Right car, wrong time: Holden Adventra - How Holden tried but failed to take on the Subaru Outback

As Holden continues to fade from the automotive landscape in Australia, with dealerships transitioning and GM Specialty Vehicles stepping up, it’s timely to remember the golden days for the brand.

Back in the early 2000s Holden was riding high on the success of its VT Commodore, the first Holden-only Commodore which was a massive sales success and had allowed for the spin-off Monaro revival. By 2003, it had evolved into the VY Commodore and, flush with cash and buoyed by the success of the Monaro, Holden was creating multiple Commodore-based alternatives.

Alongside the Monaro coupe came the Crewman dual-cab ute and then the focus of our story - the Adventra.

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This was, in simple terms, a jacked-up version of the Commodore wagon. The original VY-based Adventura launched in late-2003 powered exclusively by a 235kW 5.7-litre V8. Importantly, it featured all-wheel drive, a higher ride height and extra body cladding on the bumpers and wheel arches to give it improved off-road performance.

In early 2005, the new VZ-based Adventra launched, introducing a V6 engine option - a 190kW 3.6-litre to be precise. There was also a performance version, the HSV Avalanche but it was less-powerful and slower than its sedan siblings and was quickly discontinued.

Holden thought the Adventra would be enough to take on the Ford Territory and other SUVs, which were rising in popularity at the time. Unfortunately for Holden, the Adventra struggled in sales, finding just 3153 buyers in 2005 compared to 23,454 for the Territory.

By the end of 2006 it was phased out due to the cost of upgrading the car to take the new 6.0-litre V8 and Holden believed the imported Captiva would make a better alternative. How wrong they were…

However, there’s a strong argument to be made that Holden should have stuck with the Adventra - and it’s called the Subaru Outback. It too was a high-riding wagon but it not only outlasted the Adventra, but thrived and continues to do so to this day.

In 2005, Subaru sold almost double the amount of Outbacks (6104) than Holden did Adventra (3153). Fast forward to 2021 and the Outback is one of the most popular large SUVs on sale, even though it’s more wagon than a true crossover. Last year it was outsold only by the Toyota Prado and Isuzu MU-X; and the latter by only 128 sales.

Holden (and General Motors) clearly saw the potential for a high-riding wagon because it re-introduced the concept with the ZB Commodore Tourer. But obviously this wasn’t enough to save the imported Commodore or the Holden brand itself.

Perhaps if Holden had persisted with its Adventra, focusing on targeting the Outback more directly rather than its broader push against the likes of the Territory and Toyota Kluger, it might have fared better. But given the success of the Subaru, it’s clear that Holden was onto the right idea even if the execution and timing was off.