General Motors’ Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck (which will be made and sold in the States) has made its appearance in Australia in production guise under the Holden nameplate. The automaker had previewed the Holden version with a lightly camouflaged concept at last year’s Melbourne Auto Show.
The 2012 Holden Colorado that will arrive in dealerships throughout the country in the middle of this year has dropped some of the more exciting, but not at all practical, elements of the show car such as the large alloy wheels and sporty mirrors but nothing much else has changed.
In Australia, the new generation of the Colorado will offer customers three body styles including single cab, space cab and crew cab, plus a choice of two all-new 2.5-litre and 2.8-litre DOHC in-line 4-cylinder turbo diesel engines rated at 110kW (148bhp) and 130kW (174bhp) respectively.
The 2.5L unit is paired to a five-speed manual gearbox and boasts a 3.0-tonne towing capacity, while the 2.8L engine is offered exclusively with a 6-speed automatic and has a 3.5-tonne towing capacity.
“This is the most impressive light truck ever designed by General Motors, and we expect it to be a serious challenger in the competitive Australian light commercial market,” commented Holden Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, John Elsworth.
“Our diesel-only powertrain strategy means we’ll offer two very competitive, responsive engines that boast impressive towing capacity of up to 3.5-tonne, which we know our customers will love,” he added.
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