2007 Holden VE SS-V Ute Review
November 2, 2007 by Karl Peskett
What we won’t have to wait for is its ride refinement. Like the rest of the VE range, the ute is sprung to perfection. Sure the SS-V is firm, but it doesn’t lose any of its compliance in harsh ridges. This despite the fact that it’s shod with 245/40-19s. Body control is superb, but then it would need to be, being a load carrier. You can hardly imagine a bouncing ute being something you’d carry your dog in the back of. But this damping brilliance doesn’t mean its handling has been affected.
Unlike previous utes, the VE doesn’t feel like the pivot point is the engine. There’s a certain neutrality to the way it handles, that tricks you into believing it’s a coupe, and not a commercial vehicle. Gone is the twitchiness and nervousness of the previous ute. Sure, provoke it, and the rear will step out, but the steering follows, and opposite lock is second nature. Nice to know the ESP is there to save you if you need it.
And the money and time spent calibrating it especially for the VE Ute, has been well spent. Gravel, wet roads, dry roads, broken tarmac – the VE traverses it all with aplomb. The helping hand the ESP lends you isn’t intrusive, and still lets you have a play. But just don’t have too much stuff in the back when you do….
Same old Ford Vs Holden crap. Grow up and get over it! You’ll never win so why bother?
I think it looks awesome and I just wanna know if a dirt bike will fit in the back with the tailgate up? Has anyone tried it yet? You can’t leave the tailgate down ‘cos the numberplate is on it and the cops will ping you.
I agree Bill. the pointless brain dead comments (driving-ford-is-like-xxx ,Azza,WozGoing ford & Naughtius maximus)do ruin sites like this especially when you have to read the shit they woffle on with bagging other cars .most of them probably don’t even have a car or for that fact a licence.so unless your try hards have something decent to say don’t bother wasting for precise pulling time typing your bullshit
What about the last post that you just typed TM loser, using personal, insulting dumb talk, if anything you are the keyboard typing warrior that everyone hate’s, so **** OFF.
I’m sick of people thinking they are hero’s when directing comments that mean nothing, if you don’t like people telling the truth don’t read them and shut up…
commodores havent been able to take a dirt bike for ages!!!
Thats the typical response I would expect from you Woz. Have you even driven or seen a new VE ute to make the assumptions you are making on these utes or are you just relying on what you have read or other people have said?
WTF !!!!!! get a life dude, the only discussion or input you have had with this post, is just having a whinge at us, Yes, I have seen the VE ute, not driven, as with most new utes comparing is marginal, not much difference between dynamics and performance, anyway, I said the Ford is still better and probably still selling rather well because of being more functional in this category
You would be suprised with the preformance of the new sv6 ute compared to the the vz s pac the preoformance and torque of the engine and the overall riding of the ute is far better then before and the cabin room and tray room is loads better also . you should take one for a drive to make a better judgement dude
TM,
how is the tray room better? its gotten smaller
Yes, it’s not bigger at all!!!! WTF?
Brad – I’m not sure whether ot not a dirt bike would fit in the back with the tailgate up.
However; in relation to the number plate:
I’d say that because the number plate is located on the tailgate [like the VU-VZ Maloos] it would be mounted on a plate with a spring loaded hinge [like the VU-VZ Maloos] so that if/when the tailgate is down you simply flip the number plate up so that it’s still visible to the cars behind you [like the VU-VZ Maloos]
Due to the extra cabin space; the Tray on the new VE ute is shorter than that of the previous model yet it’s definitely deeper.. [it could also be slightly wider]
Therefore; what’s lost in terms of length is made up for in terms of depth which could mean that the capacity of the tray; in terms of litres is the same if not greater
Tonyn – In my extensive collection of Holden memorobilia
I have a brochure on the VU Ute.
In it theres a picture of the ute with a dirt bike in the back with the tailgate up.
The same pic of a VU S ute with 2 dirt bikes in the back and the tailgate up is on wwww.users.on.net/~nweber/commodore/vu/index.html
I cant see the tail gate in the pic……..maybe they took it off !
I would rather length than depth, more user a friendly when things get tight..
Bavarian Missile.. In the latest Motor they did a 4 way comparo between a XC Cobra; VL Walkie; VE Clubbie R8 and BF “Cobra” [?].
They went into a bit of detail about characteristics of each car but in the end the verdict was that:
“even though Ford had done alot with the BF in tems of performance and handling they still have a way to go to beat the VE”.
