Hot on the heels of Ford’s Falcon-based Territory SUV, Holden decided to develop a Commodore-derived rival to conquer the growing market space.
The SUV market was growing significantly during the 1990s and 2000s as the Japanese led the way before the Europeans coined on.
Toyota RAV4, Nissan Pathfinder, Mitsubishi Pajero, Subaru Outback and Suzuki Vitara’s rise in popularity was hard to ignore as locally Ford released its Territory to much acclaim including the Wheels Car of the Year, while Holden went about developing its own.
The Adventra was launched in late-2003 after a vigorous research and development program out at Holden’s Lang Lang Proving Ground.
Featuring all-wheel-drive, an increased ride height, extra body cladding around the bumpers and wheel arches in addition to a 5.7-litre V8 producing 235kW, the Adventra was more of a rival to the Toyota Prado.
Two years after its initial release, a 3.6-litre V6 was introduced in response to struggling sales against the Territory.
While the Territory was a big winner for Ford, Holden’s Adventra lagged considerably and was discontinued in 2006 to be replaced by the Korean-sourced Captiva.
A performance version was even produced by HSV named the Avalanche, but compared to the other offerings from Holden’s performance brand it didn’t fit.
Although the Adventra proved an experiment Holden ended, maybe it was too soon as the rise and growth in the SUV market proved successful for Ford until ended production in Australia in 2016 as the Territory proved a mainstay.
It continues to be a what if moment for Holden as the writing on the wall continued to draw closer.