1985 Holden Drover Deluxe 1.3L 5MT (64 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Holden introduced the 1985 Drover in its lineup to fill the gap it had in the SUV segment, even though the car was a rebadged version of the Suzuki Samurai, which was also sold in Australia as the Sierra.

Besides the open-top version of the Drover, the Australian automaker insisted that it had to be able to sell the closed version of the vehicle. Since this hard-top model provided more acoustic and thermal comfort than its convertible twin brother, the automaker dared to equip the vehicle with better amenities and then added the Deluxe nameplate. However, that didn’t help the Australian automaker too much. In 1987, GM decided to withdraw from its deal with Suzuki on the Sierra/Drover project. However, their cooperation continued on other models.

GM knew how to do badge-engineered vehicles, and it knew that the front fascia was one of the most important parts to be redesigned. As a result, the 1985 Holden Drover featured rectangular headlights instead of the round ones installed by Suzuki on the Sierra SJ413. Furthermore, it also redesigned the front grille, which featured two plastic horizontal slats where the brand’s badge took center stage.

Like its open-top brother, the 1985 Holden Drover had a short nose with flat areas. The front fenders, the doors, and the rear quarter panels were flat. After all, the Samurai debuted in Japan as a kei-car, and it had to be narrow. Unlike its open-top sibling, it featured a fixed windshield and a raised roof. The greenhouse had large windows, but only those from the front doors could open. Holden also sold the Drover with another hard top variant but with a flat roof for regular, non-Deluxe versions. At the back, the small-sized offroad vehicle had a side-hinged door that provided access to the tiny trunk where only a folded newspaper could fit. The taillights were horizontally mounted in the rear metallic bumper.

Inside, the plain-looking dashboard was made from hard plastic, and the driver fronted a rectangular instrument cluster. There, Suzuki installed two large dials for the speedometer and the tachometer. They flanked the narrow vertical gauges for the fuel level and the coolant temperature, stacked one on top of the other. On the center stack, customers found the heating and ventilation controls and a stereo cassette player, while the center console housed the gear stick and the lever for the transfer case. The front seats were thin and could be wrapped in vinyl, while a narrow bench seat in the back could host two passengers. Thanks to the taller roof, the 1985 Holden Drover provided enough headroom for everyone onboard. Unfortunately, the legroom for those seated in the back was very limited.

Under the hood, the automaker installed a 1.3-liter gasoline engine paired with a five-speed manual gearbox. The transfer box had high- and low gears and could send the power to the rear or all corners of the vehicle. Due to its solid front and rear axles, the light 1985 Holden Drover was a very capable offroad car, but not comfortable.