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There are only minor body and cabin changes for the VEII, as GM Holden concentrates its spending on customer benefits and equipment that will give it a showroom advantage. Photo Gallery
The Holden Commodore VE II (or VE-2 as some are calling it) has finally joined the 21st century with its latest upgrade.
A 6.5-inch colour touch screen infotainment system is now standard in every Holden Commodore, part of the VE Series II upgrade that also includes flex-fuel V6 and V8 engines for the first time in a locally-made car. But Holden is making the move without the Statesman, a name that is being dropped in 2010.
There are only minor body and cabin changes for the VEII, as GM Holden concentrates its spending on customer benefits and equipment that will give it a showroom advantage. It claims fuel economy improvements up to 12 per cent - on the 6-litre SS-V manual sedan - and CO2 reductions up to 11.5 per cent - on the 3-litre V6 Omega ute.
The infotainment system - called Holden-iQ - operates with Bluetooth, wireless, cable and USB connections for music and mobiles and is intended to give the red lion a competitive advantage.
The same applies to its flex-fuel, bioethanol engines, although the 3.6-litre V6 will not run on the greener E85 - 85 per cent ethanol, 15 per cent petrol - mix until 2012.
GM Holden says E85 will be available from around 100 bio-ethanol service stations nationally in 2011. It is keeping pricing and final specifications secret until the official press launch of the latest model on September 10, but is teasing today with pictures and some early information.
Company chief, Mike Devereaux, denies the update is influenced by the tight financial situation in Australia and at General Motors through the VEII development period.
“Our approach to Commodore has been about making a great car even better,” Devereux says. “It’s about introducing more improvements more often and getting technology into the car that our customers need and want."
The only all-new model in the VEII line-up is a V-Series version of the long-wheelbase Caprice, which picks up the same extreme sportiness which has worked so well on SS and Calais V-Series models. The Caprice V picks up a sunroof, full Nappa leather trim, a dual-screen rear DVD system, Bose audio and a three-zone aircon system.
“Market research consistently told us that the Caprice nameplate, with its definite sports luxury character, appealed to a far broader customer base,” says Holden's executive director of sales, marketing and aftersales, John Elsworth.
Looking across the VEII range, aero work to cut drag - and boost economy - includes extra smooth below the sedan and Sportwagon except Omega, reduced trim height on Omega and Berlina sedan, rear-wheel air deflectors on Omega, Berlina and Calais, a re-designed bootlid and front undertray. Mechanical changes include a clutch on the aircon compressor and an engine idle speed reduction on 3.6-litre engines.
Visually, VEII cars get a new frontal treatment, there are new-design alloy wheels from the Berlina upwards, and the dashboard has been smoothed and given more soft-touch plastic with a new centre console surround and new controls for the aircon.
"Our customers have been telling us they want to see our models refreshed with greater functionality from Omega to Caprice," says Deveraux.
“We have listened and responded in a way that continues to position Commodore as the smart choice for Australian motorists.”
