OUR FAMILY FAREWELL TO THE HOLDEN BRAND
The DRIVEN and NZME team share their final thoughts on Holden — and take their last drive in the luxurious Acadia LTZ-V
Holden will no longer be a new-car brand by the end of this year, which is significant and sad no matter which way you look at it.
So many New Zealanders have so many Holden memories. But for a proper farewell we thought we’d create a few more by taking one last Holden road test vehicle, an Acadia LTZ-V, and sharing it around the wider DRIVEN and NZME team.
Why Acadia? Because it’s the outgoing flagship of the Holden brand, the most high-tech vehicle ever to wear the iconic Lion badge
— and an SUV, proof positive that the brand’s
“big six” family-car offerings were indeed responding to changing customer tastes.
Sam Wallace, Coast FM/ DRIVEN ambassador
To quote Six60, I had the Holden Acadia and it was a reminder: “Don’t forget your roots my friend.” That’s exactly what Holden did.
The Acadia never felt like a Holden to me — and it shouldn’t, because it’s made by GMC.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good SUV: seven seats with loads of room. But I disliked the way the seat vibrated my nether regions when I went to close to a parked car or obstacle. I hated the way it was front-drive in 2WD mode.
Imagine if the Holden I was driving took cues from Holden’s heritage? Imagine if it was an SUV that had a giant 6.2-litre V8, and an even hotter HSV-tuned version. It’d rival the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, or Mercedes-AMG GLC 63.
It would be one of the most desirable cars on the market.
While I was driving the Acadia, all I could think about was what could have been.
To me, it’s a sad send-off to a brand that has provided so many incredible memories to so many families and generations.
Matthew Hansen
DRIVEN senior multimedia journalist
In the same way that our societies worship imperfect larrikins, Australians and NZers have embraced a car company that made cars lacking in refinement but oozing unique Ocker charm.
The Acadia is the car in Holden’s curtain-call line-up that still embodies this stuff best. Yes, even though it’s made a long, long way from Australia.
Flaws are aplenty, like the trim around the wireless charging pad that looks like it was cut by a