1 Sep 2003
By CHRIS HARRIS
HOLDEN’S Crewman and One Tonner utilities grew out of the VT Commodore-based VU utility-derived VY ute chassis, created by the company bolting a chassis to the back of the ute’s monocoque-bodied cab.
It resulted in the longest rear-drive Holden ever.
In the case of Crewman, load carrying capacity is compromised to squeeze in an extra row of seats, making it the first five-seater Commodore-based ute and the first Australian-built four-door ute.
It was available in two distinct guises – rear-wheel drive and Cross8 all-wheel drive, with the latter incorporating Holden’s “Cross Trac” all-wheel drive system and the One Tonner's leaf-sprung live axle rear-end.
The rear-drive models used Holden’s outgoing 3.8-litre Ecotec V6 delivering 152kW of power and 302nm of torque through a four-speed automatic gearbox. The payload varied from 1070kg to 1087kg.
Meanwhile the Cross8 and Crewman SS employed the 225kW/460Nm 5.7-litre GEN III V8 four-speed automatic combination or six-speed manual combination.
