holden adventra xwur
Sam Charlwood7 Nov 2016
NEWS

Holden Adventra to make a comeback?

2018 Holden Commodore range set to include high-riding crossover variant

Holden’s replacement to the locally-built Commodore will include a high-riding 4x4 wagon variant, General Motors’ European arm has told reporters.

The new model will form part of the 2018 Opel Insignia line-up, the new Commodore's twin in Europe. Speculation is now rampant that Holden will offer the new model in Australia – possibly reviving its Adventra nameplate – when the imported Commodore arrives in showrooms from 2018.

General Motors’ European offshoot, Opel, reportedly confirmed the Country Tourer all-wheel drive high-riding wagon at a briefing in Germany today.

The Country Tourer and matching Sports Tourer station wagon will be formally unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March. Both will go on sale in Europe in the second half of 2017 with Opel’s latest AWD technology, pointing to a likely 2018 start for the ‘Adventra’ in Australia.

Holden has declined to comment on the matter. Given the Lion brand’s eagerness to strengthen the Commodore nameplate following the demise of Australian manufacturing, the Country Tourer is all-but certain to make its way Down Under.

The bigger unknown will be the moniker adorning its tailgate. The Adventra was last sold in Australia between 2003 and 2009, and in Europe Opel has confirmed all future SUVs and crossovers will bear the letter X in their nomenclature.

"We want the name to convey a more adventurous, sportier mindset," Opel chief executive Karl-Thomas Neumann said.

There was some other good news out of the German press announcement. Expect it to bear other significant ramifications for Holden, which confirmed last year that it would roll out 24 new models by 2020.

Several of those were understood to be previewed at the press briefing by Opel’s chief executive, who promised “2017 will be the most active year in the history of our company” in terms of product launches.

The international product offensive will include the Crossland X small crossover. A replacement to the Meriva, it will join the Opel Mokka X SUV (Holden Trax) in the subcompact segment, with a less masculine design and more interior space. The car’s platform will be shared with the next Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 Picasso, Opel confirmed, sharing styling parallels with the Opel Adam small car, reports said.

Opel also announced a Peugeot 3008-sized compact cross-over that will be sold alongside its Zafira minivan, according to Auto News Europe. The name of the mystery model hasn’t been disclosed but it will include the suffix ‘X’, Opel said. The crossover will be built by PSA in France and is a sister model to the 3008.

On the electric front Opel told reporters its new Ampera-e electric car would arrive in European dealerships mid-year. It has already been ruled out for Australia.

There will also be a new variant of Opel’s Vivaro large van, though its place in Australia is unknown at this stage.

Whichever way Holden goes, it is clear that SUVs will form a key tier of their product strategy. Having already confirmed the GMC Acadia will replace the Captiva 7, and the Equinox will replace the smaller Captiva 5, Holden recently rehashed its Colorado 7 in the form of the Trailblazer SUV, and will soon update the Trax.

There will be other movement in the sportscar space, too, with Holden confirming in 2015 that it will bring a rear-drive V8 to market.

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