Rivals go off-road

Holden and Ford have 4WD versions of the Falcon and Commodore in the planning, reports motoring editor ALASTAIR SLOANE.

Why did Ford and Holden each buy a lefthand-drive BMW X5, the luxury German carmaker's executive soft-roader?

To use as a yardstick for their four-wheel-drive development programmes.

The Australian rivals consider the X5 to be the bee's knees in crossover models - four-wheel-drives with car-like dynamics that spend 99 per cent of their time on sealed roads.

Ford and Holden have been doing feasibility studies on 4WD versions of the Falcon and Commodore for some time and concept models from both carmakers are well into their respective development cycles.

Ford has its Raptor project (codenamed E265), a Subaru Outback-type model of the Falcon station wagon expected to go into production in 2003.

Part of the programme includes development of a CVT stepless automatic transmission for both the six-cylinder Raptor and a heavily revised 2003 Falcon. An all-new 3.8-litre V6 will replace the Falcon's long-time straight-six engine in 2005.

The Raptor's all-wheel-drive system is also being adapted for high-performance versions of the Falcon sedan range, some of which will have a new 5.4-litre V8 to replace the existing 5.0-litre engine.

However, the Raptor project isn't expected to be approved for production for another few months.

Holden, on the other hand, is understood to be ready to give its 4WD programme the green light within weeks. The go-ahead would make it the first Australian carmaker to confirm it was getting into the growing off-road market in a big way.

It has been working with specialist 4WD engineers from its General Motors partners Chevrolet and Subaru. (GM bought 24 per cent of Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries last year).

The first model to use Holden's new four-paw system is likely to be a soft-road station wagon based largely on the VX Commodore and on sale in 2003.

It will be followed, say industry insiders, by a 4WD utility (offering a low-ratio crawler gear), a bigger off-road wagon and go-fast versions of the Commodore and Statesman/Caprice ranges. An all-wheel-drive 5.7-litre Monaro is also under discussion. Standard Commodores will most probably also come with optional 4WD.

But Holden's 4WD programme doesn't begin and end with vehicles based on standard and stretched versions of the Commodore sedan.

It plans to introduce to Australia and New Zealand next year a small off-roader priced between $20,000 and $25,000 to compete with the Daihatsu Terios.

The vehicle is based on the YGM-1 concept car developed for the 1999 Tokyo motor show by Holden design chief Mike Simcoe, who penned the VT Commodore and its replacement, the VX.

It is expected to be powered by 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine and feature radical styling. Suzuki is also developing a small-sized 4WD off the same YGM-1 platform.

A few years further on, Holden plans an Australian-built rival for the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute.

It also wants to tackle the established heavyweight 4WDs like the Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol. High on its wish list in this segment is the Chevrolet Tahoe, an American-made off-roader with more appeal Down Under than the oversized, over-priced, overrated and outdated Chevrolet Suburban.