ZB Commodore

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forzaminardi

Original Poster:

2,290 posts

187 months

Thursday 17th June 2021
quotequote all
I know the last Commodore pretty much bombed in terms of sales in the market - FWD/AWD!!! No V8!!! No sedan!!! - and in terms of performance the VXR doesn't quite cut it versus previous SS models... but really, if it wasn't called a Commodore, how would it have been regarded in the market? As a used buy the VXRs seem great value. If I were still in the UK, an Insignia VXR wouldn't interest me much.... but in Oz they are strangely appealing, despite all of the above and my personal aversion to "Vauxhall"...

So has anyone had one in here?

hman

7,487 posts

194 months

Thursday 17th June 2021
quotequote all
I have an rsv sportwagon (v6 awd) - it will show a clean pair of heels to most cars - including SS's. It has been proven time and again.

0-60 times are only part of the equation, having a lighter engine and awd wins the day at the lights and in most bends.

It doesnt sound like a v8 but its loud for a standard car - and the interior is light years ahead of the SS (I also had an SV6 series II with HUD etc etc).

All in all I dont miss the old commodore, but I only have one as its a free car given to me by my company - if i was buying a new car it wouldnt be another Holden as the VAG/BMW/Merc stuff is so much better.

wisbech

2,977 posts

121 months

Thursday 17th June 2021
quotequote all
hman said:
I- if i was buying a new car it wouldnt be another Holden as the VAG/BMW/Merc stuff is so much better.
Well, plus the fact they don't exist anymore...

hman

7,487 posts

194 months

Thursday 17th June 2021
quotequote all
Ha! - yes good point, I suppose what I was intending to mean was that Holden really weren't up to the same standards as VAG/BMW/Merc


Jader1973

3,992 posts

200 months

Friday 18th June 2021
quotequote all
forzaminardi said:
I know the last Commodore pretty much bombed in terms of sales in the market - FWD/AWD!!! No V8!!! No sedan!!! - and in terms of performance the VXR doesn't quite cut it versus previous SS models... but really, if it wasn't called a Commodore, how would it have been regarded in the market? As a used buy the VXRs seem great value. If I were still in the UK, an Insignia VXR wouldn't interest me much.... but in Oz they are strangely appealing, despite all of the above and my personal aversion to "Vauxhall"...

So has anyone had one in here?
I had 2 RSV wagons, a Calais V Tourer, a VXR, and a Calais Tourer (that I’ve just sold) all of which had the V6.

The V6 AWD drivetrain is great. The Tourers are ste (they messed up the ride when they fiddled with the suspension).

A V6 ZB could leave a VF V8 for dead on a twisty road, but they feel a bit meh. They lack the theatre of a V8. The locally built stuff was a generation behind and lacked a bit of finesse but at least they had character.

Would it have been a success if it wasn’t called Commodore? No - that segment was dead, and Holden was dying. It was doomed to fail.

Would I buy one? Would I fk. Holden dealers were disinterested when they had cars to sell. I had to get some warranty work find on the Calais before I got rid of it - I had to call 3 dealers before I got one that knew the problem and that there was a service bulletin for it (I knew it was a known issue).

They will continue to depreciate like a stone, and will be worthless in 4 years time once they are out of warranty and the service network has got even smaller. Parts availability will become a huge issue.

You may was well get $45k in cash, put it in a big pile and set fire to it.

IMHO of course.


Edited by Jader1973 on Friday 18th June 12:11

Jader1973

3,992 posts

200 months

Friday 18th June 2021
quotequote all
hman said:
0-60 times are only part of the equation, having a lighter engine and awd wins the day at the lights.
No it won’t.

ZB V6s are only a fraction quicker to 100 than a VF SV6. The VXR has a timer - the absolute best I could get out of mine was 6.1s.

An LS3 VF2 SS is about 5s to 100.

Both have to be driven properly (i.e. foot flat to the floor and let the computers fight it out) to get those figures though.

Plus ZB V6s suffer from a horrific torque hole from a standing start - they literally pause for ages before taking off. It makes them feel slow.



hman

7,487 posts

194 months

Thursday 24th June 2021
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you have to turn off dtc and esp to do it but once you do - LOL!

no wheelspin - no torque hole just bye bye

Jader1973

3,992 posts

200 months

Thursday 24th June 2021
quotequote all
hman said:
you have to turn off dtc and esp to do it but once you do - LOL!

no wheelspin - no torque hole just bye bye
There is no way it takes over a second out the 0 to 100 time.

It is very hard to get the tc to kick in to begin with - full throttle up a damp, uneven slip road was the only way I ever managed it.