Holden Commodore 2015 Review

Commodore V8 fans waiting for a reason not to buy Ford's upcoming 335kW supercharged Falcon XR8 will have to keep waiting.

Sadly, Holden's MY15 Commodore range brings no performance upgrade for the SS sports models; the carryover 6.0-litre V8 continues to deliver 270kW/530Nm in manual form (sedan and ute only) and 260kW/517Nm with an auto.

At least pricing remains unchanged, as it does for almost all MY15 models, meaning a V8 Holden still costs as little as $39,490 for the SS Ute, for which Ford has no direct rival.

SS prices continue to rise to $42,990 for the sedan (the same price as the FG X XR6 Turbo ute and almost $10K less than the new XR8), with an auto still adding $2200. While auto-only Sportwagon versions (for which Ford also has no answer) cost $2000 extra, V-Series models add another $3500 and Redline flagships command a further $6000 premium.

The most expensive SS sedan therefore still costs $52,490 (the same as the XR8), but all Redline models now come with a few welcome additions led by steering wheel paddle shifters (auto models only, as seen in the Chevy SS for more than a year) and multi-spoke black (rather than silver) 19-inch alloys.

Designed to celebrate Craig Lowndes' 20th season in V8 Supercars (six of them with Ford!), the Redline special-edition is limited to just 233 units – that’s all Holden can build in the remainder of this year. At least 122 of them were spoken for as of yesterday.

Priced at $57,990 (manual), the Lowndes special eclipses the Calais V Sportwagon V8 auto ($55,990) as the Holden's most expensive short-wheelbase Commodore.

The long-wheelbase Caprice V V8 flagship is the most expensive Holden ($60,490) and can still be had with a (cheaper) V6 but only in V-spec.

At the other end of the Commodore scale, the 3.0-litre Evoke auto sedan stays at $35,490 plus ORCs ($410 less than the equivalent $35,900 4.0-litre Falcon). The SV6 manual sedan rises by $300 to $36,790 to account for its new full-size spare wheel (as does the Calais) – $1200 more than the XR6 manual.

That means all but the base Evoke now comes with a full-size spare as standard, although it remains unavailable with LPG wagons.

While Ford dealers are unlikely to extend big discounts on the new FG X range, Holden is this month offering free on-road costs and a $1000 factory bonus on all Commodore models.

For its $5500 premium, the Lowndes limited-edition offers mostly cosmetic extras over the MY15 Commodore SS V Redline on which it's based.

Unique chassis features include larger 20-inch black multi-spoke alloy wheels with the same staggered-width rims (8.5-inch front, 9.0-inch rear) and Bridgestone Potenza tyres (245 front, 275 rear) as the standard Redline, plus four-piston Brembo rear brake callipers to match the Redline's standard front Brembos.

There’s also retuned rear suspension from the Chevy SS, which is somewhere between other (Australian) SS models and the police-spec Caprice PPV export model in terms of IRS subframe bush stiffness.

On the big 20-inch alloys and stiff rear-end bushes the Lowndes car felt a little more planted at the rear during the launch drive, which included a half-day's drive outside Bathurst and a lap around Mount Panorama. But the downside is a far more noticeable reduction in ride comfort compared to the 19-inch tyred SS V and Redline models – let alone the far more compliant 18-inch rubber on standard SS cars.

The stiffer IRS mounts give the Lowndes car a touch more rear-end precision and power-down traction out of corners, but the bigger wheels and short sidewalls of the low-profile rubber also transmitted plenty of unwanted road buzz into the car, with plenty of crashing over broken surfaces.

Only you can decide if the reduced ride quality is worth the Lowndes car's unique cosmetic extras, including specific bonnet and bodyside decals, rear badge, embroidered Craig Lowndes signature on the dash, individually numbered build plate under the bonnet, a Red Hot engine cover, graphic sill plates, carpet floor mats and a black roof, rear wing, grille/DRL surrounds, window surrounds and mirrors.

There are also 'money can't buy' extras like a framed certificate of authenticity, Red Bull Racing private function and tour hosted by Lowndes and two general admission tickets and a Red Bull Racing pit tour at your local V8 Supercars round in 2015.

While the Lowndes Redline is only available in Red Hot or Heron White, it comes with the standard Redine's black roof option (from 2015, also in Jungle Green, which is only for SV6, SS, SS V and Redline cars), its new gloss-black rear valance and its new Jet Black dash and door trims -- replacing the tan finish, which remains a no-cost option.

The olive-coloured Jungle Green joins Some Like It Hot Red (a deep cherry red) as a new metallic paint colour, replacing Karma (mid blue) and Fantale (vivid orange), and costing $550 extra.

The Redline upgrades are in addition to the standard upgrades for all MY15 Commodores, including dynamic guidelines for the reversing camera and revised electric power steering tune.

Holden says the latter aims to improve on-centre steering feel and, although the change is subtle, there's still a noticeable difference to both steering and automatic performance in Sport mode – and a noticeable difference in the suspension tunes. In addition Redline models also offer a unique 'Competitive' steering and ESC mode.

Expect more serious changes in 12 months, but for now Commodore remains the only Australian-made car to offer advanced features like Automatic Park Assist, Lane Change Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring, Forward Collision Alert and a colour head-up display.

2015 Holden Commodore SS V Redline Craig Lowndes Special Edition pricing and specifications:
Price: $57,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 6.0-litre V8 petrol
Output: 270kW/530Nm (man); 260kW/517Nm (auto)
Transmission: Six-speed manual/automatic
Fuel: 11.5L/100km (ADR combined)
CO2: 274g/km (ADR combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP