Economy improves for Commodore
October 31, 2008 by Matt Brogan
The Alloytec V6 engine powering Holden’s Commodore Omega and Berlina models has received an upgrade this month that sees fuel savings of up to 0.4 litres per 100 kilometres for petrol models and an impressive 1.3 litres per 100 kilometres for dual-fuel variants.
Emissions have therefore also decreased assisting the petrol variants listed to achieve the highest Green Vehicle Guide noxious emissions score possible being 8.5 points out of 10 (excludes hybrid electric vehicles). The emission levels meet Euro VI certification, a standard which does not come into effect in Europe until 2014.
“The upgrade to this V6 engine was to enable improved fuel economy and reduced emissions without sacrificing real world performance,” GM Holden Director of Powertrain, Ernie Tamburrini said.
To clarify, fuel consumption of the petrol Commodore sedan is reduced by 0.2 litres per 100 kilometres with Ute and Sportwagon models down by 0.4 litres per 100 kilometres.
Dual Fuel (LPG) models also see an improve in economy now delivering returns of 14.2 litres per 100km. The vehicle was also recently reduced some $1500.
Private buyers are also eligible for the $2000 government rebate here, meaning the net cost of an LPG Ute would only be $1400 more than its petrol equivalent and only $400 more for the LPG sedan.
The monthly LPG conversion rate will increase in November to meet growing demand. The petrol engine in the Omega and Berlina models delivers peak power of 175kW at 6500rpm and peak torque of 325Nm at 2400rpm and is matched with a four-speed automatic transmission. The upgraded Alloytec V6 engine will be standard on all Omega and Berlina Commodore, Sportwagon and Ute variants from November production.
NB: SS-V Ute & Calais Sportwagon shown for illustrative purposes only.
Print it: 
“Commodore scored just 11.45 points in the same test – meaning it has fallen below the 12.5-point minimum score required by ANCAP to be eligible for five stars overall.”
No Frenchie, it cannot recieve 5 stars ever, it does not meet minimum frontal standards…did you read the article posted? Nothing to do with airbags, wack 20 airbags in the VE it can still never qulify for a 5 star rating.
Not cranky…………just when look on here is same old same old and really heaps of diehards bending info to suit there love of one car maker. Thats all mate……is tiring as overtones are what I state cobber!
Back on song………..love the Sportswagon and only hiccup is front is on too many Commodores and should be a tad redsigned maybe with new lights, grille and bonnet. Its one hot looker and makes the Falcon ute seem like a true dinosaur!
typo……..FALCON WAGON
NM – I think the Sportwagon is pretty cool too much better than the 300C.. Infact I was just saying to Bavarian Missile that it would look even better if Holden decided to turn the Sportwagon into a the new Sandman – simply weld the doors shut and a panel to cover the windows
BTW: Did you like the front air dam on the Coupe 60? because that’s what the new “updated” Commodores are expected to have particularly the SV6 and SS.
Declining Sales….?
Commodore is close to regaining the title as Australia’s Number 1 Passenger Car back from Corolla for 2008.. Thanks mainly to the Ute and Sportwagon
Approx 2/3 of all VE Commodores sold are a V8. Approx
1/3 of all VE Commodores sold is a Ute [usually an SS].
There is a 2-3 month waiting list for HSV’s and….
I have never seen a Clubsport Cop Car or Rep Runabout
As for the Koreans being the main Threat to Toyota…
I would keep an eye on Mazda as they have steadily increased sales across their range particularly with the new Mazda 6 [which is way better than the Camry in terms of features value for money etc] and the CX7s..
As a result have gradually made their way up the sales ladder – I believe they are currently 4-5th whereas they started the year in 8-9th
Spot on Wheelnut; the wagon would look cooooool as you say. But gotta change the front end as too Commodore-ey and rest of car aside from front is nothing like a Commodore!
WHEELNUT number 1 selling car maybe, but over 100% behind Toyota in terms of market value, 7 years ago Holden had 12% of the oz market compared to toyo’s 10%. Sold about 7000 commies a month then, now look at it. Still only holds about 12% of market share which has doubled.
Agree with you on Mazda tho, they will be the next company to knock Holden off in OZ. Followed by the Koreans within 5 years.
Lets not go into fleets, you know what the % is for the commie, stop living in denial and wake up and smell the roses.
