Big V8s here to stay

Here is the message I want to get across. Not many V8 fans are going to give up their V8 for a Prius or a Corolla. Sure they might downgrade to an SV6 or maybe switch sides and pick the XR6 Turbo (which, lets be honest, doesn’t exactly return miraculous fuel economy figures either) but to go from a big V8 to a four-cylinder hybrid? Come on… we might be moisturising a little more these days but some certain bits of our manhood are surely still lurking around.

Then there are the new buyers, how many new SS Commodores do you see on the road every day? A lot. What does that tell you? There are a lot of people out there that don’t care about the price of petrol? Maybe, but maybe it says there are a lot of V8 fans out there happy to pay that little bit extra if it means enjoying their driving experience.

Finally the accident was cleared and we were free once again. As all Brisbanites would know, Gympie road isn’t exactly a free run through, average speed was around 45km/h and by the time we were nearing the highway, the car was reporting a fuel consumption figure of just 12.4L/100km. Well and truly below the 14.3L official mark.

As we hit the highway we began our battle with Brisbane drivers, which I am more than happy to label as the worst in Australia. Right lane hog after right lane hog. How hard is the concept of keeping left unless overtaking?

Why is it that the left lane in Australia is always the fastest? Yet it’s illegal to undertake? When I was in Europe earlier this year during our Full Throttle trip, it was amazing to see how the Europeans would all happily let faster cars pass without complaint.

The journey continued with about 70km of beautiful highway driving. Slowly but surely we came to our exit at Mololaba. By this stage our average speed was about 89km/h and the fuel consumption had dropped to a staggering 9.3L/100km. Hmm.. big brainless V8?

Oh and don’t think the tyres were overinflated or that I was slip streaming behind a truck the whole way, this was natural, everyday style driving with some enthusiastic overtakings thrown in for good measure.

We stopped and pulled over at Mooloolaba for lunch. During this time I took the liberty of explaining to my company why the SS Commodore still makes sense.

You see, I am not V8 fan, I drive an AWD Japanese Turbo as my own personal car, but I understand the point of cars like the SS. There is just something about the smooth power delivery that comes from that big V8, effortless power throughout the entire range, all the way from 2,500RPM.

Then, of course, there is the noise. You don’t need to change the exhaust like you would in a Japanese hair dryer, the big V8 puts out the most brutal sound that undoubtedly hits just the right chord with any true Australian car fan.

If that wasn’t enough to convince you the SS Commodore is here for the long run, there is always the fun factor. Nail the Commie and the rear is begging to lose traction. The car’s standard stability control keeps things nice and tidy but turn it off, even for just a moment, and you’ll instantly find that enormous hard hitting 530Nm of torque shredding the rear tyres the second you introduce the accelerator to the floor. The day you can have this much fun in a Prius, I’ll happily buy one.

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