Ashburton Courier: December 12, 2019

Page 46, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday 12 December 2019
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz
2233087
Roomy Acadia has engine power
By Ross Kiddie
Holden’s Acadia didn’t
win the 2019 New Zealand
Motoring Writers’
Guild car of the year
award. That trophy went
to Jaguar’s fully electric
I­Pace.
Nevertheless, Holden
New Zealand and General
Motors should be
buoyed that its big sevenseat
sport utility vehicle
was afinalist. It went up
against some pretty tough
competition –three electric
cars and other notables.
Collectively, I don’t
know where Acadia finished
in the standings but
it certainly scored well in
my own personal tally of
points for the COTY.
The big United Statesbuilt
SUV doesn’t have a
lot of competition here,
sure Toyota’s Highlander
and Jeep Grand Cherokee
are well established
but the Acadia has presence,
it is bold and captures
imagination with its
styling that is just alittle
out of the mainstream.
The Acadia comes out
of the GMC stable, GMC
is an off­shoot of the
giant General Motors
conglomerate that focuses
primarily on trucks
and pick­ups. However,
the Acadia distances
itself from the ute market,
it is built on a
sophisticated monocoque
floorpan with fully independent
suspension.
Under the bonnet sits a
3.6­litre V6 petrol engine
which is rated at 231kW
and 367Nm, these
healthy outputs are realised
tall in the rev band at
6600rpm and 5000rpm
respectively. If you think
these figures look familiar,
it’s pretty much the
same power plant that is
fitted to the rangetopping
ZB­series
Commodore. The Acadia
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also gets the same transmission,
it’s anine­speed
unit that is characterised
by smooth shifts and
ratios which ease the load
on the engine so that
respectable fuel economy
can be gleaned.
Because of its size, and
weight (2032kg), the
Acadia needs as much
benefit in this department
as it can get. Holden rates
it with a 9.3­litre per
100km (30mpg)
combined cycle rating. By
my reckoning that’s
achievable, the test car
was constantly listing
around 10.8l/100km
(26mpg), taking into consideration
Idid alot of
around the city driving
which isnever conducive
to good economy results.
On the highway the
engine lopes over gently
at 1500rpm at 100km/h in
top gear, using fuel at an
instantaneous rate of
7.8l/100km (36mpg).
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2179029
Holden’s Acadia is American, with some downunder additions.
The Acadia is also a
useful off­the­seal traveller.
It lands inboth twowheel­drive
and fourwheel­drive
variants. The
test car was the top spec –
LTZ­V, and although the
driveline won’t get to
places alow ratio set­up
will take you, the mechanicals
are perfect for low
grip situations such as the
skifield access road, tackling
the tracks leading
into those high country
lakes, ortaking the boat
to the slipway. For the
record, the Acadia has a
2000kg tow rating and a
203mm ground clearance
figure.
It also travels withcompliant
suspension travel.
Unlike USvehicles of the
past which have been
quite soft inthe suspension,
the Acadia’s spring
and damper rates are
definitely biased towards
moderate firming, yet
comfort isn’t compromised.
Pushed into a corner
there is just enough steering
feel thanks tobeautiful
Continental sport
tyres, and they are big at
235/55 x20in. There is a
lot of rubber onthe road
and that promotes a
secure feeling of attachment.
Power out of acorneris
vivid. The quad­camshaft
engine is a howler, it
works through the rev
band freely but you don’t
have to have it singing to
the red line to get performance,
the torque
curve is just broad enough
so that itutilises the midrange.
However, ifyou like to
have it breathing freely
for ahighwayovertake for
example, it hunts to the
red line willingly, there
was never apoint where I
thought the wrong gear
was selected, the way it
arranges those nine ratios
is very clever. On the
subject of performance,
the Acadia buyer can
expect a standstill to
100km/h time of around
7.8sec.
As mentioned, the
Acadia lands here in three
specification levels, each
with the option of fourwheel­drive.
The entrylevel
model lands at
$49,990, while the test car
with its high grade trim
and 4WD sits at $71,990.
For that money it is comprehensively
equipped –
and you’d expect nothing
less.Itisvery American in
the way it is trimmed and
it does get all the latest
safety technology that
comes out of the General
Motors stable.
The Acadia makes no
pretence that it is genuinely
American, its styling
is designed to capture
attention, and the luxury
feel inside takes me back
to the best vehicles that
have come out of the
States in terms of build
quality and comfort.
However, the Acadia
also gets the benefit of the
Downunder input. Prior
to its release here it was
tested vigorously across
the Tasman for our market.
That development
shows it is an involving,
spirited car that feels very
good to be in.
The Acadia won’t be
for everyone, but for
those who want the benefit
of huge interior space
and strong engine performance,
it’s there in a
part of market where
buyers don’t have comprehensive
choice.
Price –Holden Acadia
LTZ­V, $71,990
Dimensions – Length,
4979mm; width, 1916mm;
height, 1762mm
Configuration – V6,
four­wheel­drive, 3649cc,
231kW, 367Nm, ninespeed
automatic
Performance –
0­100km/h, 7.8sec
Fuel usage –
9.3l/100km
Drivers to get more
time to gain full licence
Drivers holding acurrentfive­yearlearneror
restricted car or motorbike licence, due to expire
between December 1, 2019 and 1December1,2021,
will receiveanautomatic two­year extension.
The extensionwill affect more than 144,000
driver’s nationwide.
It willenable them more time to gain their full
licence,says Associate Transport Minister Julie
Anne Genter.
The figures on time­limitedlicencesdue to expire
in the next two years include 67,000 in the 12 months
from December1,2019 and afurther 77,000the year
after.
‘‘The extension is apragmatic, short­term
measure to avert the potential for thousands of
drivers becoming unlicensedover the next two
years,’’ Ms Genter said.
‘‘The reprievegives learner and restricted drivers
alittle more timetoget their full licence, improve
their driving skills or save up to pay forthe test, but
Iwant to be clear that people on time­restricted
licences need to take the necessary steps as soon as
possible tomove to afull licence.
‘‘The imminent expirationofdriverlicenses is
linkedtoarule change in 2014 that introduced a
five­year timelimit on restricted or learner licences.
‘‘Whether people are unawaretheir licence is time
limited,orfor other reasons, the current rate of
learner or restricted drivers progressing to the next
licence stageistoo low,‘‘she said.
‘‘Time­limited licences make sense in theory, but
we also need to acknowledge that people without
the resources,training, or support to pass these tests
risk becoming unlicensed when time’s up. This
situationpoints to alarger problem with our
licensing system, which is why overthe next two
years the Government will reviewthe Graduated
Driver Licensing System, launch acommunication
campaign to help licence holders understand the
changes and encourage them to progress to the next
licence stage, develop additional programmes to
help disadvantaged young drivers accesslicensing,
expand access to driver trainingand resources in
schools and increase the capacity of driver licence
testing sites.’’
‘‘My message to licenceholders in this situation is
­don’t wait.Book yourtest now. If cost is an issue
talk to Work and Incomeabout the financial
assistance on offer.
‘‘Whileextended expiredlicences will be legal to
driveon, Inevertheless encourage holders to either
progressorrenew the licence so it is visibly up­todate.This
willmake it simpler if you use your licence
asIDfor proofofage,’’ she said.