Holden Sportwagon picks up two design awards
June 1, 2009 by Matt Brogan
Holden’s popular Sportwagon has come home with two awards at the prestigious Australian International Design Awards (AIDA) over the weekend.
The awards were a 2009 AIDA award in Automotive and Transport and the Wheels Automotive Design Award.
The Sportwagon beat a number of competitors including the Hyundai i30cw, FG Falcon G-Series and Audi A4.
The AIDA award was judged by a panel of local and international design experts on a set of strict criteria including innovation, functionality, quality, environmental and emotional appeal.
Holden has sold over 12,000 examples of its Sportwagon since its launch in July last year.
For a full review of the Holden Sportwagon, click here.
Print it: 
It is the best looking affordable wagan…congratulations holden.
Over 12;000 Sportwagons sold since July.. that’s over 1,000 a month which is more than what Holden were expecting.
Congratulations Holden once again it shows that the VE isn’t as bad as a number of people on this site would like us to believe
However; can we expect to see the new Sandman? I’m sure that would be just as popular as the wagon if not more so particularly with Genration Xers.. not to mention Tradies.
I have been saying for ages that the sportswagon and holdens in general are world class vehicles. These two awards prove that the Sportswagon is a world beater, beating Audi, BMW, Hyundai, mercedez all renouned world class cars. Holden haven’t won all the motor and wheels magazine cars of thcar of the year awards because the build crap cars. These awarsds prove that Holden build european quality cars at korean car prices.
While i like the VE Sportwagon, isnt it actually less practical (ie. room) than the VZ it replaced?
About time Holden had some good news,an award deserved for such a great looking wagon.
True Falcadore,
Sportwagon, is just a less functional wagon.
It being an Australian award, you would’nt expect any of the foreigners to win.
So what exactly did this car bring in terms “innovation, functionality, quality, environmental”??
Falcodore – your right the VE does have less room than the VZ it replaced:
VZ – 1402 Litres [with the rear seats up
VE - 895 Litres [with the rear seats up]
VZ – up to 2752 Litres [with the rear seats folded down]
VE – up to 2000 Litres [with the rear seats folded down]
However; the VT-VZ wagon was designed with fleet sales in mind [companies such as Telstra etc].
Yet given that a number of companies were turning away from wagons.. Holden decided to make the wagon more appealing to average families and make the wagon more of a “lifestyle” vehicle – just as they did with the ute.
Having said that there are reports from companies which have the VE Sportwagon which state that despite being smaller [than the VZ] a number of their staff prefer the VE as it feels and feels/handles more like a car than a commercial vehicle.. just like the ute does
Eitherway it still has more load capacity than a number of other Wagons with which it competes with such as the [Fugly] Chrysler 300C which has just 1600 Litres [and only managed to find 2,000 buyers in the first 12 months]
Tomas79 says: “being an Australian award, you wouldn’t expect any of the foreigners to win.”
That is a load of rubbish.. The foreigners have had more than their fair share of Australian Automotive Awards. Over the past 45 years cars that are made overseas have won the WCOTY 25 times – which is more than half.. The most recent being the Honda Accord Euro.
Then have a look at how many foreigners have won the various categories of Australias Best Car Awards….
Tomas79 Says:
June 1st, 2009 at 1:09 pm
“It being an Australian award, you would’nt expect any of the foreigners to win.”
Actually quite incorrect. Many winners are overseas products, in fact the VE wagon was awarded with the Peugeot 308 Touring and Passat CC equally, so no “first place win” at all, just qualify for a certificate.
And they all were behind the new “Qantas A380 Economy seat” which recieved the top award of “Design Award of the Year”
Smokin’ most of the brands you mentioned were not even eligible entries.
BTW the only time a vehicle took out top honours in the last 10 years was the Territory.
Fair reward for fair effort on the VE wagon!
