2011 HSV E Series 3 Grange to self park – spy shots

Despite HSV keeping tight wraps on its E Series 3 range, the CarAdvice spies can bring you exclusive images and details about the new model from the Australian powerhouse.

After exclusively revealing photos of the E Series 2 range of HSVs in August 2009, we are able to bring you images of the E Series 3 Grange. While we can’t publish the original images, these computer generated images show a revitalised Grange that has now also succumb to the LED treatment.

Illustration by Joshua Byrnes.

HSV sources suggest the E Series 3 HSV Grange will feature the same 325kW powerplant as its GTS sibling, bringing it to the top of the power tree alongside the GTS. The Grange also benefits from a 33kg weight reduction, expected to make it fractionally faster in unison with the 325kW power-plant.

The reason E Series 3 has arrived so soon after the E Series 2 is due to the new interior set to feature across the entire VE Commodore Series 2 range (can be seen in our previous expose here). Styling modifications to the rest of the HSV range are expected to remain relatively minimal, with the interior benefitting from the bulk of the changes.

Illustration by Joshua Byrnes.

The most exciting feature to make its way to the Grange will be self parking technology, according to sources, similar to that seen in the Volkswagen and Lexus range of vehicles. Developed by Siemens VDO (the same German company that was tasked with developing the new VE Commodore Series 2 interior), the self parking technology is called Park Mate and has been in development since 2005.

If the technology, as seen fitted to the vehicle photographed, makes it into the production specification HSV E Series 3 Grange, it will be the first car to utilise the technology from Siemens VDO.

The telling signs of the technology are two additional parking sensors on the front and rear bumper bars. The deeper cut ultrasonic sensors on the front bumper bar are mounted to the edges to allow the vehicle to turn into a parallel park without touching the vehicle in front. The rear, deeper cut ultrasonic sensors are used to identify the size of an empty park and indicate to the driver that it’s an appropriate size for the vehicle.

Illustration by Joshua Byrnes.

To activate the system, a driver will slow as they approach an empty parking space. They will engage the system by a button in the vehicle and creep past the space until the car indicates it is big enough to park the vehicle. The driver then manually engages reverse gear and modulates the speed of the car using the brake, allowing the car to steer unassisted into the parking space.

CarAdvice spoke with HSV Media Manager, Mark McCartney about the technology and whether it will makes its way into production. McCartney told CarAdvice:

Unfortunately I cannot comment on any new technology that may or may not be included in our forthcoming MY11 range of vehicles.

Although HSV neither confirms nor denys the system will be used in the 2011 E Series 3 Grange, it is evident that it’s fitted to the test vehicle and would be all too much of a coincidence that Simens VDO, who developed the technology, are also the creators of the Commodore Series 2 interior multi-function display.

The technology would make for an exciting coup in Australian motoring.

Also expected to be available at launch of the HSV E Series 3 range is HSV’s Liquid Petroleum Injection (LPI). HSV claims the system will allow customers the ability to continue reaping the performance advantages of their 6.2L V8, in addition to saving money at the bowser.

ox

Front end looks a overdone, less is more.
33kg…not much but it’s a start.
Park Mate….. What a joke, if people can’t park themselves they shouldn’t be allowed to drive.

http://www.facebook.com/sammo.8191 Sam Moss

Agreed about the front end – if you want to know how do to LEDs well, speak to Audi and BMW.

Devil’s Advocate

I agree. The HSV DRLs look like a tacked on afterthought.

Is it just me or does it seem that with most HSVs they just can’t stop designing the bulges/lumps/bumper extensions etc etc on them? However having said that tacked on DRLs aside, IMHO the Grange is one of the best looking HSVs because they haven’t ‘overdone’ it in the “I wanna look fooollllyyy sic with all these bumps/lumps/bulges” department.

Note, this is only my personal opinion and I know a lot of people love the bumps/lumps/bulges, however to me I prefer the more subtle, but still aggressive, treatment AMG, M-Division and RennSport do to their ‘shopping trolleys’.

Dave

I like it a lot. I hope those shots are close they look great. LED’s help bring look look right up to date.

HSV with LPG – yes please
matt

i like the back end and the wheels.. but where the front bumper extends out for the parking system looks… abit out of place, otherwise, i think it looks pretty good,
Jazrod

Hopefully the car knows to park itself in the bin… With the HSV design team in it!
Bobo

Come on HSV get your priorities right, LEDs for the DRLs yet you’re still using bulbs for the park/indicators?

