Replacement vehicle Colorado 7???

Submitted: Friday, Mar 08, 2013 at 23:59
ThreadID: 100980 Views:6383 Replies:3 FollowUps:6
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Hi all

Currently have a kluger AWD for which the lease is up later this year. I need six seats and had a look at the prado but cost and the poor third row seating (im sure that the kluger has more room) rules it out.

The only downside with the kluger has been the lack of ground clearance. It has the power and comfort I like, tows the boat and van (very thirsty though) and driven carefully have been able to tow the van into Bendethera (from Moruya) on a dry weekend.

Has anyone driven or better still bought a colorado 7? Price is good, built on the ute chassis & drive train so should well & truly have the edge over the kluger off road and the third row of seats appear to be reasonable.

The only negatives that I have been able to find trawlling the reviews is the quality of the interia and its butt ugly which I suppose is subjetive.

A pathfinder 550 would be nice but alas just a bit out of the price range.

Thanks for your thoughts

Bob
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Reply By: olcoolone - Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 10:32

Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 10:32
Unfortunately when sticking to a budget there is always something better for a bit more.

The Colorado 7 is a budget 7 seat 4x4 and can not be compared to the Prado, Pathfinder or Pajero.

To keep the price lower then the others they have to make the vehicle cheaper by using lower quality components and older cheaper technology.

The Prado, Pathfinder and Pajero will kill it for on road manor, quality, refinement and fit and Finnish..... and maybe off road as well.

You will definitely feel you have gone 3 steeps backwards getting out of the Kluger into the Colorado 7...... the Kluger is built on a passenger car platform and the Colorado on a light truck platform.

There is nothing wrong with the Colorado 7 and it will be a bit better on and off road then it's brother the Colorado ute...... the Colorado 7 has coil sprung rear compared to the utes leaf spring.
AnswerID: 506385

Reply By: andson - Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 13:06

Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 13:06
Bob,

Please firstly let me be up front and let everyone know I am a Holden Dealer.

I currently own a Colorado as my wives daily driver and our tow rig and it has been fantastic. And I am currently driving a Colorado 7.

Yes the car has been designed with a price point in mind. I cant say they have compromised on quality. They spent almost 2 billion dollars on this Colorado and I believe that the fact the car was designed for a world wide consumption has contributed to the cheaper retail price than using cheap components.

To be honest the interior fitout is plain and it is missing some silly things such as Auto Headlights on and a decent Multimedia Head Unit. We have over come the radio issue by fitting a decent 7" with rear camera that suits the shape of the dash and does the job very well.

The power and torque is great, and the only other concern our customers had was while the 3rd row seats were folded down there was a step down to the balance of the floor in the cargo area. this has been rectified by a $300 Genuine box that flattens the whole cargo area.

I have used this car as a 7 seat vehicle and it was good. The fact it has roof air con vents is also a great feature.

Considering it has been based on a Full Chassis 4wd it will be good of road. And we have had huge amount of positive feedback from customers with their Colorado utes off road.

My wife has done just shy of 40,000km in her Dual cab in just 7 months and we have had no issues what's so ever. Capped price servicing also means to service this vehicle for 3 years or 60,000kms is only $1180. This can be a huge advantage over other brands.

Just my 2c.

Shane
AnswerID: 506404

Follow Up By: Gronk - Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 20:44

Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 20:44
Good reply Shane...........I have a Challenger and there were similar negative feedback replies to it as well..

Even though they are based on similar dual cabs, in reality, they ride and perform a fair bit better..

As for quality........lets see Toyota offer a 10 yr warranty..

But I will admit, the Prado is a nicer 4wd to drive than the Challenger..
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FollowupID: 783359

Follow Up By: Flighty ( WA ) - Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 21:01

Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 21:01
Shane
Thank you for your honesty.
Cobber of mine has a new ute with my13,000 odd k on clock and had issues but attention given to rectify these issues has been, in his opinion second to none.
Cheers
Paul

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Follow Up By: olcoolone - Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 12:59

Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 12:59
"As for quality........lets see Toyota offer a 10 yr warranty"

Toyota don't have to offer a 10 yr warranty to sell vehicles and nether do Ford, Holden, Mazda, Isuzu and even Nissan!...... Mitsubishi do!

I can guarantee your paying for the extra warranty in the purchase price..... vehicle manufactures don't give anything away for free or for the hell of it.

And isn't it only for the drive train (excluding wear items)..... as for their 5 year general warranty; not much goes wrong with new vehicles in the first 7 years of ownership..... as for drive train 15-20 years before something may fail.


BTW..... October 2012 Mitsubishi drooped their 10 year power train warrant and reverted back to their 5 year warranty..... maybe to many claims?

It's only $1100 extra from most manufactures for a extra 2 year warranty...... maybe Mitsubishi should drop their vehicle price by $1100 and go back to 3 years like everyone else.
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FollowupID: 783412

Follow Up By: garrycol - Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 14:28

Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 14:28
Andson - would you do a warranty repair on a damaged vehicle that had been driven like the one in the Colorado 7 advertisement on TV. It would seem that the vehicle in the ad is being driven to destruction.

The issue that Holden now has is that when warranty claims are made for such damage is that the ad will get wheeled out showing that Holden thinks it is OK.

Did happen with a denied warranty claim for a Ford Territory where an offroad damage claim was denied and in the court case their ad was wheeled out - decision in favour of the owner as the ad implied the vehicle was more capable than it was and could be driven in a manner that it should not have been.
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FollowupID: 783426

Follow Up By: andson - Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 22:57

Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 22:57
Garrycol,

That is a sticky one!

I think the main point is we as a dealers do not make warranty decisions Holden do.

I would expect that if the customer was a professional four wheel driver like the guy in the ad, then any warranty issues that come from this type of driving would be covered. I believe that the ad does show the capabilities of the car, albeit at the hands of an experienced driver. As I said above I do not make these warranty decisions we just provide the honest facts to the manufactures and our opinion of the situation.

I think that a car can be damaged beyond the extend of the Manufactures Warranty with just normal conditions when driven by a someone of low experience or maybe standards......

Shane
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FollowupID: 783505

Reply By: bakers - Monday, Mar 11, 2013 at 01:02

Monday, Mar 11, 2013 at 01:02
Hi all

Thanks for the info. Am over in perth atm and I cant believe that the car yards are closed on Sundays??? Will have to try to get out to look at one during the week.

Ive never been one for gizmos in my cars, just want them to work and be suitable for the purpose I have bought them.

As stated above Ive been very happy with the Kluger but it has suffered off road, just not sure how much on road capability Im willing to sacrifice.

A while ago I had a GU and which was great off road and I could tolerate the on road capability.

Has anyone actually bought a Colorado 7?

Thanks
Bob
AnswerID: 506537

Follow Up By: Collie2012 - Saturday, Mar 16, 2013 at 22:33

Saturday, Mar 16, 2013 at 22:33
If you'd like to read up on all the issues with the rg colorado go to 4wd action forum holden/colorado and make a cuppa you'll be there for a while.

My experience of after sales service is nothing short of pathetic.
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FollowupID: 784056

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