Which; as they said was already based on a solid platform -possibly illuding to the fact that the HSVs had beaten the FPVs in the majority of previous tests.
Now you may feel Ford is the “epitome” of performance cars in Oz but it seems that the Journos might disagree.. and it’s the media that the majority of people take notice of.
Given the current range of both FPV and HSVs I would find it hard to make a decision – they’re that good
Yep read it…….yet another lot of unbiased writing from Holden loving jernos!!!!!
I prefer Fords too BM, but the VE-based HSVs are better performers than the current FPVs. I haven’t read the article, but until the new FPVs arrive, the HSVs are the superior product based on performance.
Hey Jbot I would agree on the V8s ,the current 5.4 is getting long in the tooth, but the FPV phoon ,Holden cant even come close to in their sixs! I guess we shall have to wait till May next year before we can really put the new FPV up against the HSV product.
When the BAGTs first came out they too had it all over HSV Holden have a good product with the VE don’t get me wrong,its just the article wasn’t even fair in the fact that the Cobra was auto for starters…….Holden seem to give the jernos cars with ks on them so of course they bloody perform better. Ford on the other hand dont……..god knows why not.Our Cobra has done a lot of ks now but my guess it wont show its true performance till at lest 10,000 like the last one did. They estimated 0-100 in 5.9 sec? Why estimate? The HSV they had the figures for !Hubby just about threw the mag over the lounge floor after reading it Friday night….yet another lot of Holden lovin going on in that article. Why do they hate the starter button on the FPVs soooooo much a load of cars these days have them and they never get a mention.
i think what BM was trying to say is mention a aussie muscle car and 9 out of 10 people will remember the ford GTHO…. they were the innovators of the australian muscle car scene!
Without the HO, would we have seen brock commodores, or cobra falcon, prob not and im sure we wouldnt have the australian performance car scene we have today.
Regardless of wether FPV or HSV are better…. its ford that created the spark to have the performance cars we have today in australia and the automotive culture we have,so ford would be the epitome of muscle cars, am i right?
i was suprised by the Ve SS ute, but wonder how many tradies they will llose out of there new direction!
sorry took me a while to write that in between customers! BM already replted!!
JBOT…Yes that is what I say too as agree with you. The look is better as well!
Yeah I can see what you mean now about the article BM. I still think the current HSVs are superior, but obviously the FPV is better than they are making out. Agree about the ‘phoon too. I love it!
BM said, “Yep read it.yet another lot of unbiased writing from Holden loving jernos!!!!!”
Too right!… The New Cobra is not ment to take on the VE HSV, that’s the Orion’s job.
“even though Ford had done alot with the BF in tems of performance and handling they still have a way to go to beat the VE.”
They making it seem like the new Cobra’s 302kw engine was their last resort to take on a 307kw HSV and FPV failed to beat it, it’s not ment too, just the numbers prove it. As we all should know, 302 was to match the old Ford 302 CuIn V8s that the XC Cobras had (also 351 Cleveland V8s too). It’s the Orion that should be the one to compare with HSV. Not the Cobra.
That’s the problem – a cars engine hasn’t really loosened up until it’s done at least 7500-10000Kms
Yet people want to know how good new cars perform ASAP therefore when a new car like the FPV cobra is tested against the most recent rival such as the [6mth old] Clubbie.. the clubbie is bound to have more ks on it which gives it a slight advantage.
What they could/should do is use one of the prototypes or mules which were used for development/testing as they’re more likely to have done 100s of ks so the engines etc should all be working at or closer to the optimum level.
BM – from what Ive read – it seems the thing they hate most avbout it is the position on the dash blosked by the steering wheel;.. if it were located somewhere on the centre console like the other performance cars..it would be different.
However; I’d say if the journos were to chose which they liked more out of the FPV starter button and BMWs [complex]I-drive.. Then they’d most likely pick the FPV Starter button
I personally like the Starte Button it gives it that Sporty feel which afterall a “real” performance car should have
I agree that it was Ford who really started the Aussie Performance Car market with the GT-HO which [in 71] was the worlds Fastest 4 door sedan and all for less than $5000..
Yet as a result a power war ensued betwen ford and Holden Then a photo of a GT doing close to 180Km/h on a public road [on the front page of a sydney paper] started the “super car scare” as a result cars such as the XA GT Phase 4 the HQ-X; Hurricane and the Charger were all axed
iI was roughly 10 years until Peter Brock established
HDT and built the next generation of Aussie Performance Cars.