Shak

No they have been LED since the release of the VE and WM.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1435885244 Yani Hendriawan

i quite like the front headlights

Baddass

They look pretty out of place with the aggressive (and ugly) bumper. Like they only stuck on the new bumper on a Caprice and sold it as a Grange.

TomJ

Wern’t there ACTUAL shots of this in Wheels this month? Pretty sure they also had a few shots of uncovered ve2′s, not renderings.

nickdl

Yep that’s true. It looks even worse when you can see it in the right light. The bumper bar looks like it doesn’t fit properly and the LEDs are so tacky.

As for the self-park system, I’m sure that won’t work if it comes on this car. Lexus can’t even get theirs to work properly so what chance have Holden got with this behemoth? It’ll be just like AFM – a gimmick.

Shak

Well im not a fan YET of the front, but at least the rear isnt a screwed up as the current HSV range. its interesting to note also that whatever CA says is coming into new Holden models usually does, so i for one cant wait to try the self parking system. And for whoever says people who use it shouldnt drive, tell me have you tried to park a WM Holden or HSV at a carpark or the Airport? Any new tech in our locals is always good news.

G

You have to park front on or rear on at the airport, this system only helps you to parallel parking.

In other words… FAIL!!

Shak

O, forget the airport. What about all the parents at shopping centres and all the street parking in our city centres. It is a useful system.
Matty B

Not necessarily, the prius system can park both ways.

Duckula

The front looks like a snow shovel – go ‘Mr Plow’
Shak

If you visit the ford Australia Forum they have a full pic of the E3 grange, and the front bulge does not look as obvious or out of place, but the wieird gills definitely look odd.
Aleks

Rendered drawings are not considered “Spy Photos”

Benjie

Presumably you can’t read. They can’t publish the photos they have, these are replicas of the photographs.

Aleks

I just want what the title of the article promised.

Benjie

“Spy Shots”. What else more are images, computer generated or not, than ‘shots’?

Buzz off, go waste someone else’s time with reading your rubbish.

Pablo

I agree, misleading title

Toxic_Horse

Should have a special sensors that detect when the car is in a empty car park. Then activate automatic donuts mode.
Causing the car to automaticaly do circle work without hitting anyting.
crouchy

I give it a year before DRLs are gone..

BMW’s ‘Angel Eyes’ are the original and the best. They look aggressive yet subtle, whereas these look like my neighbour’s roof at Christmas.

smithy

My favorite DRLs are the ones run the hi-beams at reduced voltage eg. VW golf

MJ

all of the new hsv front ends looked really tacked on, with DRLs really not helping. I think that either the style of the new bumpers need to be changed to be a little more soft and understated, or the front end in general needs to be changed to give the range a bit of an update so its not quite so dated. Even just a change in the shape of the headlights would probably do it
herdo

Nice one HSV!I need a Grange again.
The Oracle

I’m really quite doubtful of the usefulness of these auto park systems. I haven’t driven a car yet that uses one, but every report I’ve read says that they take a lot longer to operate than what a competent person can reverse parallel park a car by themseleves. I’m also of the opinion that a reverse parallel park is an essential skill for any driver to do quickly and accurately.

However, the reality is that nowadays you rarely have to park like that. Most of the time I find I am in shopping centres, car parks or garages and you drive or reverse into a marked space. I can go for several months without needing to do a reverse parallel park. But, I do love my reversing sensors and miss them when I’m in a car without them.

On another note, the pictures seem to be showing retactable headlight washers. Does this mean that HSVs are going to have HID headlights on the main beams?

steven427

The WM Caparice/Grange always had HID headlamps with automatic washers, they just called it Bi-Xenon which is exactly the same as HID (two ways of saying it, same globe). The caprice and statesman also have LED tailights and side indictaors, as standard. The Statesman gets projocter front headlights while the caprice/grange get Bi-Xenon/HID with automatic washers as stadard.

Shak

I also believe the Senator and GTS have had Projectors for a while now.

JML

I’m sorry to be the one to point out the elephant in the room, but I wouldn’t trust a Holden to park itself. There will be many a scraped quarter panel from these failing or the sensors playing up, but since Holden has the press so nicely in its pocket you will only hear about it via word of mouth. The only positive is that when the self-parking fails and swings into the car in front, it just might rip off that hideous front end and make the car a bit better looking.

