I don’t recall ever having seen Holden Special Vehicles’ fettled version of the Holden Adventra crossover wagon before. With only 333 built between 2003 and 2005, that comes as little surprise: these were rare. However, right after I finished writing today’s article on the Holden Adventra, I spotted this Avalanche in Brisbane’s central business district.
The Avalanche, like all all-wheel-drive HSVs, was discontinued after 2005. The 5.7 LS1 V8 was being phased out, and Holden wasn’t keen on re-engineering the AWD models to take the new 6.0 V8. In the Avalanche, the LS1 put out 360hp and 350 ft-lbs and was available only with a four-speed automatic. Gas mileage wasn’t great, with a combined 14mpg, slightly worse than the Adventra V8’s. Perhaps this drop in fuel economy would have been more acceptable had there been a commensurate increase in power, but the Avalanche only mustered an extra 26hp and 5 ft-lbs. It wasn’t the fuel economy that was the real sacrifice, though. The Avalanche listed for a whopping $13-21k more than Adventra V8 models. Sure, you got a car that was tuned for better handling, plus a much more aggressive exterior, but I’m not sure it was really worth the extra paper. Still, you would be part of a very small and exclusive group of owners.
There was one here with a wheelchair lift on the roof but I see the woman who drove it now has a new Volvo wagon to get around in perhaps the $10gallon gas finally got to her.
At least this wasn’t as terminally ugly as the Chevrolet Avalanche. The Chevy sported huge expanses of grey plastic cladding. Though the Chevy did allow you to extend the load bay to…..7 or 8 feet. Strangely, both the Chevy and the Holden used V8 engines and automatic transmissions with 4wd/AWD an option on the Chevy. The heavy duty version of the Chevy Avalanche had an 8.1 liter engine “good” for a whopping 340 horsepower.
Why is it that Holden built 333 of these wagons 10 years ago, but now can’t afford to build cars in any quantity beginning in 2017?
The Government has stopped funding them …
The Avalanche cost $25,000 more than an Adventra in 2003 ($17k more than the top model) for the bodykit, trim, wheels etc and a retune of the engine which was all that was needed for the extra power. The body kit was not well received, I remember a commentary that it was well named, comparing it to a real avalanche in that you didn’t want to be caught in one!
That’s a mean looking estate(wagon).Nice find,a few more Australian cars please.
These things really flew up the Mt Gravatt lookout road on demos ….
KJ in Oz
If only Holden were still built *in* Australia. From what I’ve heard through the grapevine, Holden will no longer be building cars in Australia. That, to me, is unforgivable. How can you be an Australian car company if you don’t build cars for the home market in Australia? Yes, it costs money, but so what? As long as the money goes *towards* the Australian economy, and Australian workers, then it should be built *in* Australia!!! Aussie! Aussie!! Aussie!!! Oi! Oi!! Oi!!! 🙂
I cringe every time I hear “Aussie! Aussie!! Aussie!!! Oi! Oi!! Oi!!! :)”
If sales are declining then why continue to make the products. The government has propped up the industry for so long that we can’t afford it any longer.
It seems that the smart local suppliers will be producing components for the world market, so that’s a good thing.
Australia has more brands available than any other country and the market is around 1.1 million units per year.
KJ in Oz
OZ has and always had fewer brands on the market than NZ just across the ditch.
There are a number of arguments against castrating your industrial base which have nothing to do with cost effectiveness.
Yup. I can see the arguments on either side of the government ceasing funding, but one strong argument against is: Once you lose this industry, you’re not going to get it back.
They are due to stop production in 2017
And then Holden will be Just Another Imported Car. Just like all the rest.
My favourite HSV, if only for the sheer uniqueness of it. Talk about a rare sight! I have only ever seen a few on the roads.
It was superfluous and of rather questionable taste. It looks like a Commodore wagon that had been transformed into some sort of movie prop car. I think that may be part of the reason why I like these cars so much.
Yes, I can see some 6000SUX in the Avalanche….
I dont think I have ever seen one of these here in NZ – did any come here I wonder. Even the normal HSV wagons are fairly uncommon here, although I do see them around from time to time. Would make a nice daily driver