Cross to the (almost) wild side with Holden

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

The first of a new line of "crossover" four-wheel-drive vehicles from Holden will go on sale in New Zealand late next month.

It is a light-duty off-roader called the Cruze and is based on the Suzuki Ignis, a front-drive shopping basket launched in New Zealand last year.

Holden designers and engineers restyled the Ignis' body, swapped its 1.3-litre engine for a more powerful 1.5-litre, widened the track, re-engineered and jacked up the suspension to handle larger 15in (38cm) wheels and tyres and added a part-time four-wheel-drive system.

The next crossover model from Holden will be bigger and pretty much have all-Australian origins.

It will be a production version of the Cross8 prototype unveiled at the Melbourne motor show in March and will go on sale here next year, powered by V8 engines coupled to manual and automatic gearboxes.

The Cross8 is a crew-cab ute sitting on the long-wheelbase chassis of the Commodore wagon and ute and Statesman.

Said Holden chairman and managing director Peter Hanenberger at the time: "As the name implies, this is a crossover car - a four-door, all-wheel-drive which can accommodate five people in sedan comfort, carry a light-duty load and deliver trademark V8 performance.

"It previews a new model range that Holden will be releasing early next year ... the all-wheel-drive factor is a forerunner of more good things to come."

Why Holden called its first crossover model the Cruze isn't known. It is hardly likely to be cruisy, on account of its high-riding short wheelbase. Such vehicles usually hop, skip and jump over anything but smooth roads. And the boxy aerodynamics will fall short of those of the cruise missile.

Why Suzuki settled on the Ignis name is not known either. It is old Latin for will-o-the-wisp, or a light floating at night over a swamp. These days it mostly means something that is impossible to catch.

Maybe Holden figured that the Ignis lent something more than just its platform to the Cruze - that the Latin meaning might just rub off on Cruze, making it difficult to catch up with off-road. Not according to early reports from Queensland, where the Cruze was launched last Wednesday.

It was described by one Australian tester as a "compromise between the Ignis and the Daihatsu Terios. No one - least of all Holden - is under the apprehension that Cruze drivers will actually go off the beaten track."

Holden became involved with the Cruze after its chief designer Mike Simcoe was asked to pen a concept car for the 1999 Tokyo motor show.

He and his team in Melbourne built the YGM-1, which Suzuki - part-owned by Holden parent General Motors - later turned into the Ignis. The Cruze is basically a reworked twin of the Ignis.

Its four-cylinder 1.5-litre engine develops 74kW and 138Nm of torque and is mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox.

Its styling - flared bumpers, roof rails and other European influences such as the rear corner glass in the Mercedes-Benz M-Class - is largely aimed at younger women who like the extra ride height and want to get away on weekends, perhaps a bit further than their current hatchback will take them.

The Cruze four-wheel-drive system consists of a viscous coupling connected to the front and rear drive shafts. In normal conditions, drive goes through the front wheels. But when things get slippery, torque automatically goes to the rear wheels to aid traction. Drive returns to the front wheels when the road surface returns to normal.

The five-door Cruze seats five and the test-drive Australian models were equipped with air-conditioning, power windows, power steering, CD player and remote-control exterior mirrors as standard.

The steering wheel and driver's seat were height-adjustable. Safety features included dual front airbags, seatbelt force-limiters and pre-tensioners, and rear-seat child restraints. Options included anti-lock brakes.

No word yet on the price of the Cruze in New Zealand, but in Australia it will cost A$19,990 ($23,005).