BTW, its a station wagon, holden call it a sportwagon as they know their demographic all to well :)
Holden are 100% behind Toyota in terms of Market Value….?
If that’s the case then why were Toyota forced to reduce the price of the “Game Changing” TRD Aurion [2-3 times]?
I mean if the Aurion is such a superior car compared to the Holden or Ford; then surely regardless of price not to mention the engine fire.. There would still be enough people wanting to buy the TRD for Toyota to justify the premium price.
Yet [as I said] there is a 2-3 month wait for an HSV or FPV…. which when you think about it would be another reason for people to order a TRD instead; as there are so many TRDs in dealerships and holding yards that customers would have immediate delivery… but unfortunately not …. People still want an HSV [same applies to the Hilux v Maloo]
Which means that there are more people who believe that HSV have done more than TRD to differentiate it from the base model inorder to justify the premium price and therefore the HSV is better value for money
I realise that the HSV Clubsport/Maloo is in a different market to the TRD Aurion/Hilux.. not to mention that ones a RWD and the others a FWD sedan or ones a Utility and the others a Pick Up
However; despite the fact; they are cars made by the Performance Divisions of both Toyota and Holden and both are based on the family sized sedan/ute from the respective companies
I guess it just goes to show how much more you can do to a Holden than you can to a Toyota.
Have you ever thought that the reason Holden have called the Sportwagon a Sportwagon; is because its a Sports oriented Wagon? …. In the same way that a Coupe-Cabriolet is a Coupe with a Cabriolet style roof
Sure this may be seen as a move by Holden to appear to be more green.
Yet what about Toyota and the Prius? people who buy the Prius do so in the belief that its an environmentally friendly mode of transport yet don’t realise the negative impact the disposal of the cars battery packs can/will have on the environment in the future
Same applies to those new energy saving light bulbs – which are full of toxic mercury?….
It’s a CON thing is Toyota know most people are are just concerned about the here and now.. not to mention their image
Silky raises valid point and market aside from Toyota sat still or went backwards.
Yes I am a Holden fan… However; I am not trying to defend the fact that; or looking for reasons as to why GM are in trouble.. it’s pretty obvious.. and I accept that
The thing is whilst the Holden Commodore mightn’t be as refined [in some areas] as its rivals – even though the Aurion isn’t really a direct rival.. overall it’s still a reliable safe affordable mode of transport big enough for the average family and able to deal with the harsh conditions and unique environment here in Australia
Remember NASA have spent billions working on a pen that writes in space… The Russians took a pencil.
Oh and Wheelnut Mazda have been at number 4 for a long time now, they haven’t been down at 8-9 pretty much since the Mazda 2, 3 and 6 were introduced into the market.
actually wheelnut in this case its Holden that spent the billion :) The VE is an ok car, better in some ways than the Aurion, not as good in others. But, its design is flawed when one considers the money spent. 4 Speed box, terrible A pillars and a front engineering which is not as strong as the model it replaced, and that motor…
Market value is market share..
Wheelnut you can talk TRD, FPV and HSV all you like, they are not relevant in terms of sales and market share, the numbers are too small. Its who sells the most cars and makes the most money that matters…that certainly isnt Holden :(
How is it a sports oriented wagon, because it has no rear view and does not have the load carrying capcity of a proper station wagon?
Its a station wagon mate, jut ignore the holden marketing :)
Gift-Ed,
I know the LPG commodore was given a price drop of $1500 earlier this year.
Its proven i knew that and factored it in because i said an LPG commodore attracts a $2400 price premium and not the Pre-april premium of $3900.
even after the price drop of $1500, the premium before rebates is $2400 for the commodore, and $1100 for the falcon.
the commodore now uses .7L less fuel than the equivalent LPG falcon. previously the falcon had a .6L advantage.
after a years worth of driving, the commodore will save you $50 bucks on your LPG fuel bill for the year.
That saving is totally wiped out by you having to run unleaded through your commodore every now and then because it is still a duel fuel. also there is increased servicing costs for duel fuel
the falcon can run on LPG for its entire life.
even after rebates, the commodore will still cost you about $1000???? more on initial purchase
so where is this newly developed “considerable saving over E-Gas” you speak of????
Now what we need is a dedicated LPG commodore, and an SVI LPG falcon. Apparently at the start of next year ford is putting the SVI system in.
