In the current market if there's one vehicle that screams `Aussie' it's the ute. Whether it's Holden or Ford it does not matter. They have their own class for racing and even a huge ute muster day. We've just spent a week in Holden's 2010 Series 11 SS ute which was an interesting exercise in compromise: sports ute and practical workhorse. Instead of a six speed manual the test car came with an auto shifter. Nice. Instead of a hard tonneau, it was kitted out with a traditional, and more practical, soft cover.
There is the odd down side. The soft tonneau cannot be locked. Tick one for the hard tonneau. But this soft top will haul more gear, particularly anything taller than a slab of beer stored vertically, which is the downside to the hard tonneau that pivots on hinges. There's another negative to the SS. The front skirt is so low it barely passes over anything higher than a house-brick laid on it's wide side. It's too easy to wipe out the skirt - or at least damage it - by the merest of misjudgements when parking nose-on, or in my case simply using my slightly inclined driveway.
Those issues aside, the SS is one hell of a ute. More car-like than many marques were just a few years ago. Fitted with Holden's 6.0 litre, 260 Kw Gen IV engine mated to the six speed auto, this along with the manual variant which kicks out 270 kW, is the closest beast we have to an Australian sports coupe.
When Holden upgraded the Commodore range a couple of months back it barely fiddled with the basics of design and engineering apart from making almost the whole fleet bio-ethanol friendly. Instead, it took the cars up-market in terms of multi-media technology. They call it Holden i-Q. To facilitate the technology Holden needed to change the configuration of the centre stack, which was required in any case as the old screen was set low in the stack and took the drivers’ eyes too far from the road. The new touch screen is located atop the stack and offers a whole new world to Holden buffs. As long as it works. More on that under TECHNOLOGY a little further down the page.
BODY STYLE
Holden’s move to freshen the look of the SS ute included a new sports front fascia with larger grille and a more aggressive front capped off by a larger, and lower, air intake. It’s this size change that causes the spoiler to be a little too close to terra firma. The headlamp shape was revised and a new black bright bezel detail added. New 18-inch machined alloy wheels were also added. Inside, beside the changes to the stack already noted, SS gained a new `red on white’ instrument cluster illumination to improve readability.
POWERTRAIN
Across the board in Holden’s V6 engines and V8s fitted to luxury and performance models the company has enabled fuel flex technology. This means the engines can run on up to E85 ethanol/15 per cent petrol mix. Or, if there’s no E85 in sight, or any other ethanol blend, you simply fill up with unleaded. Caltex is aiming to have 100 service stations on the east coast offering E85 blend in the near future, with some operators already offering the alternative in the eastern capital cities and Canberra. Holden claim E85 can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40 per cent.
SAFETY/HANDLING
Across the board Commodore gets a 5-Star ANCAP safety rating. The SS ute has front and side airbags as well as the full kit of stability control, traction control, ABS brakes, eletronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist. Apart from the entry-level Omega – the only true workhorse in the Holden ute range – the SV6, SS and SS-V Series all get sports suspension with sports tuned springs and dampers, as well as lowered road height.
INTERIOR DESIGN
The interior also gained a more wrap-around appearance with , linear treatment on the lower IP that extends from the door handle surround through to the console. In overall terms these were small tickets items designed to freshen up the cabin in the vehicle’s mid-life makover. The ute’s cabin is user-friendly and major changes were not required to items such as switch placements. There’s ample room behind the seats for carrying shopping and the seats are comfortable and supportive. There is some hindrance to rear-view using the interior mirror as the high line of the tonneau cover and wedge-shape inhibit the ability to see close to the rear. You need to be extra careful when reversing.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
As a sports ute the SS is one hell of a drive. The 6.0 litre V8 is a big, lazy un-stressed engine is most situations. At highway speed it cruises a not much more than idling speed in four-cylinder mode. Ask, the question though, and this gentle giant tends to get angry quickly and a mean V8 note invades the cabin from the four exhaust pipes. What we really like is the ute has handling to match the straight-line speed. Holden have really got the suspension tied down beautifully and the way the car points, the perfectly weighted steering, the predicability of the car when cornering is simply a delight.
TECHNOLOGY
What sets this Commodore apart from all previous models is the development of 21st technology in the form of Holdens i-Q . We covered the launch of the car in Adelaide and vividly recall Holden executives streaming their music collections contained in mobile telephones at least stream out own less-sophisticated iPod music through the system using the USB connection found in the storage area under the centre arm rest. Unfortunately, the Holden i-Q system did not recognise the USB. Ummm. We asked a Holden dealer service guy for advice and were told the following.
1. Not all iPods are compatible with the system.
2. If you use the traditional USB connection and your iPod is low on power it can freeze the i-Q system.
3. You need a different connector to have any chance of getting the iPod to play.
4. They have had complaints from customers not being able to connect Bluetooth telephones to the system.
5. He was unaware that you could use Bluetooth connectivity to stream music stored in your mobile ‘phone wirelessly through the car’s audio system.
It seems to us that like anything new the Holden i-Q system has some teething problems that will, in time, be ironed out. Right now we’d suggest Commodore buyers have these type of issues addressed as part of the purchase negotiations.
MODELS AND PRICING
Omega 3.6 litre auto $33,490
Omega 3.6 litre LPG auto $36,890
SV6 3.6 litre $38,490
SS 6.0 litre $42,490
SS-V-Series 6.0 litre $47,490
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: standard
Air Conditioning: standard
Automatic Transmission: standard
CD Player: standard
Central Locking: standard
Cruise Control: standard
Dual Front Airbags: standard
Front Side Airbags: standard
Stability Control: standard
Traction Control: standard
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE:
Capacity: 6.0 litres
Configuration: V8
Head Design: OHV crossflow heads
Compression Ratio: 10.4:1
Maximum Power: 260 kW @ 5700 rpm
Maximum Torque: 517 Nm @ 4400 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: rear
Manual Transmission: Six speed
Automatic Transmission: Six speed
Final Drive Ratio: 2.92
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4900 mm
Wheelbase: 2915 mm
Width: 1899 mm (excl. mirrors)
Height: 1476 mm
Turning Circle: 11.4 metres
Fuel Tank Capacity: 73 litres
Towing Ability: 2100 kg (kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Coil springs, stabliser bar
Rear Suspension: Multi link IRS coil springs, stabiliser.
Front Brakes: Disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: 95RON/98RON (for slightly higher performance)
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 12.6 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 2.5 /10
Air Pollution Rating: 5/10
STANDARD WARRANTY:
3 years/ 100,000 km |
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