The special edition Thunder pack bulks up the Holden Colorado
The toughest of all market arenas in the hard fought Australian market is that of light commercial vehicles (LCVs). Best known as utes, or the American term, pickup.
Today, these vehicles are far more than load haulers. Indeed, some of them will never heft more than a jet-ski or trail bike because utes are more and more often the vehicle of choice for tough guys, and occasionally tough gals buy them as well.
Showponies? Perhaps, but some of them look brilliant and are cared for with a great deal of pride.
Holden launched its new Colorado ute / pickup in June 2012 and is well aware of the way that workhorse buyers think. So they’ve come up with a special edition ‘Thunder’ pack.
The Thunder pack is available on Colorado LX 4×4 Crew Cab-Chassis and pickup; and the Colorado LT and LTZ 4×4 Crew Cab pickup.
Holden is offering the Thunder pack at no additional cost on Colorado 4×4 LT Crew Cab with special driveaway pricing of $39,990.
The Holden Colorado Thunder has a good looking nudge bar; bonnet protector; slimline weather shields and a towing package; front carpet mats and one-piece rear carpet floor mat.
A soft tonneau is standard on LTZ 4×4 Crew Cab Pickup but not included on the LX 4×4 Crew Cab Chassis model.
Thunder badging lets others know you’re driving in something special.
Holden’s marketing manager, Kristian Aquilina, says, “the Colorado Thunder offers outstanding value for customers looking to upgrade their LCV before the end of the financial year. It bundles all of our most popular Colorado accessories in one pack, which not only makes Colorado Thunder a compelling offer, but looks fantastic too.”
As well as those with the special Thunder package, Holden Colorado comes in a staggering range of models, with three body styles: three-seat Single Cab, Space Cab with rear access doors and two occasional seats and the Crew Cab.
As is becoming common in this class, Colorado features diesel power only. Four-cylinder Duramax turbo-diesel engines of 2.5-litre or 2.8-litre capacity are mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel generates 132 kW of power and maximum 470 Nm of torque when teamed with the six-speed auto, and a maximum 440 Nm of torque with the five-speed manual transmission.
Vehicles with the 2.8-litre motor stump up a class-leading towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes, while the 2.5-litre unit, rated at 110 kW and 350 Nm, is capable of pulling three tonnes.
Every Colorado is rated for a one tonne payload, with some models able to carry as much as 1.4 tonnes. As a rough rule, the sportier the model the less weight it’s designed to carry.
A fully-integrated tow bar kit gives Colorado’s a 3.5 tonne towing capacity on the 2.8-litre range. General Motors’ design studio in Brazil was the focus of exterior and interior design, the team tasked with coming up with features that would fit in with multiple markets around the world.
Active and passive safety features are installed in the complete Colorado range including Electronic Stability Control and ABS Anti-lock Braking System with Electronic Brake Force Distribution.
There are front airbags for driver and passenger, full-length curtain airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners with load limiters, front seatbelt sash height adjustment and three rear seat child anchor points on Crew Cab models.
Colorado owners can personalise their vehicles with more than 38 individual accessories, two-thirds of which have been developed in Australia. These include a snorkel for the 2.8-litre diesel range, a steel bull bar, body-coloured hard tonneau covers, alloy sports bar and nudge bar, steel and aluminium trays and canopy with glass areas. Check out the features fitted to the Thunder to get an idea of where buyer choices lie.
The tough Colorado pickup comes with Holden’s three-year 100,000 kilometre factory warranty and up to four servicing bills capped at $295.
With the exception that the Thunder pack comes standard with the 4×4 LT Crew Cab GM-Holden isn’t providing pricing so you’ll need to contact your local dealer.
