2008 Holden Berlina Sportwagon review
November 13, 2008 by Karl Peskett
2008 Holden Sportwagon Berlina review & road test
Model Tested:
- 2008 Holden Berlina Sportwagon Automatic – $ 41,790 (RRP)
Options:
- Full size spare alloy wheel – $250
- Leather inserts – $2500
- Metallic Paint – $400
Stylish, spacious, comfortable, practical
Coarse engine, fuel consumption
CarAdvice Rating: 
- Photography and words by Karl Peskett
A little while ago, CarAdvice’s Matt Brogan took the Calais Sportwagon for a spin. He was impressed with the room and looks, but the drivetrain left him a little wanting.
With that in mind, I headed off to Holden to pick up the Berlina Sportwagon. It’s one rung down the ladder from the Calais, so surely this is going to be torture, isn’t it?
Not quite. The Berlina is priced more cheaply, so you’d expect that on a spec-per-dollar basis, the Berlina should at least match, or better the Calais. What do you get, then for your $41,790?
Well, you get six airbags, rear parking sensors, ESC, heaps of room, an excellent Bluetooth system, dual-zone climate control and a four-star safety rating.
So, it’s not too bad in the pricing stakes. The immense room is something that really helps, though. Front, rear, boot, everything is big. That means comfortable travel, too. In comparison with the SS version we also tested earlier, though, the Berlina’s seats are quite flat.
Al Juraj: One of the reasons the Commodore regularly outsells the Falcon is due to Holdens History..
nah buddy… i would just put it down to the AU being ugly as and the VT being “the hot one”
Wheelnut, you do make a good argument but honestly, I don’t see how a Commodore is best value for money. Pick any variant from the VE range and I could easily name a better alternative.
Going to history now, so yeah, Holden may be its own company decades before, but come the late 70s, they became less Australian, with components coming from God-knows-where (even Nissan was outsourced for engines for a time). Quality is becoming dubious, from electrical glitches to leaking fuel. These are such inexcusable blunders yet Oz continues to buy these cars. I admire Australian food and other products for their stringent standards, but unfortunately, the story is the exact opposite automotive-wise.
J&H,
is the 60th wagon under 30K drive out???
thats bloody good buying. my bet is you would almost squeeze another 2K off of that too.
Yep,
ill be interested to hear what Al Juraj names as better value than that……..
ha ha ha ha
in trying to think of what is better value than that, I’d have to say the territory SR2 (yep another aussie made) is right up there too, but im not sure what they are running them out for
andrew m,
sorry mate,thats the sedan.i have seen the wagon at 33.5 drive away on carpoint though
ah ok,
i had a quick look,
is it an actual holden deal,
or a deal one specific dealership is doing.
the best i saw was demos for 36K drive out
and in the coming days… VE SS ute 33990 drive away… memo faxed to Holden dealers today!
sorry andrew,
don’t know where it went,but its ridgy didge.$34990 driveaway(with room to move).dir 1 is right too.and sv6 sedan(manual)$34990 driveaway.colorado dual cab down 2 grand.holden have got this “sale”to reduce plant stock,and it’s allready worked(lots of car carriers leaving adelaide soon)…
J&H,
shortly after i posted i found it on the holden site for 35K.
from their previous Promo……..
wont be long before those on the 99c fuel plan start to owe holden some money with petrol predicted to hit below $1 ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
“We guarantee you will pay 99cpl ha ha ha”
on another note,
how is the wagon moving numbers wise???
is it meeting their targets, or is the financial doom seeing it fall a little short??
I think the Berlina is the weakest model in the range.
I’d go for the SV6 – better 5 speed auto, more power and looks much better for similar money.
That 0-100 time of 10.5 seconds doesn’t sound right at all.
I’d be thinking low 9’s.
Anyway, they’d be alot cheaper then 40k now.
Well, the Commodore’s value for money is just superficial. For me, value is more about substance than looking good on paper. The testers have given the pluses for the Sportwagon, handsome and spacious, but that’s about it. Let’s see if all those goodies still work after a few years.
