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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Making its Australian debut today is the refreshed Holden Captiva 7 Series II. To avoid any confusions, the Captiva 5 Series II that we told you about in our previous post is based on the Opel Antara, while the Captiva 7 is Holden's version of the Chevrolet model of the same name that's sold in Europe.
The latest Series II version of the seven-seater Captiva enters the new model year with some styling and performance upgrades as well as reduced pricing as Holden sliced $2000 off the recommended retail tags of all equivalent Series I Captiva 7 models.
The Series II gets a completely new front-end styling with different headlamps, a re-sculpted hood, and new grille and bumper designs, plus clear lens tail lamps, restyled alloy wheels and turn signals integrated into the external mirrors.
Inside, the most significant change is the replacement of the conventional hand brake lever with a push-button electric park brake, which also creates additional space for a multi-purpose storage compartment.
Holden updated the Captiva 7's engine lineup with a 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel that puts out 23 per cent more power and 25 per cent more torque than its predecessor at 135 kW (181 HP), and a 3.0-liter SIDI V6 delivering 12 per cent more power at 190 kW (255 HP). A 2.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline unit producing 123kW (165HP) is also available.
Refinements to suspension and steering systems, and improved sound insulation complete the changes for the Series II update.
General Motor's Holden division has the unique distinction of having two Captiva models in its range: the Captiva 7, which is none other than the European market Chevrolet Captiva, and the Captiva 5, that's a re-badged Opel Antara. Given Opel's confirmed descent to the land of Down Under in 2012, there's a very strong possibility that Holden may be forced to drop the Captiva 5 from its Australian lineup at some point.
But until a decision is made, Holden will keep the Captiva 5 going with a modest refresh, incorporating the same changes found on its 2011MY Opel Antara twin. The Captiva 5 Series II is distinguished on the outside by the new grille treatment with mesh detailing and the fresh alloy wheel designs, while interior changes include a single-touch electric park brake.
The new Series II model gains a new generation 2.2 litre four-cylinder diesel engine delivering 135kW (181HP) and 400Nm of peak torque, teamed with a six-speed automatic transmission for a combined fuel consumption of 8.5 lt/100km.
There’s also an updated 2.4 litre four-cylinder powerplant with 123 kW (165HP) and 230 Nm, which is 19 per cent more powerful than its predecessor. It returns an average fuel economy of 9.1 liters/100km.
The new turbo diesel model is equipped with an electronically controlled active all-wheel drive (AWD) system, while the 2.4 litre gasoline-powered version offers buyers two-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic or manual transmission.
Holden added that the Series II Captiva also benefits from a smoother, quieter ride and improved handling characteristics.
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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. 
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