THIS comparison test was well entrained when the somewhat inevitable news broke that General Motors was closing the Holden brand in Australia. Not that we have a Holden – per se – here, but rather a Holden Special Vehicle, or HSV, which is half Holden, the other half being Walkinshaw Performance, tweaker of fast cars.
And while Holden may be closing in Australia, HSV will be staying through a proposed ongoing relationship with General Motors Specialty Vehicles.
This has also put paid to the future of the Colorado based SportsCat, with HSV confirming its demise. GM has also closed its Thai operations, and sold off the plant that manufactures the Holden Colorado. That means the Colorado (and variants) will only be built at GM’s North American and Brazilian plants, which currently only produce left-hand drive models.
Still that may make it just the right time to buy a HSV SportsCat, given its potential collector’s item status as much more than a lifted, stickered and rebooted Colorado, but something that’s worthy of the HSV badge.
There’s an irony here too in that the SportsCat’s adversary, the Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior, has been created by Premcar, which in an earlier life was Tickford Vehicle Engineering, the company behind Ford Performance Vehicles, the long-time adversary of HSV.
So here is, in part, a showdown of local engineering nous with a Holden verses Ford flavour primarily aimed at making a tougher and more off-road capable ute than the standard offering.
HSV COLORADO SPORTSCAT SV:
SPECIAL INDEED
IN CREATING THE SPORTSCAT, HSV HAS DONE MUCH MORE WORK THAN MEETS THE EYE…
This story is from the April 2020 edition of 4x4 Magazine Australia.
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This story is from the April 2020 edition of 4x4 Magazine Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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OUTBACK WATERING HOLES
SINCE OFF TRACK WINES WAS LAUNCHED, OWNERS ANNA AND BRETT FISHER HAVE DRIVEN MORE THAN 20,000KM UP, DOWN AND ACROSS AUSTRALIA SPRUIKING THEIR WINES-IN-A-CAN MADE FOR CAMPING. THEY DROPPED INTO PLENTY OF OUTBACK PUBS ALONG THE WAY AND THESE ARE THEIR SOUTH AUSTRALIAN FAVOURITES
BIG COUNTRY
THE PILBARA IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF BIG COUNTRY, AND THERE IS PLENTY TO SEE, DO AND ENJOY IN THIS ANCIENT LANDSCAPE IN WA'S RUGGED NORTHWEST
ISLAND PARADISE
NEAR THE TOP OF THE BUCKET LIST FOR EVERY AUSSIE FOUR-WHEEL DRIVER, K'GARI IS PACKED WITH STUNNING HIGHLIGHTS AND BOASTS SOME OF THE BEST BEACH DRIVING IN THE COUNTRY
WEIGHTLIFTING
INCREASING THE GVM OF YOUR 4X4 SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY, BUT BY THE SAME TOKEN SHOULD NOT BE AVOIDED IF YOU NEED IT. WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS ON OUR FORD RANGER TO EXPLAIN HOW TO GET IT RIGHT
NOW HEAR THIS
THE CEL-FI GO MOBILE BOOSTER WILL KEEP EMAILS, MESSAGES AND CALLS COMING THROUGH TO YOUR DEVICES WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE IS HEARING CRICKETS
LOOKING BACK
A PAIR OF MSA 4X4 TOWING MIRRORS ENSURE WE ALWAYS KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON BEHIND US WHEN WE HAVE A TRAILER HITCHED TO OUR MITSUBISHI TRITON
TRUCKIN' LIFE
CAN FORD AUSTRALIA'S NEW F-150 BE AN ACCOMPLISHED OFF-ROAD TOURING 4X4?
WHAT LURKS BENEATH
IT MAY LOOK LIKE A FAIRLY STANDARD (IF CLEAN) 80 SERIES, BUT DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER AND YOU'LL FIND A MONSTER BELOW THE SURFACE
EYE OF THE HURRICANE
RAM HAS DUMPED ITS HEMI V8FOR A SIX-CYLINDER, AND IT'S COMING TO AUSTRALIA
GETTING TANKED
GWM EXPANDS IT TANK 4X4 RANGE WITH THE LUXURIOUS TANK 500 WAGON