Holden may have missed celebrating it's
birthday but the Calais turned 25 in 2009. This top-of-the-line
Commodore was launched in 1984 along with SL and Berlina in what was
the VK series. So it was with some birthday good cheer were collected
our road test Calais for a longish stint over Christmas – New Year.
Our test car was the Calais V complete with 6.0 litre AFM V8. AFM
stands for Active Fuel Management which means the engine has the
ability when not under load to shut down four cylinders.
What happens is the inlet and outlet
valves are shut down leaving the car the run as a 3.0 litre V4. As a
driver you really don't notice any switch from one to the other as it
happens automatically and instantaneously. What is does for the
driver is focus attention on fuel economy. Which is rather strange
thing to do when there's a 6.0 litre V8 thundering under the bonnet.
Surely if you wanted economy you'd not buy a V8 in the first place.
More on that later.
When the Calais was introduced a
quarter of a century ago it powered by a 3.3 litre six engine and had
transmission options of four and five speed manuals and a three speed
Trimatic auto. The Calais was fitted with an Australian-made
digital/analogue electronic instrument panel claimed to be the most
advanced in the world and incorporating an electronic odometer and
trip meter. The cost: $19,315.
The Calais returned Holden's main
stream car to an upmarket model after the `Premier' had it's final
fling in the 1987 HZ. Since that time Calais has cemented
it's place as a luxurious locally-produced marque. The current Calais
uses a body that we are all familiar with mainly because it's still
based on the VE shape that's been around for years. Externally
there's no doubt it's an enduring design. We like it and it will take
some time yet to date. The interior is however in need of an update
and some design flare and practical upgrades.
There are some things that simply don't
work as well as they should. We'd like to see the power window
switches on the door handles. We also don't like the monitor screen
where it is, or the size. If you are using the satellite navigation
you have to look down dropping your eyes well away from the road.
It's hard to see – because it's too small – and too low. So it
really needs to be placed at dashboard height not just for the driver
but also the front seat passenger.
Obviously this means an internal
facelift and we hope this might currently be in GM Holden's budget
for a Commodore/Calais facelift. What is too large for a facelift is
another part of the Commodore that irks us: the width of the A-pillar
which at times hides vital driver information – such as cars and
traffic islands. It is simply too wide. Enough of the negatives.
Despite all the above we really like
this car. Being a Calais it has comfort to burn and you immediately
feel right at home when you step inside. Unlike Commodore which is
dark, dark, dark ... Calais has a lighter coloured dash trim,
perforated leather seats, and plastics that don't look like plastic.
There's splashes of leather on the steering wheel – which has rake
and reach adjustment - and on the gear selector. There are some
compromises. The drivers' pew get power adjustment in six directions
while the poor old passenger gets none ... manual only, thank you
very much.
The trip computer system works well
once you understand the system which is controlled from buttons and
roller buttons on the steering wheel. We don't understand why the
fuel read-out monitor is in a different place to the trip read out
information, but we can live with it. The rear seat caters for three
adults making this a true long distance touring car in the best of
Aussie traditions although the centre pew can be a little hard on the
butt thanks to the drive-line tunnel.
In overall terms the Calais is put
together really well with no fit or quality issues we could find. There's plenty of storage places for
maps, gadgets and a decent size glove box. Once again for touring
there's a good size boot with a hefty 496 litres of space with the
back seats in place and a ski port for long objects. Being a Calais
it comes with a lot of standard kit: six stacker CD, auxiliary
input, cruise and audio controls on the steering wheel, power
everything – apart from the passenger pew – dual zone climate
control and heated widows.
For rear seat passengers there's a
standard roof-mounted DVD player – just the ticket for long trips
with the family at Christmas time. We found the headsets for the DVD
wrapped up in the cargo net in the boot – there's no suitable place
for them inside the cabin.
Calais is all about the driver and as
such he/her gets rain sensing wipers and auto-on head lights and
Bluetooth integration. Front and rear parking sensors are standard.
Six airbags and Electronic Stability Program, ABS, brake assist,
electronic brakeforce distribution and traction control ensure the
safety net is up to the grunt of the big V8.
The engine puts out a whopping 260 kW
of power and 517 Nm of torque and is only available with the six
speed auto shifter in Calais. It's one hell of an engine in terms of
both size and performance. It is never found wanting. V8 drivers will
love it. Flatten the right foot and a genuine V8 roar exudes from the
dual tailpipes on either side of the car's rear. Drive it softly and
you barely notice the engine at all. Our main issue with the engine
is the settings that control when it shifts into V4 mode.
Just cruising down the M1 in cruise
control was drifting in and out of V4/V8 mode at the slightest
increase in grade. Remember, the M1 is fairly flat. And the driver
has no control over this. There is no switch to lock there engine in
V4 mode. It's the same at idle where the engine turns over in V8
mode.
Economy. We don't know of any V8
drivers who really give a hoot about the type of mini-savings that
can be made by GM Holden's AFM technology. Having said that the AFM
badge may help them feel good about themselves, as we are sure it
does to GM executives who get the warm fuzzies about steps in the
right direction for more efficient/reduced emission engines.
Of course, the Calais V has an option:
the new 210 kW SIDI direct injection 3.6 litre V6. This will give you
better economy. What is not on the options list is a
highly-efficient, high-torque, low emissions
small capacity turbo-diesel. Kia just released one in Sorento, a 2.2
litre variant with more torque than the current V8 petrol Toyota
LandCruiser. Calais has a five star Australian ANCAP safety rating.
During our week we averaged 12.7
litres/100 km from the V8. During barely undulating highway driving
at a consistent 110 km/h we found our economy at 9.5 litres/100 km.
During more enthusiastic driving it was around 13.6 litres/100 km and
heading north rapidly. This tells us you can get good economy out of
the AFM V8 engine if you do a lot of open highway commuting and
rarely open the throttle: which sort of ruins the ideal of having a
V8. The Calais has superb on-road manners and there's nothing to
complain about in that area.
CALAIS PRICING
V6 3.6 Litre auto
$48,290
V6 3.6 Litre auto V
$56,790
V8 6.0 Litre auto V
$61,990
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
Bore/Stroke:
mm x mm
Maximum
Power: 260 kW @ 5700 rpm
Maximum
Torque: 517 Nm @ 4400 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven
Wheels: rear
Manual
Transmission: N/A
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
Kerb
Mass: 1809 kg
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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