Comments on: 2008 Holden Berlina Sportwagon review

By: Shak

Shak — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:46:37 +0000

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.

By: Duck

Duck — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:30:05 +0000

^^^^^^^^We’ll your a typical Magna dickhead! Magna’s are/were shit.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:24:33 +0000

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.

By: eh179driver

eh179driver — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:20:32 +0000

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!!!

By: Duck

Duck — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:18:04 +0000

^Reliability!!!!!!?????????!!!!!!!!????????

Commodores have are generally very well known for reliability!

By: Fred

Fred — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:00:14 +0000

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.

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:32:40 +0000

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

By: Al Juraj

Al Juraj — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:21:40 +0000

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.

By: Karl

Karl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:32:15 +0000

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.

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:06:21 +0000

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??