LPG for Colorado
BY MARTON PETTENDY | 7th Dec 2010
An all-new Colorado will be one of 10 new models Holden committed in October to releasing by mid-2012, but that hasn’t stopped the current model joining Ford’s Falcon Ute and Holden’s own Commodore-based Ute becoming LPG-friendly.
Three dual-fuel V6 Colorado models are on sale nationally now, joining the E85 ethanol-compatible 3.0 and 6.0-litre VEII Commodores in Holden’s ‘EcoLine’ range: the 4x2 Single Cab Chassis and both LX and LT-R versions of the Crew Cab pick-up.
Covered by a three-year/100,000km warranty, the LPG system is a $3850 (plus GST) option and can be offset by a $2000 federal government rebate for eligible private customers, plus a rebate of $1000 for vehicles registered in Western Australia.
Delivering lower performance outputs than the Commodore Ute’s 175kW/325Nm LPG V6 (and the Colorado’s 157kW/313Nm 3.6-litre petrol V6), the engine produces 155kW at 5400rpm and 300Nm of torque from 2700rpm.
Dual-fuel Colorados come with the same 2500kg braked towing capacity as their dedicated petrol V6 counterparts and emit less CO2, but when running on LPG consume more fuel at 16.7 litres per 100km (ECE) for manual versions and 17.2L/100km for automatics (versus between 12.5 and 13.7L/100km for V6 Colorado models).
CO2 outputs are stated at 269 grams per kilometre (manual) and 276g/km (auto).
As in the Commodore, the Euro 4 emissions-compliant LPG system employs Sequential Vapour Gas Injection (SVGI) technology, in which gas is injected into the engine’s intake manifold, and automatically switches over to petrol at higher engine speeds to achieve peak power.
The 4x2 Cab Chassis comes fitted with a 56-litre cylindrical LPG tank located between the chassis rails, while the Crew Cab models use a 76-litre donut-shaped 'toroidal' tank in the spare wheel casing.
Both models’ existing petrol tanks are unchanged. Both models can be fitted with a default LPG switch that sounds a warning tone when the LPG tank is empty and the vehicle is running on petrol.
“We think the introduction of the LPG option to the Colorado range is a clear advantage for the customer,” said Holden director of marketing Philip Brook.
“Customers have the space, power and performance that they need while slashing their fuel bill in a big way.
“LPG is widely available across Australia and perhaps most importantly gives customers access to heavy duty truck benefits with small car running costs,” he said.
