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HOLDEN’S SUV strategy has crystalised with confirmation the GMC Acadia will arrive here from the United States in 2018 wearing a Holden badge.
The large seven-seater will take on class kings such as the Toyota Kluger, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Pathfinder, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento.
Like those cars, Acadia is built on car-based underpinnings with an emphasis on the suburbs rather than the scrub. But it will come with a four-wheel-drive system for added traction and occasional jaunts to the mountain or bush.
Holden chairman and managing director Mark Bernhard describes the SUV strategy as critical, admitting it is key to recovering from record low sales.
“SUVs are the fastest-growing segment of the market and we’re currently under-represented, but that’s changing, fast,” Bernhard said, pointing to the Trailblazer and updated Trax.
The second-generation Acadia made its debut at the Detroit motor show in January this year and went on sale in the US in May as a 2017 model. It is produced in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
The only Acadia engine confirmed to date is the direct-injection 3.6-litre V6 that also appears in the Commodore. It produces about 210kW and 350Nm.
