IT HAS a ladder chassis, leaf springs and a diesel engine but Holden’s Colorado ute is the still car-maker’s number two-selling vehicle behind the locally built Commodore.

Known as the Rodeo for 28 years Holden changed its ute’s name to Colorado in 2008 following a split with Isuzu which had built the car but had just entered the market with its D-Max rival.

Today the second-generation Colorado is still related to its D-Max cousin under the skin, but both have their technical differences and are built at separate Thai plants.

There are 13 different variants of the ute available in three body shapes – Single Cab, Space Cab and Crew Cab – with a choice of two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive and in four grades starting with the entry DX, LS, LT and ranging topping LTZ. A 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel powers the line-up.

In 2012 Holden launched an SUV version called the Colorado 7, which is four-wheel drive only and seats seven.

Isuzu and Holden will join forces again for the third-generation vehicle, but with its arrival possibly years away be prepared for revised models to go on sale just like this one.

The Colorado has been updated for 2015 with a quieter cabin and luxury touches for the LTZ grades of the ute and seven-seater SUV – both of which we sampled at the recent local launch.

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