Yep, good work. I’d personally have preferred the V70T6, or the XC70, each of which is not significantly more expensive, but have beautiful transmission and gorgeous interiors, though the XC70 is slower at 0 – 100 in around 8 seconds. The holden ride might be better, though, coz that is something that volvo dont seem to excel at.
If holden to address the issues of the engines and transmissions, this would be a car I would consider. I really do like its looks. Holden seem to have gone quiet of late on the prospect of a diesel engine or a direct-injection petrol.
Yeah Wheelnut, no doubting its handling credentials and its one of the best looking wagons around IMO. Its a shame GM are in so much trouble as this would’ve went down a treat in the U.S. from what ive read on some their websites. A lot of people wanted the wagon before/instead of the ute over there which probably would’ve made more sense when you think about it.
Tomas, dont know if it falls under innovation or functionality, but the tailgate only needing a foot of space to open is definitely a good design.
Congrats is all i can say. Well done on Holden. By next year we will have DI and by end of Next year there will be a Disel. Mark Reuss confirmed it in an interview with WHEELS magazine. YAY
CONGRATS HOLDEN,
although next time your designing the wagon space,pls let me fit my beloved golf clubs in(they don’t fit in the sportswagon,but sedan they do.go figure)…
Great looking wagon.
Wouldn’t think of buying one though. Too thirsty.
Create an economical deisel and it would make it onto my radar.
This is NOT a COTY or anything like that, where numerous vehicles are considered. This is an award, where the manufacturer nominates a product.
The VE wagon (and the other two) were placed behind the Qantas airline seat in the design awards. Any number of design awards may be awarded.
Wheels then picks one of the complete car entries, that recieves a design award and gives it the “Wheels” award.
BTW, the Koleos, Skoda Supurb and HSV W427 all missed the cut to recieve any award at all.
Looks like a cheap copy of the 300C wagon, and that comes with a diesel…
big deal……..the wagon might be selling 1000 a month but all it is doing is taking sales from the sedan as the total sales figures havent gone up but gone down.
I dont see any awards for fuel economy, engine and driveline refinement, reliability, build quality, Daewoo plastic interior……..all way behind everyone else.
anyway hopefully holden will be down the tubes when GM go the way of the dinosaur.
Mantle first thing is they were “Design” awards not Automotive awards – Design awards tend to focus more on ergonomics; aesthetics; practicality and functionality Therefore things like performance and handling; power to weight and fuel efficiency etc don’t really come into it.
Secondly -does it really matter if they are buying a Holden Wagon over a Sedan or Ute – what matters is they’re buying a Holden.
Why wouldn’t you want to buy a wagon particularly when you can get a VE “International” Sportwagon with a range of extras including Leather Interior for the same price as a Omega Sedan [$34-36k] at least then you have the ability to carry loads like timber & furniture etc when you need to
Will, I had a 300C hire car for my week in LA. The drivetrain is WORSE than that in the Omega. Yes. Worse. Not to mention the interior in the Luxury model (without leather) is potentially the cheapest interior I’ve ever seen/felt. Knowing how much those cars cost, it is insane to think that anyone would buy one. Handles like a dog, terrible drivetrain, disturbing interior.
Mantle, there are no Daewoo parts in the Commodore so just because your bitter about Holden importing cheap korean cars as a stop gap, pipe down.
Speaking of Daewoo parts, is it just me or did Subaru steal the back of the Holden/Daewoo Viva sedan for their Impreza? I swear I have to look for the badges to tell them apart…
Oh god its back. Mantle is Soon/Sob/Sick of Bogans……….not worthy of a reply people.
Well I must say that I would have been more impressed if it had been an international award but all the same, even with my hatred of Holden, I do think it’s a very handsome looking Estate and I do think it deserves the awards. I personally would have given it to the Audi because I think that looks just as good but ads some nice details, the lights for instance; but once again, I do think it deserves it.
What on earth was the i30cw doing in there? It looks alright, but not that good.
And just remember people, it’s a design award and it has nothing to do with what the car is like to drive.