Karl,
i wouldnt be surprised if holden drop the berlina in the near future.
Ford did it with the Futura which was the equivalent of the berlina.
its pretty much a child with out a real identity
It’s all about quality V quantity. On paper, a Commodore really sounds good, but value is also considered through factors that aren’t shown on brochures, such as build quality and reliability.
^Reliability!!!!!!?????????!!!!!!!!????????
Commodores have are generally very well known for reliability!
I will add a penny’s worth to this discussion as a Berlina Sportswagon owner. Why did I buy such a car when so many people a writing such negative comments? Well let me explain as briefly as I can. I wanted a wagon for personal use as well as needing one for business purposes. I looked at Sante Fe, Tiguan, Mazda 6, X trail, Passat, Skoda and Forester. The Forester and Sante Fe don’t have enough drivers seat travel to accomodate my 6′2″ frame. Tiguan and Passat were both nice but the service costs of both are simply out of this world with some services being over $800 as quoted by 3 dealers. Insurance costs are also a fair bit higher (close to double). The Mazda 6 is a nice car but for some reason that I can’t explain, it fails to grab me. I don’t know why but in some ways I prefer the previous model.
When I sat in the Berlina I found plenty of seat travel and room all over (naturaly as it is a bigger car than all the others) it has enough power, handles well, the service costs are the lowest of all of the cars, most of the others demand a service every 6 months or 10′000klm’s which ever comes first, only needs 91 octane fuel (most of the others need 95 or 98, has reasonable resale value (52% at 3 years which is similar to the Passat and Sante Fe) has a great dealer network Australia wide and they are reliable.
I had changed to a Rav 4 and then an Aurion over the past few years and had nothing but poor reliability as well as water leaks, squeeks, rattles and electrical problems with both. The Aurion was so bad I cut short the lease. This is not uncommon with Aurions. Just drive a few rental cars or speak to honest owners.
I the past I have had VK, VR, VT, VX, VY commodores and have had a great run.
Most owners don;t know or care if it has 180 or 195kw or has a 4 or 5 speed trans. I venture to guess that the vast majority wouldn’t even care. The car is quiet, comfortable, a good size (yes it does not carry as much as a VZ or BF but I don’t care) looks great, is Australian built and is ok on fuel. In my 4 months of ownership I have averaged 12.2l/100 around Melbourne. On longer trips it drops to low 8’s and I have seen high 7’s on runs interstate. Problems? None. Issues? None. Happy? 100%. Yes I would have liked a Calais but is a 5 speed auto, a few more Kw’s, leather seat bolsters and a few other bits worth close on 10 grand. In my opinion not. The resale is not going to be 10 grand come trade in time and I can buy a heap of petrol over the next 4 years for 10 grand. I can also convert the lower spec engine to LPG when a kit becomes available (i am told mid 09) but can’t convert the high spec engine without voiding the warranty.
My last note is the so called dinasour 4 speed auto. Yes it has only 4 gears, but so have other cars (some Sante Fe’s all Rav 4 4 cyls come to mind) but so what. Mine is super smooth, changes at appropriate points, does not “hunt” and really if you compare the fuel economy it is miniscule between 4 and 5 speed.
It all comes down to what you want from a daily drive. The Berlina meets all my needs. Besides I have an EH with a 350 Chev under the bonnet to have fun in on the weekend!!!
These fat things with their fancy ‘Alloytec’ V6 are slower than a 3.5L SOHC V6 automatic Magna because I dragged some tailgating tosser who was driving one last weekend off some lights. As soon as I was in the upper range of 1st I was pulling away whilst his Alloytec sounded like it was going to have an asthma attack. He had his wifey or gf with him which made it even funnier. Typical Holden wanker.
^^^^^^^^We’ll your a typical Magna dickhead! Magna’s are/were shit.
we had the VZ Berlina and were very happy with it. It pulled cleanly from stop and has very nice quality. I actually reaaly enjoyed the drive from the engine. and the looks were on the spot. This on the other hand is Holdens first product that they entirely made bar the engine. Good try but not on the spot.