Acadia makes its Aussie debut
Holden’s big and brash American SUV arrives in Oz high on safety and low on priceThe long-awaited Holden Acadia - which cost General Motors $100 million to develop for the Australian market - has finally been launched down under. Holden’s new SUV hope has arrived with safety, size, power and sharp pricing to take up the fight against the likes of Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-9 and Toyota Kluger in the large SUV category.
Going on sale November 11, the new 2019 Holden Acadia will be available in three model grades (LT, LTZ and LTZ-V), one powertrain (V6 petrol and nine-speed auto), and two drivelines (2WD and AWD).
Pricing is sharp: the LT is $42,990 drive-away, the LTZ, $53,990 and the LTZ-V $63,990. The main options available across the board are AWD (a hefty $4000 extra) and prestige paint ($550).
Holden is also giving a $1000 Visa debit card to those who pre-order their Acadia ahead of the November 11 on sale date.
The Acadia’s electronic safety suite is extensive: all models from LT up get low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and bicycle detection (LTZ-V gets all-speed AEB), forward collision alert with head-up warning, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, side blind zone alert with rear cross traffic alert, following distance indicator, automatic high beam assist, safety seat alert, rear parking assist, reversing camera and seven airbags, traffic sign recognition and trailer sway control.
The Holden product – infused with much local Holden engineering input over the last four years – has beaten the US version the GMC Acadia with features such as AEB cyclist detection, edge of road recognition, traffic sign recognition, an all-new infotainment system (the replacement for Mylink) and the 9T65 nine-speed auto transmission (as used in the ZB Commodore).
The American Arcadia soldiers on with its six-speed auto and lesser infotainment/safety features and is only likely to get the Holden’s features in a MY2020 update due late next year.
The Acadia’s advanced camera monitoring set-up is not only superior to the GMC’s but also a GM world first. “This is the most advanced camera on any car globally released by GM,” Holden’s vehicle development manager, Jeremy Tassone said.
Key components tuned locally include the engine/transmission calibration, electric power steering and suspension tune. The passive-suspension models (LT and LTZ) were updated in the US with input from Aussie engineers (primarily to change damper valving) and the changes entered production recently for both GMC and Holden models.
While the passive-suspension LT and LTZ run a mud-and-snow 18-inch tyre like their American equivalents, unlike US Acadias the active-suspension LTZ-V has passenger tyres fitted to its 20-inch wheels.
All Acadias have an 18-inch space-saver tyre fitted underneath the rear cargo floor.
The Acadia is one of the biggest cross-over SUVs in its class, measuring 4979mm long, 1916mm wide and 1767mm high. While it’s no rock-hopper it has a good underbody clearance of 198mm (203mm for the LTZ-V with 20in wheels).
Luggage capacity is 292 litres with all three rows up, 1042 litres with the third row lowered and 2102 litres with both second- and third-row seats lowered.
Kerb weights span from 1874kg for the LT 2WD to 2032kg for the LTZ-V AWD. GVM is 2675kg for 2WD and 2722kg for AWD.
Towing capacity is set at 2000kg, of which 200kg can rest on the towball. For the Acadia to tow its maximum 2000kg, its payload maximum is reduced by 200kg.
A towbar and trailer wiring are standard across all models, but to get the towing tongue and towball it’s a $390 option.
The naturally aspirated 3.6-litre petrol V6 develops 231kW at 6600rpm and 367Nm of torque at 5000rpm. These figures push it to the top of the V6 class, some 13kW and 17Nm ahead of next-best Kluger. The turbo-four 2.5 CX-9 trounces the Acadia for torque though, at 420Nm.
The Acadia’s V6 - identical to ZB Commodore except for intake and exhaust - runs direct injection, a 11.5:1 compression ratio and has active fuel management (shutting fuel to cylinders in light-load conditions to reduce consumption) and auto stop.
Claimed average fuel consumption is 8.9L/100km for 2WD and 9.3L/100km for AWD models. CO2 emissions are 209g/km (2WD) and 219g/km (AWD). The 2WD model gets a 73-litre fuel tank, for the AWD it’s 82 litres.
The Acadia’s nine-speed auto offers selectable performance and trailer-towing (‘Tow/Haul’) modes for all models, while 2WD models get a snow mode and AWD models an off-road mode added to the rotary controller selection.
Performance mode alters not only gear selection but also steering response in all models.
The AWD system – driver-switchable, and disconnecting both at the rear diff and the PTU behind the transmission – is pre-emptive. While it’s not an off-roader as such, the AWD offers hill descent control.
Standard features for Acadia LT include keyless entry and start, remote engine start, tri-zone climate control, eight-inch infotainment screen, (embedded) satnav, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, USB 2.1amp ports in all three rows, auto high beam-assist, 18-inch alloy wheels and a hitch view system (overview camera).
LTZ adds leather trim, power, heated front seats, auto-dimming rear-vision mirror, wireless phone charging, power tailgate, rain-sensing wipers, front fog lights, front park assist and advanced park assist.
The top-tier LTZ-V also gets driver’s seat position memory, ventilated front seats, eight-speaker Bose Premium audio, 360-degree camera, dual sunroofs, eight-inch driver information display, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, all-speeds AEB, HID headlights, active dampers and 20-inch alloy wheels.
Holden Executive Director – Marketing, Kristian Aquilina said he believes the sales leader would be “LT or perhaps LTZ-V but then the sales split would probably settle down to around 30 per cent for each of the three model lines”.
Eight colours are available. No-cost colours include Summit White and Glory Red or, for $550 extra, buyers can order Scorpion, Dark Shadow, Nitrate Silver, Blue Steel, Mineral Black and Abalone White.
The Acadia comes with Holden’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and 12-month/12,000km service intervals. Service prices are capped for the lifetime of the vehicle, with the first five services (up to and including 60,000km) costing a total of $1535 (12,000km - $259, 24,000km - $299, 36,000km - $259, 48,000km - $359, 60,000km - $359).
How much does the 2019 Holden Acadia cost? (all prices are drive-away)
Holden Acadia LT 2WD $42,990
Holden Acadia LT AWD $46,990
Holden Acadia LTZ 2WD $53,990
Holden Acadia LTZ AWD $57,990
Holden Acadia LTZ-V 2WD $63,990
Holden Acadia LTZ-V AWD $67,990
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