Holden 2016 Colorado and Trailblazer preview drive

Holden Colorado and Trailblazer
Integration, Pre-Production and Manufacturing Validation Preview

It might be the end of the line for General Motors vehicle manufacturing in Australia next year, but Holden engineers will continue to play a part in developing imported models for local tastes. With the Spark micro-car done and dusted, the team turned their attention to the Colorado ute and Trailblazer (nee Colorado 7) SUV, undertaking local engine, chassis and equipment upgrades. Combined, Holden says they will give the big utility range more than a fighting chance against strong-selling rivals like the Ford Ranger and all-conquering Toyota HiLux, and their SUV derivatives – the Everest and Fortuner.

It doesn't matter how many times you're invited to a facility like the Lang Lang proving ground, to a car nut it's always a little bit special.

Visiting GM Holden's secretive 877-hectare engineering facility 89km south-east of Melbourne conjures up a rush of nostalgia – and with the development of every locally-built Holden since the FC having happened right here, it's easy to get lost in the moment.

But I'm here on business; so with my phone and lap-top lenses covered with serial-numbered tape, I venture (escorted, of course) beyond the 4.7km high-speed bowl, the 5.5km ride and handling course and 1.8km noise road to Holden's 98-metre-diameter skid pan, where a trio of engineering development vehicles awaits.

Beneath the black and white camouflaged body cladding is what's very obviously the next-generation Colorado one-tonner and Trailblazer SUV, which was previously known as the Colorado 7. And for the next two days, I'll experience first-hand everything the revised models have to offer.

From Lang Lang to the Nurburgring
Driving hand-built integration vehicles is a privilege of the job I never take lightly. The cost of these 'one-off' models can extend to seven digits, and as we run through the itinerary of the next 48 hours my first thought is "please, don't crash it".

But while the vehicles themselves are special enough, it's meeting the team behind their development that's equally humbling. Before me are men and women responsible for some of the most impressive locally-developed cars ever built.

They include the current SS V-Series Redline, development of which was strongly influenced by Amelinda Watt, who is now Lead Development Engineer for the MY17 Colorado and Trailblazer.

"In developing the Colorado and Trailblazer the two key things for us were driveability and refinement," Watt explained as she introduced the team.

"The truck market has evolved so much over the past few years that customers now expect car-like handling performance, far better ride comfort and much-improved vehicle refinement.

"We knew we could get the kind of improvements our customers asked for, and we think these vehicles show that they are now at the level they really need to be."

Watt invites me to join vehicle dynamics engineer, Rob Trubiani, for the first of three exercises we'll undertake at Lang Lang. As the man behind Holden's 2013 Nurburgring ute record (8:19.37), Trubiani is quite the wheelman, which provided some comfort as we piloted the high-speed bowl at over 160km/h – hands-free!

"The bank of the high-speed bowl was designed so that at 160km/h you can take your hands off the wheel," Trubiani demonstrates. "The centrifugal force will hold the car in the top lane until you slow down."

But slow down he doesn't. Trubiani guns the camo-clad Trailblazer to just more than 180km/h before suddenly executing an emergency lane-change.

"With the chassis controls switched off, the level of control we've engineered into the Colorado and Trailblazer is really quite impressive," he continues, as if nothing really happened.

Admittedly, it really didn't. The vehicle executed the manoeuvre as if we'd just dodged a trolley at the Woolworths car park. Given its mass and ride height I expected to barrel-roll to a fiery death, but the exercise (repeated several times, and all without notice, thanks Rob) was proof enough Holden's next-generation large LCV and SUV range is vastly improved.

New to the model range is electronic power steering (formerly hydraulically-assisted) drawn from the same supplier as the VFII Commodore. The steering tune is unique to Australian models, with a faster rack (dropping from 3.9 to 3.29 turns lock-to-lock in ute models and from 3.4 to 3.29 in SUV variants) and improved road feel and speed sensitivity carefully dialled in.

Back at the skid pan we swap seats. Trubiani pulls a laptop from his bag and plugs a loom of wires into a USB port before asking me to drive a figure of eight. He asks me to get a feel for the steering before grabbing at the curve of an X-Y axis chart with his mouse.

Suddenly, I'm thrust back to the 1970s as the power assistance is reduced to virtually zero. He explains that they can alter the weight and feel almost infinitely, and at different levels for various road speeds in almost any fashion they see fit.

"The computing power on offer here is really very impressive," Trubiani explains. "We can alter almost any aspect of the steering we need to, which really helps us tune the vehicle to the many different customers – and uses – it can be expected to experience."

