Holden Trailblazer Z71 arrives with tougher style

COMPETENT, decent value, well equipped and offering seating for seven, Holden's Trailblazer is a decent 4x4 SUV ready for an adventurous family life.  

But while it has one of the coolest names given to a car on our market, the Trailblazer's design is a bit, well, not terribly trail blazing.   

It's hardly ugly, but it's not exactly a show-stopper either.  

There's nothing like a special edition to remedy this though, and Holden has obliged with a Z71 version of its Colorado ute-based large SUV.  

Nothing's been changed under the Trailblazer's skin: this special is all about the style.  

Key enhancements are 18-inch painted black alloy wheels - the same as you'll find on the Z71 pickup - black for the body side mouldings, belt line mouldings, mirrors, b-pillars and door handles, plus Z71 bonnet decals, head rest embroidery and floor mats.  

You can have your Trailblazer Z71 in Summit white or Absolute red, or for an extra $500 in Satin Steel grey or Mineral black.  

The Z71 is based on the range-topping Trailblazer LTZ, and adds an extra $1000 on its before on-roads price of $52,490. Entry to the Trailblazer club with the LT model is $47,990 before on-roads.  

Holden tells us there's an initial run of 400 of these Z71s, and they go on sale next month.   As they're based on the range-topper, your Z71s come with heated leather-appointed seats, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, rear view camera, remote start and a decent suite of active safety equipment. That's on top of the SUV's decent three-tonne towing capacity and shift-on-the-fly 4x4 system.  

To the end of April this year Holden has sold close to 1000 Trailblazers, which sees it lag behind ute-based rivals Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, but ahead of Toyota's Fortuner.