Then in 87 HSV took over [after the split betwenn GMH and Brock] and since have really been the leaders in this area in terms of creating the best performance cars of the modern era.
I say this Because [since the scare] Ford weren’t really interested in V8s; performance cars or motorsport until the early 90s – just after the GT-R era; when the rules changed back to V8s.
until just recently they didn’t have what you could call a “factory team” whilst Holden have had HDT > HRT
And Tickford > FPV wasn’t established as a factory backed performance division until the EB-GT Falcon back in 92 [after the GT-R era]
So when you mention the term “Aussie Performance Car”
to most people over say 40 the GT is probably the first car that comes to mind Yet to the younger generation it would more likely be either [an] HDT or HSV car
Ford may have created the Aussie Performance car but its Holden who have enhanced and developed it since then
I would agree that Holden yes have made a continuing effort in development of their product where as Ford ditched the V8 for a while{dumb move} which of course gave them the edge over Ford for years……but I do think Ford have always made a better product. But I guess I would as a supporter ha!
I think that if you could build a car with a mixture of Ford and Holden parts it would be a damn good performance car.
For example if I was to design/build an Ozi “Mongrel”..
If it was a ute: the front would be Holden with those flares but have a sepperate tray similar to the Falcon but with flared guards like the HRT Maloo and the doors would be off the Raptor Concept to add impact.
If it was a sedan: Again the front would look like the commodore but the rear would be more like the Falcon [it looks better]. Headlights would be off of the TT-36 Torana and LED taillights.
I’d then take the Holden V8 Engine [optional supercharger] match it up to a ZF 6 Speed auto out of a Falcon – or the Sequential box from next years V8 Supercars].
Add either the Linear Suspension from the Holden or the Blade IRS from the Ford [yet HSVs MRC would be nice]
Power Steering from the Commodore and Brembo Brakes from FPV.
The Bodykit would be off an HRT car Seats from a Clubbie but the dash from the GT and the In Car Entertainment System would have to be the BOSE unit from the new Statesman/Caprice.
good to see some pretty fair comments here guys!!!
I’d say ford lead for a while after the introduction of the BA series. it took holden quite a while to respond to it. they put the gen111 on premium to get another 5kw but it still left it beaten by the XR Turbo. the clubbie for a while only had the same power as the XR8 and before VE the Holdens couldnt match handling or drive train of the fords.
holden is shining in the sun right now and they must make hay before the orion comes out to re-establish itself at the top again. the orion will reign supreme again but the big question is how long will it take holden to respond??? im sure they will be a little quicker this time.
oh wheelnut,
do you have a photo that shows the tailgate up? because i dont believe it either.
i think you will get one bike in with the gate up from memory but thats if you put it on an angle. i think its not a correct photo
I think the dream of the next HO being in same contention as the previous will be but a dream ……..With Euro stuff getting faster and faster and unlike the Ozzi stuff a few kws
on the last model they seem to be in a war with each other on whos got the fastest model and then throwing large amounts of KW increases at them ……the new M5 is rumored to have 410 kws! Thats almost 40kws more than the current!
It was a good title for FORD in Australia to have the fastest 4 door in the world but I doubt even Rod Barret is going to be able to give that to us again! Not unless hes planning on getting the engine out of the Super Snake for us……..wouldn’t that make a great shopping trolley!
thats right missile.
the world is soooo kw focused now and every one is competing for it, so it is a much harder target to reach and if they get there it will only 6mths max before someone else pass’s it
isn’t that the truth!
I want one, as well !
Id have one for sure, who would’nt!
looks like its a new work ute for me then!
So whats the go with all the Ford peps on hear,,,Now im not a Ford nor Holden Supporter, But ive driven and owned both,,and the New VE VSS ute rule. Who was the Moron that said they cant understand why we need or have a ute,,,Dikhead its the Aussie sports car that can carry more than a 350z.. Go home!Drive the Ute and u will see why its the best $ can buy for the $
Just ordered mine! :D
optioned with Atomic green, hard tonneau, sat-nav, reverse parking sensors…
:D :D :D :D
still 4 – 6 weeks before pickup though..
^^^^^^^ good on u Luke H!
I have an atomic green one and i love it. forget the auto go for the 6 speed manual and its an absolute hoot. previously i had a vz ss and this is another jump up for holden, it sounds amazing too on full song…
I Got One :P and I Love It