ABOUT BLOODY TIME!!
I will applaud the first of our aussie makes to produce a dedicated LPG car with a decent tech LPG system.
as already said, if either of them had a new tech system in a dedicated motor, then we would see consumption match unleaded figures, and power figures greater than.
to me, its like they are worried about producing it out of fear no body but the fleets will buy it even after they spend some dosh on it.
what they need is a perception changer like a Turbo LPG 6cyl.
Travis,
you are totally correct!!!
BUT……
you fail to miss that the fleet concept regarding sales and holden, cant, and isnt only applied to holden.
you care to tell what sort of discounts toyota offers/offered to gobble up the market share to come to the commanding lead they have now?
how many corollas, Hiluxs, camrys etc are sold to fleets??
in the particular example of the corolla and Lux, both are top 2 sellers in Oz every now and then.
it is well known that these very 2 vehicles are only mid pack performers yet still stack the runs up.
how is it worse that holden sells their inferior (for want of a better word) commodore to the number one spot.
you totally miss that the entire top 3 sellers in OZ sell in numbers yet are also inferior to their competition.
in some cases by quite a margin (corolla)
Silky. you are very wrong indeed. Do you have any idea how the system works. I know someone at Ancrap and he has stated that the VE just missed out on a 5 star rating when it was first launched and that if Holden supplied one now instead of waiting for the VF update it would get a 5 star so put away your bias, grow up and realise that the frontal design of the Commodore is fine not flawed as you incorrectly state.
Hey Alborz you may want to include name changing under the same IP address in your code of conduct,clearly some on this blog are doing so to gain credibility for their cause.
Unique conditions in Australia,well there are Travis,Techno Tony / Thomas79 ,air con in German cars is crap compared to the local makes,yet the heaters work superb!!
Yet remind me again what this thread is about ? Fuel efficiency if Im not mistaken !
Quote: [Silky] “Market value is market share..”
What the? Market Value is expressed as a $ figure whereas Market Share is expressed as a % figure.. they are two different non related figures.. I mean is the new Toyota Aurion worth 2%?
Regardless – I referred to HSV-FPV-TRD because in the Locally Built Family /Performance Sports Sedan Market the Holdens/HSVs and Fords/FPVs have a greater share of the market than Toyota /TRDs…. despite the low volumes [extremely low as far as TRDs are concerned]
Under the new terms of reference posted, I am surprised that those calling Holden drivers bogans are not deleted. WHAT DO YOU DESCRIBE AS A BOGAN????? I am far from a Bogan, I am professionally employeed, have enough money to buy any type of vehicle I wish to buy but stick to Holden for a number of reasons. Reliability going back the 40 years my family have driven them. Holdens that have driven right around Australia, from Darwin to the Kimberleys to Mount Isa, Hobart, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and in all types of Road conditions. A HT that lasted 20 years before my parents updated to a HZ and then to a VS Commodore up to now where my mother has a VE also at the age of 71. You see many more old Holdens on the road than any other make comparable in age. You try and take a 70’s model Toyota around Australia during the 1970’s and it would have been lucky to make it to Sydney and would not have lasted the trip up the Stuart Highway infact imagine one doing the trip from Tennant Creek to Mount Isa on the Highway between the 2. As I said many or most Holden owners are not bogans and it offends us that there are illinformed people out there like topdod (what a joke) and technotony (another joke) whose bias clouds their vision of why people buy cars. I suggest you retract your comments about Holden owners. Mods please remind those of the terms of use.
Correction 10 years between HT and Hz…. Regardless still a long time for 1 car.
Frosty, why don’t you just google, I did and there are plenty of references as to why the VE can never have 5 stars for safety, Try searching goauto.com.au or even this site. Mate you are plain living in denial. Actually you wont search, you will remain in your ivory tower and ignore the facts wont you :)
Wheelnut I was actually correcting an earlier post of mine which you had queried, I had typed “market value” instead of market “share”. Gee, you couldnt work that out?
What about you wheelnut, you want to comment on the VE meeting minimal frontal offset requirements? Or do you agree with frost, just needed a couple more airbags to get 5 stars. Yes wheelnut, another example of Holden CORE engineering :)
Frosty you obv have no idea how ancap system works do you mate, there are minimum standards which must be met on all tests for a vehicle to be eligible for a 5 star rating, surprised your mate didnt tell you that, oh yes, the VE fails on the frontal in terms of meeting minimum requirements, the previous model fared better in that test. Dear me, looks okay though :)
ww.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/49905D493E1D7934CA257300001B6452
there you go thats 1 link, just needs another w. Happy reading.
