NEW DAY DAWNS
Holden‘s import era opens with the Equinox, a Detroit design built in Mexico and refined here
The import-only era at Holden begins this week. It’s not the ZB Commodore but an all-new SUV that starts its life in Detroit, is tweaked in Australia, then built in Mexico for shipping to showrooms.
The Equinox is a smooth-looking five-seater that’s set to bury memories of the underwhelming Captiva from South Korea. It is priced from $27,990 and with a wide range of impressive equipment, though the base LS lacks automatic emergency braking.
The Equinox drives well and has the sort of surprise-and-delight touches — including a 230V socket and a haptic seat in some models that vibrates to deliver safety alerts — to make family motoring a little easier.
“It’s a car for people who have nothing to prove,” says Holden managing director Mark Bernhard. He is talking tough as Holden works to reinvent itself after its factory closure, using products picked from around the GM world.
“Our future is very bright. We’ve got some really good friends in Detroit,” he says.
He also cites growth in the brand’s market share that’s predicted to continue at least until the end of the year.
The Equinox is vital as it drops into one of the fastest growing showroom categories, against stout rivals led by the Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V and Volkswagen Tiguan.
The package includes two turbo engines (a turbo diesel follows next year), front or all-wheel drive and six individual equipment packages.
Crash testing is under way and Holden predicts a five-star rating.
The starter LS comes with a 1.5-litre fourcylinder (127kW/275Nm) and six-speed automatic and is fitted with six airbags, rear camera and park assist, 17-inch alloys, automatic headlamps and seven-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.
It costs an extra $2000 to get the Holden Eye safety package in the next-level LS+ — adding AEB and lane keep warning and assist, following distance indicator, blind spot alert, rear cross traffic alert — and extra gear includes leather-trimmed steering wheel and folding mirrors.
The mid-level LT package from $36,990 brings the 2.0-litre turbo (188kW/353Nm, and requiring premium unleaded) and nine-speed auto, with a bigger display screen, satnav and dual-zone aircon.
At $39,990, the LTZ flagship gets adaptive all-wheel drive, Bose audio, automatic parking, wireless phone charging and handsfree power tailgate.
Two years of development for Australia included the usual suspension tweaks by Holden engineers but also increased the towing capacity. Local versions are rated to 2000kg, or 500kg more than in the US, with 200kg towball load and extra cooling fans.
“We’ve thrown a lot of content into the vehicle,” says Equinox program leader Tony Metaxas. “But you don’t need a university degree to make the most of the technology.”
Bernhard says the Equinox will be followed by the larger seven-seater Acadia SUV in 2018. Until then, the unloved Captiva7 will continue in showrooms.
Early adopters who buy an Equinox before December 31 will get the seven-year/175,000km warranty package Holden is using to boost sales. After this, the warranty reverts to the usual three years/100,000km deal.
ON THE ROAD
There is nothing special about the styling of the Equinox, which fits into the big-box school of SUVs, but the front-end treatment means it stands out in a crowd.
The cabin in all versions is well laid-out and styled, although the minor quality glitches in the preview cars reflect American build quality. It’s quiet by SUV standards, aided by active noise reduction.
The Equinox drives well, if not particularly perky in LS spec. There is a solid shove from the 2.0 turbo in the LT and LTZ, endowing strong overtaking ability. The ride quality is excellent, as expected from a Holden, and the cornering grip and balance is good for the class.
It’s not a sports car but it drives as well as any of its rivals, although without the rock-solid feel of some contenders.