Colorado now ‘Qualorado’
The Holden Colorado has just received a big upgrade that makes it much more competitive against its rivals. Paul Owen wonders whether it deserves a better medal than bronze.
I’ll have to say that the pork served by the Spicers Hidden Vale resort at the recent Holden Colorado launch in Queensland was some of the finest that’s ever passed my lips.
A resort-raised kune-kune adolescent was taken from the free-range paddock just outside my room in the converted farm’s shearer’s quarters and slowroasted on a spit for eight hours, producing succulent and tasty meatiness that simply melted in my mouth.
Contrast that with the farchewier wild boar served up at the launch of a new Toyota Hilux last year, and you have a comparative food analogy that potentially sums up the two trucks. The Toyota is just as tough as ever but feels raw and undercooked when plying civilised roads, while the Colorado has a new veneer of refinement and build quality that makes it a better pick for those seeking a doit-all lifestyle/work vehicle.
But don’t get the idea that the Holden has been transformed into some kind of ‘boutique’ pick-up truck that has become fearful of a little hard-yakka. For on the afternoon following the pig-out, I found myself at the wheel of new Colorado LS base model carrying 500kg of concrete ballast in the tray, another journo in the passenger seat, and a rugby propsized Holden engineer in the back seat.
We were attacking a rock-strewn trail with some steep climbs and descents though the D’Aguilliar National Park, and the Colorado was shrugging off the load burden with ease as it attacked the gradients in 2wd with the TC and stability systems turned off.
The accomplished way that the Holden gained traction at every available opportunity and kept charging up and down the hills highlighted two things about the new Colorado. The first is that this one of the few pick-ups that comes with a helical-geared rear differential as standard equipment to promote its ability to drive forward on sketchy surfaces without resorting to 4WD. The second is that Colorado’s latest suspension tune, which combines more compliant spring rates with a stouter front stabiliser bar, is absolutely right on the money for such a multi-purpose vehicle as this.
Ride quality has been improved in all applications, whether mooching down to the supermarket or carrying a substantial load over a rut-infested National Park trail that probably last saw a grader back in 1983.
The new electrically-assisted power steering fitted to MY17 Colorados also improves the driving dynamics of the Lionbadged ute in all possible situations. Normally adding speedier steering gearing to a pickup to improve its parking and cornering in every-day use results in thumb-busting kick-back through the wheel when traversing rocks and undulations off-road. However changing the wheel of the Holden from hydraulic-assistance to electric has allowed the use of electronics to dampen the kickback, and the Colorado is a more enjoyable drive in just about every possible scenario as a result.
With getting from lock-to lock now requiring 3.2 rotations of the wheel instead of 3.9, parking the longest Holden up just got a whole lot easier. The quicker steering rack also greatly improves cornering agility, whether driving on real roads or those simply marked on paper for the future.
These improvements result from the more global approach to light truck development now adopted by GM. The previous Colorado was entirely the work of a team of Brazilian engineers, given total responsibility for the project because the Colorado is the runaway best-selling pick-up truck in one of the largest ute markets in the world, and has earned a similar reputation in the football-mad nation to the one Hilux has here.
Letting an Australian engineering team have additional input to this upgrade has obviously benefited the much-improved driving dynamics of the new Colorado, especially when that team includes a certain Rob Trubiani, setter of the fastest lap ever recorded by a commercial vehicle around the Nurburgring (in a Commodore SS-V Redline ute).
Colorado’s diesel powertrains also got some attention, winning improved emissions, a bit of extra driving force, and increased refinement. The 2.8 litre fourcylinder turbo-diesel now makes 147kW of power at 3600rpm, and 500Nm when hooked up to a sixspeed automatic with reduced torque converter slippage. The more direct transmission of torque of the auto has resulted in a 0.5litre/100km fuel use reduction, and the better noise insulation for both the Colorado’s engine and body has resulted in more silent running.
The 440Nm Colorado models equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox have a lower final drive ratio for improved take-offs when hauling heavy loads. Towing capacity remains a competitive 3500kg, while all models and bodystyles now offer payloads of more than a tonne.
In some ways the biggest improvement to Holden’s truck is the one you can’t readily see but become more aware of with familiarisation. It’s the better build quality exhibited in the paint applications and reduced panel gaps thanks to an extensive upgrade given to GM’s factory in Thailand, which has now reached the highest level 3 quality standard within the GM manufacturing world. So the once rough-andready Colorado has now become the ‘Qualorado’, and is likely be sold at similar prices when it launches in New Zealand at the end of September. Ranger and Hilux had better be watching their rear-view mirrors as they continue their neck-and- neck race up the ute sales charts.