Hunky American full of potential
Can the Acadia help halt Holden’s sales slide? It certainly has the goods to do it, writes Richard Bosselman.
Around 92,000 first-year registrations would seem a dream run for Holden’s latest big hope, right?
It’s happened. The 2018 North American sales count for the Acadia large sports utility suggests this model has potential.
General Motor Company’s Aussie outpost is keen to see its first American-made product gain acceptance. Holden needs a break. Logic suggests SUVs can pull it out of the mire.
A seven-chair wagon designed primarily to deliver a swish sealed road experience, Acadia is a $100 million gamble. The cost of rejigging a United States domestic GMC into a right-hooker is 60 per cent higher than it might have been had Holden been involved from the start, instead of two years in.
Acadia comes in three trims, all in two and four-wheel-drive, all running a Commodoreshared 3.6-litre V6 and ninespeed-auto, and aims at everything from Hyundai’s Santa Fe and Mazda’s CX-9 to the Ford Everest and Toyota Prado.
Impression from testing the LTZ-V flagship suggests near on 100,000 North Americans aren’t wrong. Sure, some aspects require getting used to, yet it feels born to run comfortably here.
Will the square-jawed and hunky styling demand time to settle? The shape’s not divisive but expect discussion. The frontend is Holden-ised to the point where a GMC grille won’t fit, but all else is as North America knows it. The rhomboid wheel surrounds divide opinion, the rear glass lacks chrome edging and those thick A-pillars and large side mirrors create blind spots.
Despite sharing basic ergonomic ideals with Commodore, from comparing interiors for look and layout, fit and finish would you ever pick the SUV as the more modern? It’s plush and practical and right on point for tech, yet more polish and pizzazz wouldn’t hurt.
Right-way-around indicator and wiper stalk placements are achieved yet left-hand-drivecentricities remain. The convex outer section of the driver’s door mirror suggests it was meant for the kerb side. The mode switch is awkward to reach, being on the left rear of the centre console. Families with scampering young ’uns might be alarmed the second-row seat split fold accessing the rear seat is engineered for the traffic side.
Trim rattles undermine GMC’s quality boast but the spec’s rich. Leather, wireless phone charging, keyless entry/ start, sat-nav, triple-zone air conditioning, power tailgate and automated parking are popular convenience and comfort features and LTZ-V adds memory for the driver’s chair (which, like the passenger pew, is heated, cool-air ventilated and power adjustable), dual-panel sunroof, gas-discharge headlights, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera, Bose audio, a Bluetooth system that accepts two devices simultaneously and five USB ports spread across the three rows, including 2.1-amp outlets for charging iPads.
There’s huge comfort and heaps of head and shoulder room for the front and middle-row seats and though the back row will only provide a knees-up seating position for big adults, it’s big for kids.
Luggage space is tight in three-row mode, generous otherwise, but hope you don’t get a flattie. The space saver spare is buried so deeply it’s a mission to access, let alone remove. The tailgate thoughtfully has a setting for 75 per cent opening height and will open/close off the keyfob. The boot floor has sturdy tie-downs.
Holden’s touch is felt foremost with suspension retuning. I’ve not experienced a GMC Acadia but Holden’s claim it has firmed the spring rates seems reasonable. It’s still soft and loping but stable enough not to wobble over ruts or bumps.
Holden’s intent to make the LTZ-V feel like the VF Holden Caprice luxury sedan was evidenced during an almost sixhour solid open road run, where it came across as being capable and composed, if not a car that asked to be chucked about. The AWD dismisses in normal driving, so it’s not always quattro when pushing into a bend.
Though the engine hauls the heft well, offers a nice rumbling sound and is seamless in acceleration to the 6700rpm redline, you get the sense it’s probably just as well the Acadia wasn’t bigger or heavier than its 2032 kilogram mass.
The modest 2000kg braked towing capacity suggests it hasn’t too much left, so it’s a shame there’s no torque-rich diesel as an option. Economy depends on the roads you regularly drive. Relaxed running, with just 1400rpm at 100kmh in ninth gear, delivers parsimony that’s easily undone by ascents, winding stretches or push-on play.
Going by how it looks, you might have trouble believing Acadia is Holden’s most advanced vehicle yet. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist recognition is a fantastic addition and even though it annoys by flashing incessantly once you go 5kmh above any posted limit, Traffic Sign Recognition is also highly useful – it’ll even read temporary roadworks signs.
Acadia also has Equinox’s initially weird, ultimately worthy, haptic seat alerts, plus blind spot and rear cross traffic alert, lane keep assist and lateral impact avoidance.
At a time when some argue about the Holden nameplate’s ongoing currency, let’s hope a model name recalling a moment of history that didn’t go well (Acadia being France’s New World foothold subsumed, under protest, into America in the early-18th century) isn’t a portent. I’d hate to see Holden relegated to the past.