Holden Commodore Video Reviews

Everyone has a soft spot for the family car we all had once upon a time, and seeing an updated Commodore got everybody a tad nostalgic. But there's nothing old about this Commodore.

Europe might be overrun with sexy supercars, while America can rightly lay claim to ozone-piercing muscle cars the size of small islands, but nobody - nobody - does a go-fast ute quite like Australia.

Malcolm Flynn road tests and reviews the 2014 Holden VF SS-V Redline Ute with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

In the midst of all the current gloom about the car industry – Ford shuttering the factory in 2016, the spectre of changes to FBT, Holden speculating it might have to close its operations if it doesn’t get more help -- it's difficult to believe the new VF Commodore has been in showrooms only a month.Before the FBT announcement Holden was convinced it had got off to a good start. It deserves to. From top to bottom the VF is a better car than VE, the previous Commodore.It has also been pitched aggressively to private buyers and none more so than the top trim level, Redline. This adds sports tuning to an SS V sedan, wagon or ute and is now a separate designation rather than an option. Among early orders for SS Vs, half are going for Redline.It’s priced from $48,990 for the manual ute to $55,690 for the automatic wagon, and the additional $6000 over a standard SS V buys a few extra features, such as heated front seats, premium Bose stereo, colour head-up display and two more driver assistance systems: collision alert and lane departure warning. But performance upgrades across the car are where most of the value lies.For the first time, Holden has gone with wider, lower-profile rubber at the rear with 275/35 tyres against 245/40 at the front. To any potential buyer, that says: "We're taking this seriously.''The engine is the same 6.0-litre V8 offered elsewhere on VF, either with a six-speed manual or an automatic transmission that handles slightly lower power and torque outputs. Usually Holden keeps 0-100km/h times to itself, but it broke with tradition to say "mid-5 seconds'' -- another strong claim.The Ute offers the best power-to-weight ratio and Holden dynamics specialist and part-time Nurburgring ace Rob Trubiani set a time of 8min 19.47sec in one during a lap of the famed 21km track. The video is well worth a look.Brembo performance brakes are fitted with stiffer calipers within the 19-inch alloys. The result is lower unsprung weight and a stopping distance from 100km/h reduced by more than 2m, to 38.6m, compared with the equivalent VE. A good sports car would do it in about 35m, so that's respectable for 1.8 tonne sedan.Redlines also get Holden's most aggressive suspension tune, coded FE3, revised with larger stabiliser bars and dampers. Holden says body roll has been reduced and the car can pull an impressive 0.93g in corners.There's also a unique Redline steering tune known as Competitive mode and a setting for the electronic stability control with a higher threshold for intervention.The test drive event also had a track focus. There was no road component at all, so it's impossible to say whether the Redline has a ride you could live with on the daily commute. Unless your route involves a lap of Phillip Island, that is.The first exercise, using the straight, aimed to demonstrate the launch control feature. Two cars line up side by side, in proper top fuel style. Put it in gear, press the right button and keep the clutch depressed while stabbing the throttle and holding it down.After a second or so the system drops from maximum revs to about 4000rpm, which is ideal for an efficient getaway. Wait for green, and drop the clutch. Actually, don't wait for green. As I quickly learned, as soon as the last of three yellows comes up, go. Or you'll record the reaction time of a sloth.The car's computer gets it off the line with minimum drama and maximum attack. Repeatedly. And there's still a satisfying reminder of its efforts on the tarmac. Next was a wet skid pan motorkhana course and a chance to explore the three-level stability control to see how it affects handling.Redlines resist the overwhelming understeer typical of large heavy sedans during tight exercises such as this and feels if not exactly nimble, at least quickly manoeuvrable. On the track, the VF is more at home than many other large sedans I've sampled here.The steering rewards with precision and a sense of how much grip the front wheels have got, while the body stays composed and remarkably flat for confidence through Phillip Island's fast turns. Compared with some of the performance imports, top speeds were lower but satisfaction greater.The VF just seems light on its feet and well rounded in its attributes: neither the chassis nor brakes are strained by the power. The front and rear of the car work together, so that neither wants to spoil the party and stray off line. I've enjoyed faster and much more expensive four-doors here less than this.Another plus are lighter and easier actions for the clutch and gearshift in the manual models, a welcome improvement despite their minority appeal. One surprise was how refined the car stays. Making the cabin quieter was a goal of the VF program and in the V8s, it's succeeded almost too well.From the outside, this V8 sounds delightfully fruity but from the driver's perspective the hardcore Redline could do with a bit more volume. Also from the driver's seat the problem of wide A-pillars obscuring vision through bends carries over from VE. That sort of fundamental structural issue is too expensive to fix.

