy from the diesel is great and we achieved about 10L/100km over our test. The petrol as you would expect uses a lot more fuel, especially as you often find yourself working the gears and using the extra power in a more sporty mode.
The 4X4 has front high-rise suspension the rear has gas shocks and greater ground clearance.
Off Road & Towing
The Colorado has excellent towing capacity with the pick being the 4X4 LX TD with a 3000kg capacity. This is up near the top of the market segment. But it is the ease of towing that makes this a good tow vehicle.
The combination high-rise front end, greater ground clearance and gas shocks and torquey diesel motor makes the LX TD Crew Cab a very interesting choice for off road adventures. It won’t be long before the aftermarket segment produces a range of add ons as well. We look forward to having a more testing drive with the Colorado in future.
Summary
The Holden Colorado is what we call an honest Ute.
It looks reasonably good, is practical, seemingly robust, good fit for purpose, well priced and a good all round performer. However it feels a little smaller than others in this segment
The LX TD Crew cab is our pick. Given the choice we would go for the LTR TD Crew cab but we didn’t test it here. Excellent towing capacity, good fuel economy, capable off road and surprising comfort makes this a great work, leisure combination.
The LTR is aimed more at the leisure market and while it has some of the qualities necessary to make it in that market it also is a little lacking in goodies compared to some of its competitors.
The Colorado is absolutely worth a look if you’re in the market
Copyright 2022