Of course the ability to effortlessly perform a sudden lane-change at 180km/h hasn't come from the electronic steering alone. The Colorado and Trailblazer are now both equipped with softer springs and a larger front sway bar (up from 29mm in ute variants and 31mm in SUV variants to 34mm across the board), as well as new digressive dampers.

In digressive dampers the valving profile is not linear. As shaft speeds increase, the rate of damping force tapers off, the shaft speed being lower during low-speed inputs and higher during high-speed inputs. The increase in resistance created allows better control over damping force right up to where, at a preset point, the pressure is relieved. It's a system that works incredibly well over large lumps and bumps, especially when the vehicle is close to its GVM.

"The use of these vehicles is so varied – from on-road to off-road, towing up to 3500kg, and of course being driven with just the driver right through to full GVM – that it presents its own challenges when tuning the suspension," explains Watt as we walk to the next exercise.

"But fortunately, with the new shock absorber technology, we've really been able to improve the [suspension] tune to deliver much better control across a much wider variety of conditions."

Holden has worked closely with tyre supplier Bridgestone to formulate a model-specific Dueler H/T tyre, the compound and tread of the new low-rolling resistance rubber delivering a quieter and grippier ride.

Grip, flip, trip and slip
From the 'chalet' at the centre of Holden's proving ground we again attempt flipping one of the development vehicles, this time with the aid of a trailer.

Holden has added trailer-sway control to the Colorado and Trailblazer’s improved traction and stability control system, which also includes auto-acting off-road hill-descent control.

To make sure the trailer sway function works, we hitch a tandem axle trailer rigged with 2000kg of payload (set as far rearward as possible to exaggerate the effect) to one of the development vehicles, and head down an escape road for a run-up. Hitting the skid pan at 110km/h, we’re then instructed to swerve through a series of cones and let the electronics do the rest.

Needless to say it’s the second time in as many hours I’ve had the shit scared out of me. Relinquishing control to the vehicle’s electronics is an exercise that fights your instincts at the best of times. When a poorly-balanced trailer is attempting to lift the tow vehicle from the ground it’s nothing short of terrifying.

After being tossed left to right and washing off a little speed, I resumed control and we carried on as if nothing had happened. It’s the ideal situation for a potentially perilous outcome, and one that will no doubt prove its worth to those who tow, whether they're experienced or not.

We next had the opportunity to sample the development vehicles over an off-road course at the centre of the proving ground, and again in the Toolangi State Forest.

The challenging obstacles at the proving ground demonstrated the newly improved electronic chassis controls (traction and stability) and helical limited-slip (rear) differential in unison on a hard diagonal start (where only the front left-hand wheel and rear right-hand wheel had contact with the ground).

Blocking the alternate wheels with slabs of cement, the demonstration proved how the electronic system was able to mimic the action of a locking differential to good effect.

We were also able to sample the compliance of the new dampers over the rough off-road loop, and again felt the difference between the electric and hydraulically-assisted steering systems.

It’s pretty obvious the changes made have improved the Colorado and Trailblazer. It’s a calmer ride better suited to recreational use than before, and on the highway stretch between the proving ground and the forest north of Healesville they showed improved compliance and road-holding.

The vehicles’ ability to pick and hold a line through lumpy corners has considerably improved, which should be a significant benefit for the safety of owners who frequent choppy back-roads.

Holden’s lead engineer said many of the changes will also improve the models in other markets. The existing Colorado and Colorado 7 (and indeed many of Holden’s other imported models) had very little input from the local team, and were imported from Thailand with a chassis tune developed in other markets. For Australia, both the Colorados were tuned largely in Brazil, a market where off-roading as we know it is seen as a novelty.

“Having the Brazilian engineers join us helped us better understand how four-wheel drives are utilised in various places,” Watt explained.

“They were quite surprised that we head out bush recreationally. For them a vehicle like the Colorado is a work vehicle for trade or agricultural use. I think they found the idea of camping and recreational four-wheel driving quite novel,” she quipped.

It sounds like a casual remark, but it goes a long way to explaining the chassis tune of both Colorados, which were broadly criticised for their 'truck-like' ride/handling.

Although there has been significant chassis tuning for the upgraded LCV and SUV, we should point out that the fundamental body and suspension design has not changed for either the Colorado or Trailblazer, so suspension travel and geometry remains unchanged.

The Colorado’s wishbone (front) and leaf (rear) suspension arrangement still provides ground clearance of 231mm and a wading depth of 600mm. Approach, break-over and departure angles likewise remain at 30, 23 and 22 degrees respectively. The Colorado dual-cab’s turning circle is also unaltered at 12.7m.

