Size matters.
Holden has at long last released pricing details of its new Acadia three-row SUV, bringing a touch of brawn into the large-SUV segment with its naturally-aspirated V6 donk and proportions that’ll leave a Toyota Kluger in its shadow. The Acadia is a GMC-sourced product, designed and built in America, but changes under the skin have been made to better suit our market.
Across the range, the Acadia will be motivated by a 3.6-litre V6 engine, putting out 231kW and 367Nm, sending power to the front wheels via a 9-speed automatic. While that auto is standard you don’t have to settle for front-wheel drive if you don’t want to, as an additional $4000 will bag you all-wheel drive (for every model).
The Acadia is a large SUV, and it doesn’t attempt to hide it. Measuring in at 4979mm from end-to-end with 2857mm between the axles, the Acadia is 306mm longer than the Captiva that used to serve as Holden’s 7-seater model, and it even eclipses the Toyota Kluger with an additional 89mm in overall length and 67mm between the wheels. It’s a bloody enormous thing, and no one will argue with you on that.
The design of the Acadia is very American with its bluff front and rear, prominent haunches, and chrome-heavy touches. That’ll likely suit the car well though, as it provides a presence on the road that a Mazda CX-9 just doesn’t have. It also provides that naturally-aspirated linear power delivery that the CX-9 can’t, though admittedly the 2.5-litre turbo-four in the Mazda does have a higher torque number (the CX-9 officially puts out 170kW and 420Nm).
Kit is actually pretty generous in the Acadia, starting with the base-level LT. You may get fabric seats and manually-adjusting front seats, but there are also niceties like 18-inch alloys, tri-zone climate control, remote-engine starting, passive keyless entry & go, adjustable second-row seats, leather trim for the steering wheel & gear lever, automatic headlights, privacy tint, LED taillights, halogen headlights, and “express-down” power windows.
Move up to the LTZ and you gain leather seats and power-adjustable front seats. You also get automatic wipers, heaters for the front seats, electrochroamatic mirrors, fog-lamps up front, a powered tailgate, wireless phone charging, and 18-inch alloys finished in a specific Midnight Silver.
But the best bells-and-whistles are reserved for the LTZ-V. The flagship Acadia comes with FlexRide adaptive suspension (specially tuned for Australia too), memory-functionality for the drivers’ seat & mirror settings, smart cruise control with traffic jam assist, and a dual-panel sunroof.
Befitting a flagship, the LTZ-V gets a variety of exterior fitments that help it stand out from its more pedestrian siblings. There are 20-inch alloy wheels and HID headlights for starters, a smattering of chrome trim on the outside (including the roof rails), rectangular exhaust tips, and body-coloured mouldings on the outside.
All cars get a bunch of standard kit though, like a 2000kg-rated tow bar (with a 200kg tow ball rating). There’s also a standard 8.0-inch infotainment system (with sat-nav, smartphone mirroring, active noise cancellation, and voice control), a 6-speaker audio system (or 8 Bose speakers in the LTZ-V), and give 2.1A USB ports (suitable for charging).
There are also strong safety specs across the board, with autonomous emergency braking (with pedestrian & cyclist detection), blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning with active lane-keep assistance, rear cross-traffic alert, and Australian-tuned traffic-sign recognition. It’s worth noting that the AEB only works at city speeds for the LT & LTZ models, while the LTZ-V gets full-speed AEB thanks to that active cruise control module. You even get front parking sensors & automated parking in the Acadia LTZ, while a high-definition 360º camera remains the reserve of the LTZ-V.
| Model | Powertrain | Retail Price (before ORCs) | Drive-Away Price |
| Acadia LT | 2WD | $43,490 | $42,990 |
| Acadia LT | AWD | $47,490 | $46,990 |
| Acadia LTZ | 2WD | $53,490 | $53,990 |
| Acadia LTZ | AWD | $57,490 | $57,990 |
| Acadia LTZ-V | 2WD | $63,490 | $63,990 |
| Acadia LTZ-V | AWD | $67.490 | $67,990 |
The Holden Acadia is available at Holden dealers nationally, though the cars you’ll see today are pilot-build models. Full-production cars will be arriving in the middle of next month, but confirmed orders of the 2019 Holden Acadia between now and November 11th will be entitled to a $1000 gift card.
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