Is cool accurate reading and well put Frosty.
As I said earlier…..the timing of Toyota has been accurate whereas Ford and Holden have lagged both on design, look and how they put it together. Ford in particular…but they have great models hopefully coming out and to build an arsenal of cars takes time. I googled Ford and they (like Holden) need to forge and plough ahead with great cars and massive inclusions if they are to reign back Toyota. Ford cant move forward when have an indifferent line up around World and have only slowly changed into its kinetic swoopy look and one would of thought that some of Mazda’s stylish pananche would have rubbed off on Ford designers (quite the contrary and this is why Dearborn have been stubborn to wake up on its mentality on look it adopts). Ford has no real model flow from market to market and take way too long to update its lineup (the Escape, Falcon wagon and Territory are prime examples). I think Toyota are in the right place at the right time with the right ethos that fresh updates without polarising people is the go (and they forget sporty numbers which in one way is bad…..but who cares when they read the market and they keep selling more) and there term at top will be not always there (one has to be a realist as everything is cyclic and has its season).
typo………..well put Silky and not Frosty! Got a habit of stating obvious!
“Have you ever thought that the reason Holden have called the Sportwagon a Sportwagon; is because its a Sports oriented Wagon?” Well, no, holden clled it a sportswagon because they know their demographic so well. Its a station wagon, lol.
You like that little read on Holden CORE engineering wheelnut? Here is my fav comment from HOLDEN – “We acknowledge that ANCAP exists and that it has a purpose but we don’t design our cars for ANCAP,” YUP, thats Holdens marketing manager :)
sorry one more;
“ANCAP is only one measure of safety performance. It is just one element of assessing a car’s actual safety. People will always do their own testing, but we do a lot more extensive testing in a lot more situations, so we feel we have an overall car that is suited to the real world.”
Thats right, the testing they never publish, unlike ANCAP who make their data publicly available. This frontal floor is not exmple of evolution, its devolution, a step backwards, this is an exmple of style over function, looks over safety. And you know, they knew it all along :)
Frosty,
Silky is right.
even if the commodore is submitted for further tests now it has the extra airbags, it still will not get 5 stars.
even if it gets Max points in the side tests, it still will not get 5 stars.
Also as you mentioned earlier, and i will correct it…….
the falcon that achieved 5 stars was in the base XT form with out the extra airbags.
thats the very same way the VE was tested
Silky,
Daewoo called their wagon they had here a few years back a “sportswagon”.
Thanks Andrew, I see Holden is getting its marketing from DAEWOO NOW AS WELL AS ITS ENGINEERING :)
Lets be perfectly clear about this;
The VE can NEVER get a 5 star safety rating. It has a design flaw which Holden chose to ignore.
I read the ANCAP results on the Omega sedan and ute which are similar. I also read the ANCAP results on the FG falcon. Not denying that the Ford got a better score, but the Omega front is not flawed.
The source of why the Omega got a lower score was through steering column components being a source of injury to drivers knees. I’m sure if Holden rectified this they would get there 5 star rating.
Then again are they interested in doing that?
“but the Omega front is not flawed” yes it is, it does not meet the minimum test score for ANCAP. Holden knew what the score was, holden did their own testing, holden knew they would fail Ancap testing requirements, holden chose to do nothing about it. That is, Holden chose to fail the test, that is Holden chose to ignore safety issues. Lets clarify this, Holden are still ignoring safety issues.
The other problem the VE has is its A pillars..and possible failure want me to give you the link to that, or you want to find it yourself?
“Silky, regarding 5 star rating the Omega misses out because the it did not have curtain airbags standard at the time of test.” – right frenchie, dont try and pretend you know the facts next time.
finally your final comment – “Then again are they interested in doing that? ” – NO mate, Holden couldnt give a rat’s arse.
“The source of why the Omega got a lower score was through steering column components being a source of injury to drivers knees. I’m sure if Holden rectified this they would get there 5 star rating.” – No Frenchie if it were that simple they would rectify and get their 5 stars. There is more to it..
