Holden Acadia on test

A fleet of thirty Acadias - sixteen in Australia and fourteen in the US - are currently on the road in what’s referred to as a ‘Captured test Fleet’ (CTF). The vehicles are expected to rack up more than 1.5 million kilometres in various road, off-road and climatic conditions.

Australian CTF vehicles are being driven daily by Holden employees and their families, with the goal of finding weak points in the SUV’s design and operation before it comes to market.

Driving on various surface conditions, testing radio, navigation and traffic sign recognition, and even withstanding day-to-day abuse by children spilling food and drinks on seats are all part of Holden’s local CTF program.

“The CTF program includes people from various backgrounds with various car usage characteristics, all working together to make sure Acadia performs to the highest standards on the road and in broader quality areas,” said Holden’s Regional Quality Manager, Steve Corcoran.

“The aim of the program is to find real-world problems before our customers do, so that they and their families have absolute peace of mind that their Acadia is built and tuned to perform in every way.”

The local test program follows two years of development and “pre-road” testing by Holden engineers and at GM Engineering in the US.

“The real-world test program we’re running on Acadia ensures it not only drives well on Australian roads, it also fine tunes technology features, such as Traffic Sign Recognition, Auto Emergency Braking and Lane Departure Warning to work with our unique road markings and signs,” said Holden’s Director of Sales, Peter Keley.

Sitting above the Trax and Equinox in the current Holden range, the Acadia will arrive as a “softer” and more premium SUV companion to the harder-edged Trailblazer 4x4. To be offered in both 2WD and AWD forms, the Acadia will be powered by a 3.6-litre petrol engine, with standard features including a 360-degree camera, hands-free tailgate, ventilated and heated seats, and wireless phone charging.

Full specs and further details will be announced closer to local release.