There's nothing quite like a V8 - I'm not sure who said it but they were on to something. There are sensational V8s in many of the European, Japanese and US product on the market here but when it comes to bent-eights, the Blue Oval or the Red Lion attract the most attention.In fact, the phrase was probably used a Ford or Holden ad campaign. Both sides of that fence maintain there's still demand for the V8-powered models and after spending some time in the latest from Elizabeth it's easy to see why. Ford is no longer making the XR8, leaving the fight to the XR6 Turbo or FPV's new $56,990 GS sedan - with the 315kW/545Nm supercharged five-litre 8.VALUEAs upgrades go, the VEII program was hardly earth-shattering. The bulk of the changes were minor in terms of aesthetics, but in the engine bay and the dashboard there's been enough done - particularly given the pricetag is unchanged. The highlight for the model change was within - the new iQ infotainment system is standard on the SS V, a set-up for which many brands would justify plenty extra pesos on the pricetag.TECHNOLOGYThe six-litre GenIV V8 (which retains the cylinder de-activation system) has been given the once-over to allow it to run on E85, there's some underbody aero-panels to smooth the airflow and some other tuning tweaks to the suspension. The standard iQ infotainment system offers colour satellite navigation, a hard drive, USB input and Bluetooth link for the phone and the 11-speaker sound system are among the features controlled by the touch screen.The satnav has several useful features but the best few are the speed camera and school zone warnings to remind drivers of what's around them, as well as displaying the speed limit of the current road being travelled. The luxo-hotrod also has dual zone climate control, a rear camera, parking sensors at the rear, alloy-faced pedals, 19in alloys (although there's only a goo kit and no spare, that's optional), a sports leather-wrapped steering wheel - one of the few feature upgrades above the SS, along with projector headlights.DESIGNThe new VEII SS V struts through traffic, with muscular bulges and stance largely inherited from the VE. The SS V has a rear diffuser set up with quad exhausts and, sitting on 19in wheels, doesn't need the retina-searing yellow paintwork to stand out.The cabin has leather sports seats (that could do with more support around the ribcage), the sports steering wheel and a leather-wrapped gearshifter. It's a comfortable cabin and forward vision is reasonable, sullied only by the thick A-pillar; rear vision isn't great before the put the big rear spoiler on, so the camera and sensors are must-have.SAFETYThe VEII SS V has a decent safety features list, with stability and traction control, a limited slip diff, anti-lock brakes, dual front, side and curtain airbags, front seatbelts with load-limiters and pretensioners. Anyone looking for serious braking power will want to consider the new Redline option pack, which  would worthwhile - the pack ups the stopping power with four-piston Brembo front brakes as well as the handling to the new FE3 level for an extra $2500.Brakes have not often been the strong point of a Commodore and while the latest example of the breed has certainly improved, the extra braking power would be welcome.DRIVINGThe hero colour of the new range is called Hazard, the biggest one being the attention such a hue can attract, even when you're being good. The auto SS V is 19kg heavier and down 10kW and 13Nm over the manual version, but you don't notice the loss of grunt, as 260kW and 517Nm is ample for most amusements.The cylinder dropout system is still short on smarts, taking an awfully long time to drop to four cylinders on a long downhill stretch and it still idles on all eight. Holden is claiming a 2.5 per cent drop in fuel use to 12.3 litres per 100km, but that's on PULP - we had plenty of E85 in the tank and the number on the trip computer was around 18, a legacy of the faster-burning ethanol fuel.The VEII SS V is an impressive machine through a twisty hills back road, although the steering could do with a bit more meat. It doesn't drive like a 1700kg sedan - except in tight corners at optimistic entry speeds - and feels as though it's not punishing its tyres as much, with minimal complaints from the rubber during moderately brisk cornering.The new centre display works well enough, although it sometimes has a bit too much thinking time when switching between functions, but the connectivity side - using Bluetooth - is easy to use. Certain angles of sunlight will bring on a reflection from silver strip below the instrumentation, which makes the instruments almost impossible to see.The rear spoiler ruins what is already average rear vision, making the camera and rear sensors compulsory if you've got kids that might be near the rear. The V8 is a smooth and purposeful powerplant, although it will be too quiet for some petrolhead owners - plenty of scope for aftermarket exhausts - but the six-speed auto is still not the smartest transmission around.VERDICTYou can't argue with the value-for-money equation given the features and the performance - the already-capable package has been refined and upgraded, without any extra on the asking price.