ANCAP doesn’t mention anything about A pillars. The only thing wrong is your perception of them.
I never suggested that ANCAP commented on the A pillars frenchie, I merely implied there was a potential problem with them. Why don’t you do sume research for once instead of pretending you know the facts cause your mate “told you….”
Silky – if you read the Open Road magazine which came out just after the VE and the Aurion did the ANCrAP tests you will see that the reasonb the VE only got 4 stars is because the tests were conducted a couple of days after the VE was officially released.
ANCrAP asked Holden if they would like to take part [as the crash tests aren't really mandatory or compulsory] yet at the time Holden only had enough cars to do the first 4 tests mainly because they had just started production and were focussing on getting enough cars out to the major dealerships.
Holden provided 4 cars did the first 4 tests; missing out on the final “pole” test” yet the VE passed all 4 tests wheaeas according to reports Toyota did all 5 tests failed the “pole test”
Yet due to a loophole in ANCrAPs guidelines – car manufacturers can provide as many cars as they want to do the test so Toyota provided extra cars until the Aurion passed the 5th and final test – it took an extra 2 cars
As its the car companies who wear the cost in providing the cars and conducting the tests despite the fact its the insurance companies who benefit more from the results of the test as they use the data to determine how much the insurance premiums for a particular car should be
So Holden only did 4 tests they and got 100% success whereas Toyota had a 63% success rate
Although as I have said before – If you place the ANCrAp ratings as a top priority when buying a new car then you are virtually admitting that you are a poor driver and are expecting that you will either be in or cause a potentially fatal accident..
Not to mention the fact that you are unable to realise that these tests are performed in controlled conditions and don’t allow for any other variables such as weather road conditions amount of grip and human responses /reactions.
They don’t test the safety level of a particular model they are infact testing the safety level of a particular car of that particular model which means my Toyota Aurion may pass a particular ANCrAP test whereas your Aurion may infact fail the exact same test.
Yea can’t to see the marketing spin the Holden boys put on this power decrease.
“We care to be green and listening to our customers… rar rar”
Keep selling more Daewoo’s, it’s Holden’s profitable future.
Wheelnut, I think I will run with ANCAP results not the “Open Road” Magazine (LOL). Mate you are getting pretty desperate now to come up with this crap. Another Holden boy who changes the FACTS to suit his fantasy. Get real, there are people reading this blog who might actually think you know something about cars, how wrong they would be..
“Although as I have said before – If you place the ANCrAp ratings as a top priority when buying a new car then you are virtually admitting that you are a poor driver and are expecting that you will either be in or cause a potentially fatal accident..” – Wheelnut
That would be one of the more stupid statements I have ever read, you need to have a good look at yourself mate, safety is there to save lives, when and as needed. You could be carrying kids in the car…bad weather, driver error, mechanical failure, other driver error, road conditions, speed all of these factors can contribute to an accident..man you are a joke.
“OPEN ROAD magazine”! That article I posted is quoting ANCAP AND Holden exec officers and here you are with “open road magazine…The VE FAILED THE FRONTAL IMPACT TEST, IT DID NOT MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS, IT PERFORMED LESS ABLY IN THIS TEST THAN THE PREVIOUS MODEL DID. These are the facts, or did “your mate” tell you different as well…(LOL)
Wheelnut,
even if holden did submit a car for the pole test, and even if they did score maximum points in the pole test,
it still wouldnt have gotten 5 stars due to its frontal scores being too low just as Silky says.
the pole test only accounts for 3 points?? i think it is.
the stars are awarded based on its overall performance.
even if you throw the maximum pole test score on to the commodore, the overall score still wont account to a 5 star vehicle
Iam sure WHEELNUT will argue blue about “all it needs is heaps of airbags and will shoe it in”. Bit like seeing a mirage in the desert….you know its there in the distance but you never see it as you walk towards it!
Actually Andrew Im pretty sure that if a vehicle cannot pass the frontal offset or side impact test then it is not eligible to do the pole test full stop, also I believe the Aurion never did the pole test at all…
Silky,
I didnt think the Aurion did a pole test either.
both holden and toyota would have seen it impossible to get 5 stars after seeing the frontal scores and they would have been silly to waste another car trying to do the impossible.
you are probably right in that if the pole test wont increase their rating, ANCAP prob wont waste their time trying either