Motor Shows

There’s more than 895 litres of empty space riding in the cargo compartment of Holden’s new Sportwagon. This latest addition to the VE line-up comes with a weighty, but invisible, burden. It’s the model that Holden is surely counting on to carry the Commodore badge to its 13th straight year at the top the Australian car sales charts.

Here’s the situation. Through the first six months of 2008, Toyota sold 1092 more Corolla hatchbacks and sedans than Holden sold four-door Commodores. But Holden hasn’t been playing the game with a full deck. Production of Commodore wagon – the old-generation VZ – was halted back in September 2007. Through the last year of its life, it sold at a rate of around 900 per month. Mainly to fleets. And with only three model grades…


If the Sportwagon sells at anything like the rate the old one did (and even allowing that some customers inevitably will choose the VE wagon instead of a VE sedan), Commodore’s tally should catch and overtake Corolla’s through the second half of 2008. Should…

Senior Holden executives, like marketing director Phil Brook, won’t make a prediction on Sportwagon sales numbers. It would be foolish to do so, he says, when the Australian new car market is going through a period of rapid change. Neither will he confidently declare that Commodore will regain its accustomed No.1 spot on the sales chart by year’s end. Brook’s unwillingness to make claims is about ensuring that hubris doesn’t pay Holden an unwelcome visit around the first week of next January, when the VFacts sales data will be compiled. But this doesn’t mean that corporate pride is not at stake here. You can bet that Holden will take it mighty hard if their car is demoted to No.2 when the 2008 figures are tallied.



Given the stakes, it’s probably a good thing that the new VE Sportwagon is unlike the old Commodore wagon in a bunch of important ways.

The newcomer is built on a platform that’s almost exactly the same as the VE sedan, not the long-wheelbase that’s used beneath the WM Statesman/Caprice twins and the Commodore Ute. This means Sportwagon’s length and height measurements are within millimetres of the sedan. And it looks great, too. The design team were aiming to create a Euro-style wagon, with as much emphasis on style as space, and the they certainly hit the target. There’s less room than in the old Commodore wagon, but the Sportwagon doesn’t look like anything at all like a hearse. That’s something you couldn’t say about the previous-generation wagon.


The Sportwagon comes in the same seven model grades as the sedan (Omega, Berlina, SV6, SS, SS V, Calais and Calais V). The VZ wagon line-up, in contrast, had only three members, and 90 percent were bought by fleet customers. By offering a broad variety of Sportwagon models, Holden is obviously aiming to attract many more private buyers and user-choosers. Compared with the sedan, there are only a few important drivetrain options deleted; no 6.0-litre V8 engine option in Berlina and Calais grades, no six-speed manual transmission option in SV6.


Furthering the appeal, Holden has priced Sportwagon sharply. Right across the board it’s $1000 more than the equivalent sedan. There’s no skimping on equipment content, either. Reversing sensors are standard in all Sportwagon models. The wagons also have as standard the same major safety features (ESP, six airbags) as the sedans.



The VE Sportwagon works pretty well. Its cargo capacities are 895 litres with the rear seat up, and 2000 litres when the 60/40 split rear seatback is folded. These numbers are less than the old VZ’s 1402 litre and 2752 litre equivalent figures, but the Sportwagon’s cargo compartment is usefully large and extremely user-friendly.

With the rear seats folded, the Sportwagon’s compartment is nearly two metres long and almost flat. Ready to seat five, the cargo bay compares favourably with a compact SUV, and obviously is more commodious and versatile than the 496 litre boot of a Commodore sedan.



There a some sweet design touches, too. The cargo compartment cover, for instance, can fully retracted or slid up a pair of guide slots in the Sportwagon’s D-pillar. The latter position makes it possible to access stuff in the luggage area while keeping the blind in an easy-to-reach position. As well, there’s a 12-volt power outlet, four D-ring tie-downs and flip-out two shopping bag holders back there.


Model for model, VE Sportwagon drives very much like VE sedan. There’s a fraction more noise, but the extra 91kg of the wagon body structure (there are 72 unique body parts, not counting the rear doors and tailgate) makes little difference to performance and increases official fuel consumption figures only slightly. The big gaps between the standard four-speed auto’s ratios in Omega and Berlina remains annoying. The standard five-speed auto of the SV6, Calais and Calais V is better, but both the regular 180kW (Omega and Berlina) and high-power 195kW (SV6, Calais and Calais V) versions of the Sportwagon’s Australian-made 3.6-litre V6 remain aurally insipid. The most polished drivetrain available in Sportwagon is the 6.0-litre V8 of the SS and SS V, teamed with six-speed auto.


