|
By
EWAN KENNEDY
2 April 2007
Holden's crystal ball wasn’t working too well five years ago
when major decisions were being made about the makeup of the new VE
Commodore. So 20/20 hindsight has led to many people criticising it for
not being a full-on economy model. In particular they say it should have
been introduced with a turbo-diesel engine option to cut fuel usage.
It’s all too easy criticise and we may see a
turbo-diesel Commodore at some time in the mid-term future (by
which time oil prices may have plummeted and no-one would be
interested in the diesel…), in the meantime Holden is pushing
the LPG versions of its new Commodore lineup. We have just spent a
week in the most basic model of all, the VE Commodore Omega with a
dual-fuel setup.
Dual-fuel means the engine can run on either LPG
or petrol. Interestingly, Ford has taken the opposite route and
its E-gas Falcons run purely on LPG. Ford argues that designing an
engine to run on two different fuels necessitates compromises.
Holden replies that while this is true its engineers have
minimised the problems. Certainly the numbers look good on the
Holden Alloytec engine, peak power and torque are down by just
five kilowatts and five Newton metres respectively.
On the road the differences feel negligible and
you have to glance across to the console-mounted switch to check
which fuel the car’s running on. However, the Commodore we
tested had an intermittent idling problem when running on gas.
Sometimes it was as smooth and quiet as you could wish for, at
other times it ran fast and hunted up and down through about 200
revs in an irritating manner. This roughness came at random and
didn’t appear to be connected to atmospheric conditions or
engine temperature.
Fuel consumption is substantially higher with LPG
than petrol, typically in the 30 to 40 per cent range.
Realistically the VE Commodore can run for about 300 to 350
kilometres on a 73-litre gas tank. The petrol tank also holds 73
litres, but it’s possible to get over 600 km from petrol. Using
the two tanks means that 1000 km is within your grasp on a country
run.
LPG usually retails for about half the price of
petrol. You spend $3900 extra to buy an LPG engine in a Commodore,
but the government’s $2000 rebate is a big incentive.
Holden has come up with an exceptional, dynamic
package in the VE Commodore. Making it a car that feels right up
with European cars costing more than twice the price. Handling and
road grip are sensationally good and most drivers will corner at
speeds that are a long way inside the cars limits. And should you
still manage to get it wrong the standard ESP system (used on all
versions including the gas conversions) will do everything it can
to get you out of trouble. It’s almost completely neutral in its
balance and steering feel in normal road driving and there are
large reserves of safety.
Should you make a mistake and enter a corner at
way above your intended speed the Holden ESP (electronic stability
program), which is standard on all models, will assist you in
keeping the Commodore safely on track. But only up to a point,
because physics will always win in the end so don’t expect
miracles if you do something really stupid.
And if you do have a big crash the Holden's
passive safety features, including airbags will try to help you
survive.
Ride comfort is very good despite the sporty
handling ability. Holden continues to show prestige European car
makers how tyre and road noise can be suppressed on coarse-chip
surfaces. It makes almost no difference what the road surface is
like, there's little increase of sound and vibration levels inside
the cabin.
Our biggest complaints with the VE Commodore are
the fiddly operation of the handbrake, and the very large
A-pillars. The latter can hinder vision to the extent of being
dangerous at times. They are, of course, there to strengthen the
car in a crash, particularly in a rollover, but if they can cause
a crash in the first place…
These are spacious cars with plenty of space for
four adults, five without too much compromise, though the central
tunnel in the floor takes up a fair bit of foot space in the
centre-rear seating position.
The boot is positively cavernous and even with the
LPG storage cylinder sitting at its front is still capable of
carrying several large suitcases, with plenty of room for smaller
items around them.
Holden Commodores running on LPG are a handy
compromise that can significantly cut fuel costs and give an extra
large cruising range. They are certainly worth adding to your list
of potential large family cars.
The gas conversion is available not only on the VE
Commodore Omega sedan as tested, but also on the VE Berlina. It is
offered on the station wagon and utility bodies, but keep in mind
that these are still the old VZ series as the new VE Commodore
body has yet to be extended to them.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE (LPG ONLY)
VE Omega LPG 3.6-litre four-door sedan - $38,390
VE V-Series LPG 3.6-litre four-door sedan - $38,890
VE Berlina LPG 3.6-litre four-door sedan - $43,890
VZ Executive LPG 3.6-litre five-door wagon - $41,110
VZ Acclaim LPG 3.6-litre five-door wagon - $46,910
VZ Ute LPG 3.6-litre two-door utility - $32,890
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: $2000 option in Omega, $2250 option in VZ
Executive and VZ Ute, standard in other models
Automatic Transmission: Standard in all models
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Driver Airbag: Standard in all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: Package option in Omega, VZ Executive and VZ
Ute, standard in other models
SPECIFICATIONS (Holden Commodore Omega 3.6-litre
LPG four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 3.564 litres
Configuration: V6
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.2:1
Bore/Stroke: 94.0 x 85.6mm
Maximum Power: 175 kW @ 6000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 325 Nm @ 2600 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Rear
Manual Transmission: Not offered
Automatic Transmission: Four-speed
Final Drive Ratio: 3.27:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4894mm
Wheelbase: 2915mm
Width: 1899mm
Height: 1476mm
Turning Circle: 11.4 metres
Kerb Mass: 1690kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 73 litres
Towing Ability: Up to 2100kg with approved towing equipment
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson strut, progressive rate coil springs,
direct acting stabiliser bar
Rear Suspension: Multi-link independent, progressive rate coil
springs, stabiliser bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Ventilated disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: NA
Standing 400 Metres: NA
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 91RON/LPG
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 16.0 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/ 100,000km
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
|
