Holden Crewman S 2005 Review

But in the early 1980s, family responsibilities and a house renovation dictated a more pedestrian utility.

So I ended up driving around in a Datsun 1500 ute. Its long wheelbase meant I could fit in a kitchen door without opening the tailgate.

As the family grew, the ute was replaced by a Datsun Twin-Cab in the late-1980s in which we clocked up 250,000km.

Now I've got a 1974 Land Rover Series III long-wheelbase ute I bought for a couple of grand but have to spend a ridiculous $800 a year registering.

The reason I persist? It's a do-all vehicle that can take rubbish to the dump, pick up a tonne of driveway gravel, transport one of my broken-down motorcycles or bounce its way up a bush track.

The reason I don't own a current-model ute? I spend far too much money on motorcycles. If I didn't, I'd certainly consider a Holden Crewman S V6. Utes fit the lifestyle of an increasing number of Australians and Holden sells about 50,000 light commercial vehicles a year (including Rodeos).

About half are Utes, with the leaders being single-cab versions, followed by the Crewman and One Tonner.

You don't have to be a tradesman to own one. The attraction is car-like comfort and the versatility to fit heavy, bulky items in the back without wrestling with awkward doors. Until you've owned a ute, you can never appreciate how useful they are.

Holden has had good service out of its Ute range and has repaid customer loyalty with recent refinements and a VZ styling update. Chief among them is the installation of the all-new, high-performance Alloytec V6 engine.

You can still get the 5.7-litre pushrod V8 grunter but there is more than a touch of sophistication about the V6.

Displacing 3.6 litres, it has twin overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. The powerplant is lighter than the V8 SS and revs cleanly and quickly to its peak power output of 175kW at 6000rpm. The Crewman S pumps out 320Nm of torque at 2400rpm, so it is still a great tow car. It can also carry more weight than the V8. While power output figures are down, the S is about 60kg, or a passenger's weight, lighter and that V6 is one sweet unit.

Also on the upgrade list is an all-new six-speed manual gearbox and a revised four-speed automatic.

The Crewman S on test had the auto. I liked the way you could plant the right foot in Drive mode and it would hold the gear to the redline without hunting through the box.

A good test of the auto came when I found myself boxed in a car park with a locked vehicle behind me. About 10 minutes of twisting and turning had me free and grateful I wasn't in the manual version. The manoeuvring also brought home the shortcomings of such a long wheelbase (3200mm). You really are compromised in turning angles and have to adopt a different style of driving.

The view out the back is limited as well, with the height of the load area making the rear window feel more like a slot.

But on the road, the Crewman S drives just like a car. A new anti-sway bar and some front-suspension tuning gives a supple ride with little body roll.

Some squeaking from the leaf-spring rear end reminds you this is a ute.

Many passenger cars would struggle to replicate the cabin quietness and lack of tyre noise that the Crewman S displays. And that free-revving V6 does not intrude but still sounds strong.

Power windows front and rear, full electronic instrumentation (including trip computer), cruise control and power steering make this a great interstate cruiser. Except for the rear seats. With very straight backs, they are probably suitable for children or adults only on a short trip.

Overall, I really liked the Crewman S but it wasn't perfect. To give it the sort of practicality I seek in utes, I'd like the paint in the cargo area to be more durable and the tiedown points stronger (for motorcycles).

A twin exhaust system would finish off the rear-end styling better.