But the V8-powered wagons are not the sweetest Sportwagons to drive. Along with the SV6, the SS and SS V have significantly stiffer springs front and rear than their sedan equivalents.

Ride comfort is poor on typical country roads, although smooth road handling is impressive. The base Omega and Berlina and luxury Calais and Calais V deliver a better blend. In these models only the rear springs are stiffer. To work with the springs a slimmer anti-roll bar is installed. And like all Sportwagons, there’s an extra ball joint in the rear multi-link suspension, designed to optimise toe-link stiffness. Up front a 1mm thicker anti-roll bar is installed for handling harmony. It works, too, endowing these Sportwagon models with appreciably better steering and handling, with less body roll, than their sedan relatives, with little degradation in ride quality.

The Sportwagon line-up has a lot going for it; dynamics, refinement, prices, equipment, practicality, space and, of course, looks. Is this enough to carry Commodore to its 13th straight No.1? Time will tell…

Watch out for the full report in the next issue of Wheels, out July 23.

Holden Sportwagon Highlights

Technology
• Roof-mounted DVD system available on selected models
• Integrated navigation system available on all models
• Multi-function driver information display system
• Bluetooth® for compatible phones^ standard on all models except Omega

Performance
• The multi-link Linear Control Suspension system is the most advanced suspension design ever under a Holden
• Large, fade-resistant brake systems help reduce stopping distances
• Increased diameter wheel and tyre packages for braking and cornering control
• Two V6 engine versions are available: an Alloytec 3.6 litre V6 with single exhaust; and the Alloytec High Output 3.6 litre V6 with dual exhaust
• 6.0 litre Generation 4 Alloy V8 coupled with a six-speed manual transmission, or optional six-speed automatic transmission

Safety
• Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) standard on all models
• Driver, front passenger and side impact airbags standard on all models
• Curtain airbags standard on all models
• Rear Park Assist standard on all models
• Occupant protection system designed for the real world driving environment
• Ultra-stiff body structure, multiple load path strategy and structurally optimised front and rear deformation zones

Key Features:
Omega
Standard features include:

• Four16-inch alloy wheels
• Cloth seat trim
• Adjustable driver’s seat lumbar support
• Auxiliary power socket in console and rear cargo area
• 60:40 spilt fold rear seats
• Multifunction driver display


Berlina
All Omega standard features and in addition:

• Four 17-inch alloy wheels
• Four-way electric adjustment of driver’s seat
• 6-inch multifunction in-dash display screen
• Two front reading lamps
• Front fog lamps
• Leather wrap steering wheel


SV6
Features include:
• Four 18-inch alloy wheels
• Front fog lamp
• Sports body kit
• Dual exhaust
• Leather wrap steering wheel

SS
All SV6 standard features and in addition:
• Four 18-inch alloy wheels
• Sports front seats
• Quad exhaust

SS V-Series
All SS standard features and in addition:
• Four 19-inch alloy wheels
• Projector headlamps
• Alloy faced pedals
• Leather wrap gear selector
• Leather wrap sports profile steering wheel
• Leather-appointed seats
• 6.5-inch multifunction in-dash display screen

Calais
Standard features include:
• Four 17-inch alloy wheels
• Cloth seat trim with leather trim bolsters
• Six-way electric adjustment of front seats
• Luggage net in rear cargo
• Front centre armrest with leather trim
• Projector headlamps
• Dual exhaust outlets
• Leather wrap gear selector
• Leather wrap steering wheel

Calais V-Series
All Calais standard features and in addition:
• Four 18-inch alloy wheels
• Rear seat overhead DVD player
• Leather appointed seats
• Eight-way electric adjustment of front seats
• Driver’s seat position memory for up to three drivers
• Door entry lamps
• Chrome finish body side mouldings
• Leather wrap sports profile steering wheel

The two all-new colours are:

• Karma (Omega, SV6, SS, SSV, Berlina, Calais, Calais V) - deep green with a metallic teal highlight
• Voodoo (SV6, SS, SSV) - intense metallic blue with a striking green highlight