Don’t know how this wins a design award since the Europeans have been doing the ’sports’ wagon thing better and for longer. If they are basing the award on the fact that the Holden doesn’t look like a hearse and actually has some style, then fair enough.
Also Wheelnut, using your logic, aren’t special editions what carmakers do to offload cars that are rubbish and not selling very well?
Amazing how these pea-brains can turn every positive into a negative.
It’s an excellent car that won an award…suck it up.
Roddy, sure it one an award, along with two other cars, which the article somehow missed.
Let’s not forget that they were all also beaten by an airline seat for the top award.
Maybe the fact that this article is only a minor re-write from the GMH press release might have something to do with it. But hey it’s “news” and I guess we’ll live with that.
… “won” an award … (long day)
For a particularly amusing look at Australia’s Ford/Holden divide, check out Jeremy Clarkson’s review of the Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst S (published yesterday) in Times Online:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t.....388209.ece
SteveH – yeah that is true.. However; you would have to be an idiot to knock back buying a car with so many optional extras in it for the same price as a basic entry level model.. wouldn’t you?
Not only that but Holden has offered “international” spec Commodores since the VT thereby continuing a tradition in the same way they did with the “Vacationer” with the VH-VL.
So it doesn’t really fall into the same “special edition” category as the Getaway Prado or the World Cup Tarago or the Pulsar Reebok for example; which were more one-offs
Eitherway I’d hardly call selling 30 wagons a day S-L-O-W!
Wheelnut……..loads of timber and furniture? are you kidding? what sort of timber and furniture could you fit in the back of this hatchback? the load space is ridiculously small for a so called wagon.
I guess if you are talking about dolls house furniture and very short off-cuts of timber you could be right………lol lmao
another thing wrong with it is that you cant have a decent roofrack on it because the hatchback door hits anything thats on it……..unless its very short, so its useless for timber or a canoe or………..well just about anything really.
This is a typical car from Holden really…….has the looks but is seriously seriously lacking in any substance at all.
Mantle – Yes the load capacity of the VE is smaller than the VZ it replaces yet its still bigger than its nearest rival the 300C which I beleive is also called a wagon.
It can easily carry an average sized book case with the seats down – Not only that but furniture also comes in DIY flatpacks these days you know.. If not furniture you can carry several removalist boxes etc so despite its size its still quite capable of carrying more than a sedan
I guess it depends on how adept you are at packing a car
As for the [Rola] roof racks you can put them on the Sportwagon as the part of the roof which forms part of the tailgate only goes as far to cover 1/2 of the cargo area.
So as long as whatever you’re carrying on the roof racks is the last thing to be put on and the first thing to come off you should have no major problems
Quote ” Mantle Says:
June 1st, 2009 at 6:21 pm
This is a typical car from Holden really…….has the looks but is seriously seriously lacking in any substance at all. ”
Mate only thing lacking substance are your comments on this site.
Suck it up as another said, its an awarding winning car GET OVER IT! Why bring the Europeans in on it ?
Same old people bagging Holden ,yawnnnnn.
Whats up folks ? Is there something in your “EXPERT” opinion should have beat it?
Agree Wheelnut, I am all for freebies on cars, just don’t know how a Holden limited edition is any different to any other brands. Holden must have been doing the International limited edition for a while now because they have had to get rid of oversupply each year :)
Picked one of these up (SS-V 6.0 litre) for $39990 onroad back in November when the end of the world was nigh and everyone was in a state of panic. Great car for those dollars.
The Audi A4 Avant has 1400 Litres
The Volvo V70 T6 has 1600 Litres
The BMW 5 Series Touring has 1650 Litres
The Merc-Benz E Class Estate has 1850 Litres
All with the rear seats folded down and all smaller than the VE
It’s not really a Limited or Epecial edition if you release similar models with similar specifications or features as well as the same name year after year.
By your definition all cars are limited editions I mean for example Holden only made 485,650 HQs does that make them “special”?
