2008 Holden Colorado LT-R 4×4 Review
November 19, 2008 by Matt Brogan
2008 Holden Colorado LT-R 4×4 Review & Road Test
Strong and efficient but a touch underdone
Model Tested:
- 2008 Holden RC Colorado LT-R Crew-cab, 3.0-litre, turbo- diesel, 4×4 automatic – $47,990 (RRP)
Options:
- Metallic Paint $300 (Fitted – Imperial Blonde)
Towing capacity, strong & economic diesel
Fit & finish, suspension set-up, engine noise
CarAdvice Rating: 
- by Matt Brogan
It would seem that the Holden Rodeo and Chevrolet Colorado have eloped to Thailand and returned with a cut-price bastard love child; introducing the all new Holden Colorado.
Although it is essentially based on the Rodeo platform, albeit with re-pressed Colorado sheet metal, Holden’s new light commercial is altogether a different machine, and despite looking markedly familiar from the outside at least, is not quite as well screwed together as I recall its predecessor being.
The upshot of this is that the Colorado has a marginally cheaper price tag than the Rodeo, which may appeal to some, but as with most things made for a price, there is a great deal of compromise apparent, not a good thing with competition so close.
Being the range topping LT-R tested, our Colorado offers side and rear steps, alloy wheels, front mud flaps, front fog lamps, remote central locking, six-disc CD tuner, trip computer, cruise control, power windows and mirrors, tilt adjustable leather clad steering wheel, cloth trim and air-conditioning, but get up close and personal and it is evident that the finer points of the Colorado are a little on the underdone side, in fact were it a steak, it’d still be mooing.
The interior is cheap and nasty, with harsh, poorly finished plastics, low grade cloth, crude switch gear (especially on the ventilation controls) and a general discontinuity of décor and tone that wreaks of parts bin throw together. I also had the lower dash fascia come off on to my feet on day one of our time together – not a good start.
Now sure, I’m being a little critical here, but it’s not entirely undeserved, for my week and a half with the Colorado have presented quite a few issues, the sum of which have left a bad taste in my mouth.
The steering has unusual and unnerving neutrality for about 30 degrees each side of centre before progressively firming through the remainder of the turn. Although at lower speeds this may well be convenient, it is an undesirable sensation at highway speeds – especially when overtaking.
Unfortunately for Holden the Rodeo started its decline with the introduction of the RA series at the end of 2002. Given that this is the basis for the Colorado its no wonder that it falls well short of what is expected today.
I remember when current generation was launched all those years ago it was best in class and quite a way ahead of its competitors, now its at the tail end of the field… Just goes to show just how far the dual cab ute sector has come in recent years! The Colorado / Rodeo isn’t all thaaaat bad a truck and it wasn’t so long ago it was considered a very good truck, it’s just that its competitors have come so far
Dlr1 – the RA series was a significant step forward over previous Rodeo’s and when originally launched was considered best in class as i spoke about above, its just that its competitors have all launched fresher and better models in recent years that have left it behind
Richo, unfortunately the build quality, fit, finish and quality of materials used fell way short of those used in the production of the R9 Rodeo. The RA may have been bigger, more powerful and had more features than its competitors, but the actual quality of its construction was a step backwards. A quick look at a lot of used 03 RA models compared to the older 02 R9 shows they havent held up as well.
The only thing that will save American named Thailand built Colorado is Holden’s ambitious AD’s, the Rodeo/Colorado has never been class leading, only Izuzu engines under the bonnet has any cred, but this is horribly let down by what surrounds it..
Horrid!
Great effort again Holden!
Can’t even prepare a car properly for a press review so that nothing falls off.
Dh whose job it was to prepare/provide the vehicle should get a kick up the rse.
No doubt will live another day to do it all over again.
Holden just keep digging that hole deeper and deeper.
Holden need to lift their game but unfortunately incompetent management obviously makes this impossible.
Wasting your breath telling people to buy the local stuff Charlie as these idiots just don’t get it.
Trouble is Holden don’t give a toss.
Doesn’t sound good. Nevertheless the real losers are the ones who buy these sorts of things as family cars because you can claim a full tax deduction on them.
Doesn’t matter that they handle poorly and aren’t as safe as a car or have next to no safety features like ABS, ESP, 6 airbags and so on.
People look at crap like this and carry their kids around in them despite having no use for the 4WD aspect. How I wish they would buy something applicable instead. (how about a VW Passat TDI wagon for less money ?)
OK as a work ute but anything else – no, don’t do it…
Re: the thai built thing, just about every dual cab ute on sale in australia is built in thailand including the hilux and the triton…
Also, i find it funny people saying “the only bit of cred is the fact that isuzu made the engine, everything else is crap” err… isuzu makes the whole bloody thing! lol
or atleast they used the make the whole thing, its now made in GM plants from a parts kit supplied by isuzu, nevertheless its an isuzu design, so Ford king of the mountain, your comments are slightly off..
by the way, i’m just correcting a few inaccuracies here, don’t think i am defending the colarado because it isn’t a very good car. If you really want this truck, you should by the isuzu d-max, same car, better built, cheaper price! Go figure..
