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Holden Colorado

RC Colorado

1 Jul 2008

AS of July 2008, Colorado is in and Rodeo is out as Holden redoubled its efforts in the booming light truck segment.

The reality is that the RC Colorado is essentially the previous RA Series II Rodeo built by Isuzu in Thailand, but with a redesigned nose and tail-lights, and more standard features, including air-conditioning, dual front airbags and greater availability of ABS anti-lock brakes.

Model proliferation falls, from around 45 to 30 versions, compared to Rodeo, but other than that, there are the same Single, Space and Crew cab choices, in combinations with petrol or diesel and 4x2 rear-wheel drive or 4x4 four-wheel drive.

Compared to its five-year old predecessor, every body panel forward of the A-pillar is different while the tail-lights feature different graphics to help set it apart from the previous Rodeo. There are also minor trim changes inside.

Finally, LT-R replaces LT as the range topper, joining the base DX and mid-spec LX in the Colorado line-up.

As before, there are three engine choices – two petrol units built by Holden (a 2.4-litre four-cylinder and a 3.6-litre V6) as well as the 3.0-litre diesel powerplant that debuted in the last Rodeo makeover in early 2007.

The latter is a 2999cc 3.0-litre VCDi common-rail, intercooled and Euro IV emissions compliant four-cylinder engine delivering 120kW of power at 3600rpm.

If you choose the five-speed manual diesel version, there is 360Nm of torque on tap at 1800rpm, or 333Nm at 1600rpm if the four-speed automatic transmission is preferred.

Like Rodeo, in petrol Colorados there is the 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 producing 157kW at 5300rpm and 313Nm at 2800rpm, or the manual-only 2.4-litre single-cam four-cylinder unit delivers 92kW at 4800rpm and 207Nm at 3200rpm. There is no LPG option.

In diesel-powered Rodeo 4x4s, the maximum braked towing capacity is 3000kg – it was 2500kg for the old manual model and only 2000kg for the old auto.

For the rear-driven 4x2 diesel models, as well as all V6 Colorados regardless of their drivetrain layout, the braked towing capacity is rated at 2500kg. The 2.4-litre petrol version can haul 2000kg.

Underneath lies the same box-section in chassis construction as before, which provides strong torsional rigidity.

All 4x4 models come with a strengthened heavy-duty driveline, a two-speed transfer case to improve off-road ability, and push-button ‘on-the-fly’ low/high range capability.

When it was new

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