*Cue multiple thumbs downs*
Sam

I’ve got the Park Assist on my Mark VI Golf, and the sensors are more well-integrated into the front bumper, with no add-on bits like the Statesman. I’ve used the feature only a couple of times to show people (because I do know how to reverse park without the system) and it has worked perfectly everytime. It’s only a $1400 option which is pretty reasonable for 6 sensors at the front, 4 at the rear, and the park assist technology with visual display in the dash.

Dave

So what you’re saying is you blew $1400 on nothing?

Sam

No, the car I bought happened to be in stock, and came with Park Assist, Sat Nav, reverse camera, and sunroof, and I paid $2000 for the whole package. What I am saying is that if you actually want to use it, it works very well, and is a relatively inexpensive option. While I don’t use the Park Assist much, the front and rear sensors do come in handy for tight parking spots.

Andrew M

If you outlayed that much and have only used it a couple of times, it would be far cheaper to sling someone on the kerb 50 bucks to wave you in each time you park

yams

I-I-I-I-I-I like it veeeeeeery much
BOSSCR

It looks like the giant Murray Cod in Swan Hill. Google it, you’ll then see what I mean….
Vibe

I actually like the front and think the LED’s look alright. It still looks grunty but slightly sophisticated.
Technofreak

I laugh hard whenever I see a bogandore with those gaylights on the front…sooo sad! LOL

Dave

I laugh just as hard when I see an BMW X6 on the road

macho macho man

I reckon it looks pr0, fellas.

TOPs
Elitist

Whats this, another German technology we are depending on?
Imagine that…Germans making something GM doesn’t…

Lancia has had this in consumer models for 3 years now.
Bob

Bag of poop ( Dinosaur poop at that!).
Moey

Man what the hell HSV is 2 series ahead of FPV can FPV/Ford hurry up and release MKII and bloody get then new coyote engines I’ve been waiting too anxiously, there’ve falling behind HSV technology but still GO FPV
Karl Krankschaft

I’m a big Holden ( or really any aussie car ) fan and the e2 and now e3 is a little dissapointing compared to the e1 which always looked nice. Now they just look overdone. I desperately hope that Holden doesn’t follow the same design style with the VE II.
Van Ariel Disease

Moey..”falling behind HSV technology” Are you kidding? Do you mean the 2 valve per cylinder pushrod technology? lol Geez HSV……when are you gonna get with it? Those gradpa’s axe V8′s are a joke…….how long b4 they need a 10 liter gas guzzler?

Fords new coyote V8 is a gem……

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1285962287 Declan Collins

By gem do you mean thew car that is 300 pds lighter then the Camaro, but without more aggressive gearing, can’t outrun the LS3 and can’t consume less fuel then the LS3?

Pushrod’s totally outdated by being on par with Ford’smost hi-tec DOHC V8.
Dave

I think you probally find that the hsv V8 is as quick and as economical as similar performance engines. often seen comparisons with the big german cars (eg 7 series V8 twin Turbo, AMG S Class and the HSV Grange) . The HSV biggest engine used the least fuel. I know it is not the only example.

Moe

Coyote will be a smaller block and more powerful than HSV AND more economical than both, Mercedes/HSV can stick their engines where they belong.

T

ugly as #@%^&

DRL lights are a joke, how tacky!! if you must have them, build them INTO the headlights, not chuck em on like a autosalon ricer afterthought.

i wonder if the interior will be Bland and boring like the previous one.

Projet -L

All HSV DRL’s look like the fluros from my local fish and chip shop

Greg

Siemens VDO changed its name to Continental 3 years ago! Wheels mag keeps making this mistake, doesn’t mean Car Advice has to as well.
Sprat

Oh well, the BOGANS will be happy! Another FUGGLY product from HSV (Hardly Special Vehicles). Maybe our cars will have few less dings in them with the BOGANS being able to let the car self park.
The Original Stevo

Self park – probably not all that useful. Drive itself home from the pub on a Friday night – that would be a winner.
Aidan

The VE 1 HSV range was the best looking, they have gradually got uglier since.
Bazza

I have a HSV VE GTS 1 and I wont upgrade to a new HSV GTS and you know why… its not beacuse of the price It looks fkn Ugly.