A Special edition is a car with certain unique features that no other car [from that manufacturer] has had before it or after it..
Not only that but car companies usually try to get rid of over supply when an all new model is about to be released -Like the XC Cobra or LE Monaro..
Both of which helps the car maintain its value and possibly become a collectors item – Some how I don’t think that the Sportwagon will ever become collecatble
Who cares if the manufacturers are getting rid of an over supply ,all good for the purchasers .Seems Holden have offered a better deal to their customers than another recently “limited edition model”
Yep thats right Wheelnut,lets not forget sometimes the limed “ed” stuff really is collectible,look way back to the XC Coupe when they got rid of a whole lot of overstocked blue bodies. They went on to be Cobras and have since become one of Australia’s favorite Muscle cars worth 10 times what it was when it came out. That of course lead to another EXTREMELY popular model released by FPV in 2007 the GT Cobra. How many manufactures manage to sell a car for more than its RRP at its release ?
Shouldnt we get back to talking about the wagon?
Not only that but special limited edition cars usually have a unique [individual] identification numbers on them [usually on the dash] like the XC Cobra and the LE Monaro or the VL SS Group A or the 10/15th Anniversary HSV Clubbies etc.
if it’s not individually numbered it’s not really considered to be special just another car with different featuress.
The VE Calais for example has a range of Luxury features – but given that those luxury features are “optional” on an Omega does that mean that the Calais is just a special edition Omega [or that an M3 is a special edition 323]?
No, a Calais is not a special edition as it is a permanent model on Holden’s vehicle list.
To get back on topic, I still don’t see how the Sportswagon offers innovation, functionality, quality, environmental and emotional appeal. Can anyone explain how the judges arrived at this above all other cars that were presented?
Exactly; and so to is the VE Sportwagon International. As I said Holden have been doing International Spec Commodores with a range of similar options etc since the VT – in the same way the Calais has had similar features since it was introduced with the VK back in the mid 80s
Therefore the International Sportwagon isn’t a one off or a special limited edition
If you dont like the choice SteveH then complain to them. Otherwise its a win for Australian designers,dont you think?
Quote ” The award was judged by a panel of top local and international design experts on a strict set of criteria including innovation, functionality, quality, environment and emotional appeal.”
Wheelnut, three months ago, was there a VE Holden Sportswagon International? Probably not. (I don’t know for sure, so I’ll say probably) In three months time will there still be a Holden Sportswagon International as a current model? Probably not. Therefore, I see the current Sportswagen International as a limited edition. Just because they trot them out every so often to keep sales going, does not make it a regular model.
nothing like a Holden bogan getting pissed when faced with the facts that Holden cars are on the bottom rung compared to their competition…….its so funny ……..oh well wont have to worry about that soon guys…..GM is going into bankruptcy as we speak and the strong word is Daewoo…..sorry .Holden will be sold off……..and not a moment too soon. HOORAY !!!!
Mantle,Sob,Soon,Figjam you have been reported numerous time for your inciting comments .
I strongly recommend you refrain from anymore nonsense remarks .
Mantle do you read any of the articles on this site. Holden is not being sold off as stated by most of these aricles and by the Managing Director of Holden MR Mark Reuss in a recent interview. You really are a hater. Just shut up will you !!
Mantle you actually sound like a pissed off bogan, stop making such racist comments
SteveH Says: “To get back on topic, I still don’t see how the Sportswagon offers innovation, functionality, quality, environmental and emotional appeal. Can anyone explain how the judges arrived at this above all other cars that were presented?”
Exactly Mate, thats what I ask…
Given that the sportwagon doesn’t really show anything special in any of those areas, just means this award will have to be taken with a little pinch of salt….
Now what is it they say about people destroying Toyota blogs on this site ! Put your rocks down boys.
Here we have the 3 wise monkeys from Japan.
See No Evil,Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil of Japanese cars,but bag the crap out of anything Australian.
How Australian of you all as usual !