Holden\'s official pics of production Colorado SUV

Holden has today issued pictures of a new SUV set to be unveiled at the Bangkok International Motor Show Thailand next week. Unlike the vehicle shown in Dubai late last year, this is the production model of the Colorado 7, not a concept. In the images, the vehicle is badged as a Chevrolet Trailblazer, but the Thai-built vehicle for Australia will be named Holden Colorado 7 to maintain an association with the light commercial vehicle that shares its platform and mechanicals. The new generation pick-up will go on sale here from around the middle of the year, with the SUV to follow near the end of the year. “Australians are buying more SUVs than ever before, and we’ve seen this demand reflected in the growing popularity of our Series II Captiva range,” said Holden Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, John Elsworth, in a press release accompanying the images. “The Colorado 7 will be a perfect fit for customers looking for the increased packaging flexibility and lifestyle benefits of clever interior storage, seven seats and rugged off-road performance. Developed to deliver everything Australians could want from a tough 4WD, with coil-sprung five-link rear suspension and a competitive three-tonne towing capacity the Colorado 7 will be an impressive addition to our SUV line-up. Its heavy-duty 4WD credentials and refined driving characteristics make it equally at home in the suburbs and off the beaten track.” In the press release Holden has described the new model as "the first heavy-duty 4WD SUV to wear a Holden badge in almost a decade". That makes it essentially a descendent of the Jackaroo, which was also built by Isuzu in the past. Direct competitors would include Nissan Pathfinder and Mitsubishi Challenger, both of which were also developed from a pick-up chassis. The launch of the Colorado 7 here is expected to beat Ford and Toyota to the punch. Both those companies are rumoured to be preparing SUVs based on pick-ups (Ranger and HiLux, respectively) for the local market. Holden will release further information about the Colorado 7 closer to local launch.