Holden Colorado 2019 review: LSX

The schedule for the Colorado today involved mostly inner-city driving with a couple of trips to the local shops, all with three kids in tow.

I like the front-end design of the Colorado; it looks clean and well proportioned. Our test ute was fitted with the safari bar ($2710) and an LED light bar ($1075), which may not be pretty but did give the Colorado a more muscular appearance.

The headlights look good when the daytime running lights are on, but interestingly you can’t get Xenon or LED headlights on any model, even as an option. 

The side and rear profiles are easy on the eye, and they look even better with the 18-inch black alloy wheels fitted with all-terrain tyres, the side-step package ($1085 option), the rear steel step ($1570 option), the hard three-piece tonneau cover ($2670 option), and a ridiculously large decal on the tailgate ($310).

Holden have seen fit to remove the black fender flares and side door trim from the 2018 version - not a bad thing in my opinion. I’m not a fan of the Absolute Red my LSX came dressed in, but it works well to complement the black design elements.

After climbing inside, my kids were super excited by one of the key benefits of high-riding 4x4 utes; that they provide an unimpeded view out of the windows. Which, if you are four-feet tall, is a major plus. The durable cabin is a no-frills design featuring plenty of hard plastics and cloth seats. Simple, functional and sturdy. Both tradie- and kid-proof, then.

Other standard features include a 7.0-inch touchscreen with a rear-view camera, a six-speaker stereo, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, a USB port, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, hill descent control and hill start assist, rear parking sensors and LED DRLs.

Storage is OK but not great, with bottle holders in all four doors, a decent-sized centre console bin and two cupholders between the front seats that really need to be bigger. For an extra $30 you can buy cupholders that attach to the air vents, which came in handy as I used the centre cupholders to store my phone and house keys.

It doesn’t get much better in the rear, with no cupholders or map pockets available.