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2013 Chevrolet TrailBlazer under consideration for Australia

Holden is looking closely at the all-new Colorado-based SUV – the TrailBlazer – for an Australian launch.


General Motors has released a teaser image of the 2013 Chevrolet TrailBlazer ahead of its world premiere at the Dubai International Motor Show on November 10.

The Chevrolet TrailBlazer is a global mid-sized SUV built on the platform of the new Chevrolet/Holden Colorado. It will initially go on sale in Thailand early next year before spreading to other markets around the world.

Holden spokeswoman Kate Lonsdale said the local brand would give strong consideration to the TrailBlazer for our market.

“We always review everything in the GM portfolio … so certainly we’ll review it,” Ms Lonsdale said. “It looks pretty exciting.”

It is her understanding that the TrailBlazer is larger than the Holden Captiva 7, which currently fills the medium SUV market for Holden in Australia.

Ms Lonsdale said Holden’s planning department would need to assess the TrailBlazer and the Captiva 7 to see if there was room for both, or only one, in our market.

The TrailBlazer will be a more rugged vehicle than the urban-focused Captiva with greater off-road ability. GM says it will combine “the hauling and towing capability of an SUV with the ride comfort and efficiency of a crossover”.

It will almost certainly utilise the same engines as the Colorado, with Chevrolet’s 110kW/350Nm 2.5-litre and 132kW/470Nm 2.8-litre diesel engines expected to headline the range in Thailand and other markets.

Like the Colorado, it is also likely to be offered in rear- and all-wheel drive.

The TrailBlazer looks set to compete with a new wave of ute-based SUVs, including models based on the Australian-designed Ford Ranger and the Mazda BT-50.

The TrailBlazer will be similar to the Mitsubishi Challenger (based on Triton) and the Nissan Pathfinder (based on Navara), which have been on sale in Australia for years. After the first nine months of this year, 1723 Challengers and 1650 Pathfinders have been sold in Australia, giving them a combined 5.9 per cent share of the medium SUV market.

Should the Holden TrailBlazer be sold in Australia? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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