8 February 2011
Holden light commercial, oh that'd be the Commodore ute then? Er, well no. While it's all too easy to think of Holden as the blokes who make the Commodore, the Rodeo utility is the brand's second most popular model range and the Holden best suited to 'fair dinkum' yakka.
The light commercial sector makes up a surprising 15.4% of all vehicle sales in New Zealand, and the Rodeo stands its own in the class holding 11.9% of market share behind Hilux (36%) and Navara (19.8%).
While the Commodore ute may suit townie tradesmen, if you're going to cut the mustard off the blacktop you need high ground clearance, and a diesel option - which is where the Rodeo comes in. The choice of two or four wheel drive also has it over the Commodore.
Two engine options are fitted across the range; a 3.6 litre V6 petrol with 157kW @ 5300rpm and 313Nm @ 2800 rpm and an all-new diesel that adopts common rail technology and a variable geometry turbocharger. The diesel develops 120kW @ 3600 rpm and 360Nm @ 1800 rpm in manual guise, torque has been curtailed slightly for the auto (333Nm @ 1600 rpm). The vast technological advancements have resulted in a far smoother engine that is 25% more powerful than the engine it replaces, it also meets strict Euro 4 emission requirements. Currently just the oil burner versions grace showroom floors, but they'll be joined by the petrol versions in coming weeks.
The range is made up of single and crew cab chassis and wellside crew cab variants in two or four-wheel drive, as well as a 4WD space cab chassis model. The farmer friendly cab chassis models will accept a tray up to 2710mm in length and 1842mm wide in single cab configuration, the crew-cab chassis 1795mm x 1842mm. Wellside trays offer 2.2 metres square in double cab guise and 2.85 metres square in crew cab.
On the road the diesel we tested at launch proved to be a refined and comfortable cruiser. As with most utes, seating is mounted close to the floorpan - a pitfall of ladder chassis construction, no major grievance for most, though taller drivers may not find the level of seat adjustment they require in single cab versions.
Underneath, rack and pinion steering offers good feel and easy operation lock to lock, and the combination of double wishbone front and leaf rear suspension absorbs corrugations as well as any of its competitors.
Truth be told the diesel's torque is only middle of the road in the class, trumping the Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Triton but falling shy of Ford's Ranger 3.0 TDCi, Mazda's BT-50 and Nissan's Navara ST-X. The grunt it gives away though seems merely theoretical, as the Rodeo diesel's towing capacity is among the highest of the segment at 2500 kg (braked) on offer from 2WD diesels and a hefty 3000kg (braked) from 4WD diesels. All petrol variants are good for 2500kg braked maximum.
Lugging 2500kg behind the Rodeo proved easy enough, with only the steepest of inclines providing enough challenge to scrub forward momentum from the workhorse Holden.
It proves its worth in a rain-sodden paddock too; we tested the all-paw Rodeo's medal at Helensville's Extreme 4WD centre after a solid drenching the night before. The Aussie battler showing no signs of a struggle on the slippery slopes.
The shift on the fly 4WD system includes both high and low ratios inside the transfer case and rear LSD unit. A rear diff lock mechanism would've given greater traction and with we found a little extra throttle over some utes is required to walk the vehicle through the real tough stuff, but all in all the Rodeo handles any infamous 'drops over the ridge' with minimal fuss.
Let's see a Commodore do that.
Diesel Rodeo pricing starts at $32,690 for the 2WD cab chassis, extending to $51,190 for the range-topping 4WD Crewcab auto.