The new Holden Colorado that could have been
The Holden Colorado ute that departed Australia with the Holden brand in 2020 lives on overseas – and is about to get another major facelift that was on-track to be offered here.
The Holden Colorado ute – the brand’s final top-selling model in Australia – is about to get a significant upgrade for its 12th birthday in South America, where it remains on sale after it was axed in Australia in 2020.
Had the Holden brand not been axed by US car giant General Motors in 2020, the updated Colorado – which is due to introduce US-inspired tough-truck looks and a high-tech cabin to the ageing bones of the current model – is likely to have come to Australia.
US-based General Motors specialist website GM Authority reports the Chevrolet S-10 – as the Holden Colorado is known in South America – is later this year due for the third major appearance change since the current model was unveiled in 2011.
The updates are said to bring the design of the South American model up to speed with the new North American-market Chevrolet Colorado unveiled in the US last year.
But unlike the North American version – which was all-new from the tyres up – the refreshed South American model is just another facelift of the current model.
While the US and global versions of the Colorado have historically looked similar – and worn the same name – the North American version of the Colorado is a larger, stronger and dearer pick-up than the Holden Colorado, which was based on a vehicle aimed at developing countries in South-East Asia and South America, as well as Australia.
MORE: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado revealed for North America, not planned for Australia
General Motors once considered merging the US and international Colorado utes into one model for all markets, as per the latest Ford Ranger.
However it scrapped plans for a new global model – and focused on a fresh version only for North America – once the future of Holden, and GM’s factory in Thailand (which builds the Colorado for Australia and Asia in right-hand drive) was in doubt.
The US Chevrolet Colorado would have cost more to build – and sell – than the Thai-built model Australia received in Holden’s final decade.
According to GM Authority, the updated Chevrolet S-10 for South America – due early next year – is the second exterior update for the Colorado that Australia missed out on.
Australia received the first major facelift for the Colorado introduced in 2016, but plans to offer the second front-end freshen-up launched in South America in 2020 were scrapped when the Holden brand was axed.
Drive has previously reported this update for Australia was also planned to add wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, safety features such as low-speed autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and rear-cross traffic alert, as well as minor changes to the 2.8-litre diesel engine’s turbocharger (but with unchanged power and torque outputs), and tweaked suspension.
It is understood dealers were told at the time this update was planned to last the current Holden Colorado until a new model arrived – but the upcoming third facelift for South America suggests plans for this vehicle have been shelved.
MORE: The 2021 Holden Colorado we were supposed to get (2020 facelift)
Citing spy photos and insider sources, the US website reports the updated S-10 is “a cross between the current model and the new Colorado”, with a new front end and restyled rear quarter-panels on a carry-over frame and cabin (including the roof and doors).
Spy images via Mentiras Automotivas on Instagram – and imagined above and top of story by artist Jonathan Machado – show a new front end inspired by the new US-market Colorado with slimmer headlights and a bolder grille, new alloy wheel designs, and more muscular rear tray sides.
Inside, the S-10 is reportedly due to adopt “a similar dashboard design and … technological features” to the new US Colorado, including the wide panel that connects the larger infotainment touchscreen to the digital instrument binnacle.
GM Authority reports the changes will centre console will match the US version as the South American vehicle “will continue to be equipped with a mechanical parking brake and offer a six-speed manual transmission.”
The 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine is also said to be in line for updates with “revised [power and/or torque] output numbers”, and a new eight-speed automatic transmission from the US model, replacing the current six-speed gearbox.
Three body styles – single-cab chassis, single-cab pick-up and dual-cab pick-up – are reportedly planned to remain in South America.
The main market for the international-market Holden Colorado is now South America – where it is sold as the Chevrolet S-10, a name used since the 1980s – after General Motors all but withdrew from right-hand-drive countries in 2020, including Australia and Thailand.
The international model is now built exclusively in Brazil, as the Rayong, Thailand factory that built examples for Australia was sold to China’s Great Wall Motors (GWM) in 2020.
The Colorado was Holden’s best-selling vehicle after the end of local manufacturing in October 2017 – and its top seller in its final year, 2020.
More than 140,000 examples of Australia’s second and final generation of Colorado were reported as sold from its introduction in mid-2012, to its discontinuation in 2020 – accounting for one in five Holdens sold over that period.
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