Comments on: CarAdvice adds to extended test fleet

By: Shak

Shak — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:05:31 +0000

Paul Maric, ur AFM SS commi is pre production and had the first calibration of AFM as stated by wheels, but the production versions will come with the full arsenal of 530 Nm but with 5 Kw less pwr. Although 5 Kw isnt very noticeable.

By: Shak

Shak — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:02:42 +0000

Paul wheels recently tested a Calais AFM and said that no difference could be noted and that the performance times are the same. The system works by cutting oil, fuel, and air to every second cylinder. the valves on each cylinder stay shut to minimise pumping losses.

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:37:25 +0000

So it only switches to 4cyl when the instantaneous fuel consumption falls below 10L/100k???

how useless is that. the only time this vehicle would reach that low is down a hill where it doesnt matter if its on 4 or 8 anyway.
no wonder its no good. it would probably be worse with AFM due to the lower torque

By: RockafellaQEistein

RockafellaQEistein — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:47:44 +0000

not one to boast,
but my New FG xr6 turbo ute (manual) got 7.8 L/100 on a recent trip from coffs to newcastle (although due to road works I avg 84kmh) – I get about 8.7 L/100 @ agv speed of 110 and it will beat an ss every day of the week but how I miss that V8 sound.

By: summerschool

summerschool — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:27:41 +0000

look hideous! ugly euro tail lights.. what a phase

By: Paul Maric

Paul Maric — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:14:08 +0000

Matt:

Yes, you can certainly feel the difference.

My colleagues will attest to that with the next update of the car scheduled very soon.

In fact, as you will also see from the 0-100km/h results we’re publishing, the SS we have is significantly slower than any other SS we’ve driven.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:56:32 +0000

Yeah you tell us all P Maric , lol ! Your telling me you can tell between a peak torque output of 517Nm vs 530Nm ? come on . Im sure if it was Ford that released a Dod or AFM setup you would be giving it 5 stars .

By: Paul Maric

Paul Maric — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:31:20 +0000

Andrew M:

I’ve been driving around in the SS for the past few days – David will elaborate on this further in his next update on the car.

You can’t accelerate in 4-cylinder mode. It seems to switch to 4-cylinder mode when the instantaneous fuel consumption gets below 10-litres/100km.

Once it’s in 4-cylinder mode, the lightest throttle input sends it back into 8-cylinder mode. So you technically can’t accelerate in 4-cylinder mode.

On top of that, it’s very obvious that the AFM Commodore has only 517Nm of torque. It feels like a slug in comparison to the regular SS. It’s something that everyone who has driven it has noticed.

As you’ll see in David’s updates, our 0-100km/h tests will show you that it’s also considerably slower than a regular SS.

Fuel consumption so far has also been less than impressive.

In my opinion, it’s been quite disappointing, but only time will tell!

By: JEYKL & HYDE

JEYKL & HYDE — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:06:09 +0000

andrew,

it will only work on light load(eg cruise control),power is only one tenth of a second away anyhow(you can’t power on in v4 mode)…

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:16:11 +0000

Jeckyl,
how much power when running on 4???

By: OSU811

OSU811 — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 04:33:18 +0000

THE SAAB, actually looks really good in that colour on those wheels. probably the pick of all the saab models, being a sports diesel with a man transmission!!I do think the wagon version looks better…

By: JEYKL & HYDE

JEYKL & HYDE — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:26:50 +0000

aykan,

the manuals(no afm) are 270.all the AUTO’S(AFM)are now 260

By: Aykan

Aykan — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:21:24 +0000

I think AFM is great for Holden to do. But the only thing im confused about is that Holden says the V8 Auto with AFM has 260kW compared to the manual with 270kW. And here on this review im seeing 270kW aswell for the auto. Somebody help me out!

By: JEYKL & HYDE

JEYKL & HYDE — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:07:59 +0000

afm works by allowing increased oil pressure to “collapse” 8 of the v8’s 16 valve lifters.the pushrods then don’t open the valve’s.cut off the fuel to those 4 cylinders,and presto..

By: Allan D

Allan D — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:06:53 +0000

This may be a stupid question, but does the SS with cylinder deactivation running in v4 still sound like a v8?

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 07:21:02 +0000

Duck, I think it’s the position they took the picture in as I see it too. It’s only that picture though, I don’t think Cupid meant that the Commodore looks like the Astra. It just looks a bit like the previous Astra sedan in that picture.

I love the look of that new Saab, but I think I would rather the wagon or the convertible. The thing that still stops me from buying a Saab though is the resale value (you’d have to be in for the long haul) and the horribly dated interiors. I think the Barina’s interior, although not as good a quality, is more modern looking and that’s really saying something. I think if I was to buy a Swedish sedan, I would buy a Volvo S40 R Design with the turbo engine. It looks and drives very well for a Volvo.

By: Duck

Duck — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:44:16 +0000

“Sorry to say that that top picture of the Commodor looks like a late ninties Astra.
Sweet Saab though, cannot wait to hear more about it.”

How does the Commodore look like an older Astra?

By: riceboy

riceboy — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:07:48 +0000

whether you pay for your own fuel or not, I think it’s good to preserve petrol so that our oil reserves lasts longer!

By: David Twomey

David Twomey — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:38:00 +0000

Reckless 1, the description of how the AFM works is straight from Holden. We want to talk to some of their techs about the intricacies of the system in the near future.

By: Reckless1

Reckless1 — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:07:20 +0000

The outside styling of the Fiesta looks OK, but I don’t know that I could live with the garish dash.

The speedo/tacho look like a pair of Dame Edna’s glasses looking at you, and the centre dash looks like a cheap stereo set like you find at Markets selling Chinese manufacturer thirds.

The red information panel should be in front of the driver, not in the middle of the car.

The dash has no class.