$47,990! What? I know that they are not in nearly the same league but you could have an Audi or a BMW for that!
Just curious to know if a dealer or factory provided the car for testing?
So much for the bullshit $1500 to $1800 pre delivery charge.
Poor old holden thay just keep getting all the crap thats around for there new models if it not those bad dawoes now this what has is going on at holden
i dont believe its made in thailand anymore, so some may be incorrect.
I still wouldnt have thought it would “review up” that badly though……
have you guys roaded the D Max yet??
be interesting to see how it compares.
Isuzu makes pretty good diesels, and i believe its the exact same donk in the D Max.
be interested to see if you find the same engine as bad in the D Max.
seriously though,
if you guys are worried about the cheap plastic and interior cloth, then welcome to the jap ute segment.
it may be hard to believe but it used to be worse across the board only a few years ago.
this is the extreme painted picture of whay i chose to avoid buying jap utes in general.
i actually cant wait to see what comes of the upcoming Aussie designed (YEE HAA) Ranger.
who know, we might actually get one that handles good, is easy to steer and is actually comfortable. Can only hope
Oh,
i see you noted the massive turning circle, but did you also like what feels like 13 turns lock to lock??
another nasty jap ute trait
another low quality holden product!, to go with the barina, viva,epica,captiva. What is holden thinking with all these cheap second rate quality imports. Dont they realise what its doing to there reputation!, why not have the quality european corsa and vectra..
I test drove the Rodeo predecessor a couple of years ago, but it was pretty awful.
This appears to have continued the trend away from the Rodeos of the 90s which were extremely good vehicles.
Isuzu should be ashamed to allow its engines in these things.
Good to see the rating adds up – 3+2+2.5=7.5 /3 = 2.5 overall.
Unlike the Mitsubishi review, pretty much as bad as this car, which had a sum of 7.5 but magically an overall of 3.5 rather than the deserved 2.5.
Reckless1 – If Isuzu are ashamed for their engine to be in this, then they should have designed the rest of the car better! The whole car is an Isuzu design mate… Holden used to import the rodeo directly from isuzu, now they build it themselves (well GM anyway) under license from isuzu, but the whole car, not just the engine, is an isuzu design.
“under license from isuzu, but the whole car, not just the engine, is an isuzu design. ”
Maybe they should have let isuzu put it together as well :}
Richo, I’m not the smartest man in Australia and I never want to be, but Holden has become a bit of a disgrace to our sun burnt country, just face it GM dug their own graves when they acquired Daewoo and developing certain other practices to make a quick buck, which shows today as your favorite car’s and pick up have lost all credible stance in the industry, amaze’s me how any are sold at all.. >>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Oh Man !!!!!!!! I forgot, your daddy said buy only lion badge’s because it’s Australian and nothing else will matter >>> YEAH RIGHT !!!!!! hahahahahaha, lets not be so bias, I myself have purchased different makes of cars, motorbikes, boats, etc,,, and I certainly don’t have GM-DAEWOO-HOLDEN constantly rattling around in my brain..
also ford king (yep because your not biassed at all like your accusing me of being…) exactly where in this article have i defended holden? I do believe i said that the colarado is a bad car, i also said that you’d be better off buying the isuzu d-max as its the same car only better build and ALOT cheaper, so again, what the hell are you on about? loser…
Can’t see why the Rodeo is any better than a Colorado, they are exactly the same truck (bar cosmetic changes)built on the same production line in Thailand.
For those that squeal it is poorly built…..does that go for all the other Jap trucks built in Thailand……roll-eyes
They are all decent built trucks doing a job that they were designed for, hard work, which they do very well, and better than the aussie built utes which struggle to carry a bag of sand almost.
The thing that annoys me the most, is that stupid ad for the Colorado showing it being abused by tradesmen, and large objects being hurled into the carrying tray……
Well tell me this Holden..
If I abuse my vehicle the way that ad depicts, will you still honor the warranty?
Hey, I been doing a little research on this Colorado VS Isuzu D-Max thing. I’ve drive both and one thing stuck out. The D-MAX seemed to have a huge amount more grunt than the Colorado, yet (published)performance figures are (almost) exactly the same…. well.. after a little more research (which wasn’t easy as Holden almost cover it up). The Isuzu runs a DOHC 4 valve Deisel engine, the Holden (read: old Rodeo)runs the SOHC 2 valve. The simple difference is that the Isuzu D-MAX has a much bigger torque curve which runs for about 2000rpm from 1600 rpm. In the real world, it simply makes the Isuzu D-MAX a whole heap more usable.
is that right Scotland???
thats interesting.
i would have assumed looking at the stats that it is the same engine.
i dont see why they would run a different donk for the same car.
Dave,
the Colorado isnt made on the sme production line.
the Colorado isnt made in the same place as the old rodeo was nor where the D-Max is.