For the Trailblazer (remembering it’s essentially unchanged from the Colorado 7) it’s a similar story. Retaining the former model’s double wishbone (front) and multi-link (rear) arrangement, the model continues to offer 219mm of ground clearance and 600mm wading depth, with approach, break-over and departure angles of 30.1, 22.6 and 25.1 degrees respectively. The Trailblazer’s turning circle is tighter than the Colorado’s at 11.6m.

The Trailblazer again picks up disc brakes all-round where the ute features a disc/drum arrangement. The models do, however, now share the same brake booster, after Holden ditched the Colorado 7’s smaller unit in favour of the more powerful model in on the Colorado.

How's the serenity?
Holden says that although more power and torque is on the way – likely with the next upgrade – for now the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel will continue to output 147kW at 3600rpm and 500Nm at 2000rpm (auto models, with 440Nm available at 2000rpm in manual variants).

But that isn't the end of the story. The engine is significantly overhauled, at least from an NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) perspective.

New sheer-type engine, transmission and body mounts are said to reduce vibration and noise transfer, while repositioned balance shafts, new injector and oil pan isolators, and a metal front timing cover (replacing the previous plastic assembly) work to soften the powerplant's clatter.

Further, the six-speed automatic transmission now benefits from a CPA (centrifugal pendulum absorber) torque converter that not only reduces vibration but also shift flare. The transmission is recalibrated to allow the torque converter to lock up more often, reducing fuel consumption by as much as 0.5L/100km (previous automatic variants consumed 8.1L/100km on the ADR Combined cycle).

Manual models remain largely unchanged, save for a change to the final drive ratio (from 3.73 to a shorter 4.10:1), which Holden says will improve acceleration and hill climbing performance.

Holden also used Monash University's wind tunnel to improve wind acoustics of its full-size LCV and SUV, changing various mouldings and door seals, and mirror gaskets and scalps to attenuate the rustle generated around the side windows.

It all stacks up to a quieter cabin from which to enjoy an updated infotainment array. The all-new 8.0-inch touch-screen MyLink infotainment array and centre stack play host to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and a reversing camera as standard across the range (although reversing camera is not available on cab-chassis variants), with high-grade models adding built-in sat-nav.

The instrument panel is also all-new and much easier to read than the small dials of the unit it replaces.

More durable cloth-trimmed seats are also part of the deal, while dusk-sensing headlights, remote start (on auto models), remote power windows and LED DRLs also join the list.

Electronic driver aids now include lane-departure warning, front parking sensors, tyre-pressure monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring, while a driver's knee airbag is also added, taking the airbag count to seven.

Holden says it will also offer up to 70 per cent of the accessories featured on its Colorado Xtreme Concept in the local range.

The Colorado will remain available in Single, Space and Crew Cab body configurations, while the Trailblazer (nee Colorado 7) will likely remain a two-grade proposition.

It began with a Spark...
But there's no doubt the biggest news for the Colorado and Trailblazer range is the greater input Holden's local engineers have had in its development.

With the Commodore's global rear-wheel drive Zeta platform removed from their focus, GM's Australian engineers say imported models like the Spark, Colorado and Trailblazer have finally been given the attention they – and their buyers -- deserve.

It's obvious from our brief drive of pre-production engineering development vehicles that they're not bending the truth. The vehicles we drove are indeed better than the ones they replace – and with Holden offering an outgoing MY16 Colorado for direct comparison, it's clear the company thinks so too.

Of course the true test will come when we compare the new Holdens with their nearest rivals. When it came to improving the Colorado to better meet customer expectations, Holden says it primarily benchmarked the market leaders: the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.

"Benchmarking is a natural part of business for us," said Watt. "We benchmark to get an understanding of what the market is like and then look to deliver the best product we can.

"For this program, we're going after the top two: Ranger and HiLux. We also looked at the Navara, Triton and Amarok, which obviously gave us a pretty wide scope. So it becomes about finding the right balance between the cost of the vehicle and what we're able to deliver.

"We're always mindful of competitors, but we're also aware of what we have to work with," she added.

"We have worked hard to ensure customers upgrading from a previous-generation Colorado or Colorado 7 will notice the changes with the new models because retaining those customers – as well as attracting new ones – is obviously of very real importantance to us."

Holden's upgraded Colorado and Trailblazer range go on sale in August and September respectively.

The extended local development program for both models, in which its engineers had greater sway in the program alongside GM engineers from across the globe, is a taste of things to come as Holden prepares to launch its first imported Commodore late next year.