Aussie utes cant even carry a bag of sand??
well how come the falcon ute has a higher carrying capacity than the all mighty Hilux??…….Roll-eyes….
Also if you throw a tonne of sand on a falcon ute, at least it can actually pull it with out struggling.
I got a WB One-tonner that’s 25 yrs old, that still runs like a clock, that still carries a tonne .. and which still has a bigger standard Alcoa tray (in length and width), than the crap that passes for 1 tonne utes or traytops, nowadays. I think I’ll hang on to the WB a bit longer. At least the plastic and steel in my ute has stood the test of time. I wonder what a current Colorado/Rodeo/Mitsi/Bravo will look like in 25 yrs time?? – particularly if the plastic crap inside the cab is falling off on the new-vehicle road test??
Andrew,
did you read what i said?
I’ve driven both, the differences are obvious.
simply SOHC is inferior to the DOHC.
the ra is a better vehicle to drive but finally fixed the flat spot ra rodeos have
I own a 2008 Colorado and it does every thing expected of it. The ride is comfortable,excellent towing strength, finished off well and does all I want of it in the bush.
I just recently bought an 09 colorado. I took it out behind Mt tambaz to test it out see wat it could do.. It handles well could go on every track except for one only because of clearance issues and if uve been out there some of the tracks are worse than landcruiser park due to no maintenance obviously so it wasnt a pussy 4wd it was pretty hectic lol. I pushed it to the limit few close calls but u know they said it was tuff in the adds so i gave it a good hiding.
NOW THESE ARE THE FAULTS I FOUND WITH IT WITH ONLY 564 KM ON THE CLOCK.
> THE HOSE FROM THE TURBO TO INTERCOOLER KEEPS SLIDING OFF
> THE STOCK WHEELS *LTR MODEL ALLOYS* ARE LIKE SLICKS, YOU HAVE TO HOLD URE FOOT FLAT STRAP IN 4WH TO GET UP STEEP HILL CLIMBS AND STILL DRIFTS EVERYWHERE, AS SOON AS THEY GET A BIT OF MUD ON EM URE F****.
> THE SUSPENSION STANDS STOCK AS LOW AS A RAV4 OR SOME OTHER GIRL 4WD IT BOTTOMS OUT EVERYWHERE!
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AND TO TOP ALL THINGS OFF AT THE END OF THE DAY JUST BEFORE WE LEFT DECIDED TO HAVE A BIT OF FUN IN A STRETCH THICK MUD BECAUSE THE TYRES ARE ABSOLUTE CRAP I DECIDED TO GO A BIT FASTER THAN NORMAL SO I WLDNT GET BOGGED MADE IT THROUGH THE OTHERSIDE HAD SO MUCH FUN THOUGHT GO BACK DO IT AGAIN…..ON THE WAY THROUGH THE SECOND TIME UNDER THE MUD WAS HIDING A SMALL TREE STUMP IT HIT THE BASH GUARD, ACTIVATING THE TWO FRONT AIR BAGS SMASH ME IN THE JAW AND MY MATE IN THE GUTS, LUCKILY I FREAKED OUT AND KEPT DRIVING TO AVOID GETTING BOGGED NOT KNOWING WTF JST HAPPENED GOT TO THE HARD LAND LOOKED UNDER THE CAR EVERYTHING WAS FINE NOT EVEN A SCRATCH ON THE FRONT BAR AND THE F**** AIR BAGS COME OUT! CALLED HOLDEN THEY SCRATCHED THEIR HEADS, I BROUGHT IT IN THEY TOOK THE KEYS, THE NEXT DAY THEY SAID CALL URE INSURANCE COMPANY WE NOT COVERING IT.
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SO NOW EVERYTIME YOU GO FOR A 4WD IN URE NEW “TUFF” HOLDEN COLORADO BE READY FOR A BAG THAT HITS AS HARD AS MUNDINE TO JUMP AT YA IF YOU HIT THE BASH GUARD A BIT TOO HARD ON A 4WD TRACK SOMEWHERE, WHICH IS MEANT FOR A LITTLE BIT OF IMPACT “BASH GUARD”.
F**** HOLDEN THEYRE BUNCH OF TYPICAL CAR SALESMEN THAT TREAT YOU LIKE A KING TO BUY ONE BUT WHEN IT F**** UP AND SH** HITS THE FAN DONT EXPECT ANY HELP OR EVEN FEEDBACK FROM THE DOGS THEY’VE HAD MY CAR FOR A WEEK AND A HALF AND STILL HAVNT CALLED, IM READY TO K.O A TREE IN THE BUSH WRIGHT IT OFF AND GET A LANDCRUISER V8 D.
Sounds like a piece of crap ! I’ve been a holden man all my life but i think they’ve lost it.
I drove a rodeo crewcab 4×4 about 3 years ago and they handled like rubbish back then too.
terr! wot a loser – my brand noo “ooh ahh LTR” is just superb and for the doe – outperforms anything in its class with comfort…besides, holden just smashed ford at bathurst AGAIN!!! wots not too like about that frord losers!