Holden Commodore VXR 2018 Review

A new ballgame

The new Holden Commodore VXR is the replacement for the bahn-storming Commodore SS.

Except it's not! Because after four generations and 40 years of hot home-grown rear-drive V8 sports sedans (and wagons and utes), the performance flagship of Holden's new imported Commodore line-up arrives as a V6 all-wheel-drive liftback.

Oh and did we mention that at $55,990 plus ORCs, the single-spec Holden Commodore VXR is $1000 dearer than the top-shelf SS-V Redline manual sedan version of the beloved Aussie V8 Commodore, which accounted for about half of all VFII sales.

What we have here is a totally different proposition: a sporting mid-size five-door powered by a 235kW/381Nm naturally aspirated 3.6-litre V6 driving all four wheels via a slick nine-speed automatic transmission as standard.

The same powertrain is available in other ZB variants, meantime the elephant in the room remains the old SS Commodore's 6.2-litre V8, which slammed down a hefty 304kW/570Nm and could be had for as little as $43,990 in the dearly-departed SS Ute.

Yes, the VXR has big shoes to fill.

In fairness, acceleration testing during the media launch at Holden's Lang Lang (Vic) proving ground last week showed the VXR hits 100km/h in about 6.2sec -- only around a second slower than the SS in a straight line.

But the SS isn't the only model that potential customers might expect the VXR to live up to. Kia's twin-turbo V6 Stinger (now the only mainstream rear-drive sedan on the market) is priced between $48,990 and $59,990, with the mid-spec 330Si wearing the exact same sticker price as the VXR. And it's faster too…

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A lot to like

It might not pack a bellowing bent eight punch or twin turbos, but there's a lot to like about the sportiest the new Commodore VXR.

Its atmo V6 offers plenty of performance, loves to rev and never sounds as strained or as coarse as the previous generation of Commodore V6s. In fact it's the smoothest, best sounding Commodore V6 ever and also tops the twin-turbo six in the Stinger when it comes to aural excitement.

Even better, hooked up to GM's intuitive new nine-speed torque-converter auto with paddle shifts, it offers crisp standard-start acceleration and is always in the meatiest part of its torque curve. This is thanks to clever software that senses when the car is cornering hard, braking hard or lifting rapidly off the throttle, allowing the transmission to hold the right gear at the right time.

At 1737kg (just 7kg shy of the SS auto), the VXR is no bantam weight, but it gets its power to the ground more efficiently thanks to HiPer strut front suspension and an adaptive Twinster all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring and a twin-clutch diff.

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German-tuned

With a chassis tuned not by Holden in Australia but Opel's OPC performance division at the Nurburgring, the Commodore VXR delivers a good mix of ride comfort and road holding. Its electric steering is lighter but no less responsive or communicative than the VF Commodore's.

There's also a wide range of adaptive Flexride suspension settings, including the default Tour and more focussed Sport, which sharpens up engine sound and response, plus the transmission, steering, all-wheel drive and Continuous Damping Control systems.

Sport mode also relaxes the stability control system (which can also be fully deactivated).

Then there's a unique VXR mode, which takes the steering, transmission and suspension optimisation to another level. Holden says the latter is more aggressive than even its sportiest tune of the VFII.

The result is a firmer ride than in any four-cylinder front-drive Commodore even in Tour mode, and an almost completely flat cornering attitude in VXR mode.

Body control notwithstanding; in our testing the VXR set-up never felt harsh and actually allowed some tail-out action on throttle lift-off or if you were early enough on the loud pedal out of corners.

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What you get

The new Holden Commodore VXR looks the part with a sports bodykit, 20-inch alloys, Brembo front brakes and VXR branding outside and in.

The cabin features sports front seats, white-stitched black leather detailing, black headlining and plenty of soft-touch and piano-black surfaces.

Carryover equipment includes a (better quality) colour head-up display and 8.0-inch touch-screen infotainment (now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity), and automatic parking, push-button starting and (now standard) electric sunroof.

But there's also a host of new goodies including adaptive cruise control, LED Matrix headlights, 360-degree camera, wireless phone charging, digital radio, auto high-beam, BOSE premium sound, heated front and rear seats, ventilated front seats and even massaging driver's seat with adjustable side bolsters. Holden claims many of these are not offered on the Commodore's competitors.

This is all on top of standard safety equipment offered across the 2018 Commodore range which includes autonomous emergency braking, forward collision alert, lane keep assist and lane departure warning, plus side blind zone alert and rear cross traffic alert.

The spare wheel is a space-saver under the under the floor.

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Bigger than it looks

It might not be a sedan and actual boot volume may have been reduced (by 5 litres) but the new Holden Commodore's five-door configuration and massive rear hatch offers another level of versatility in terms of luggage.

Unlike the old Commodore sedan, the rear seats also split/fold, liberating up to 1450 litres (total) of cargo space.

The classy but dark and subdued interior places its front seats further inboard and closer together, which isn't noticeable and almost cancels out the fact the ZB is 36mm narrower than the VF and offers 57mm less shoulder room.

Rear vision is far more restricted, however, and rear headroom is reduced by 13mm.

The 2018 Commodore is 50mm shorter overall, but is bigger than the VE/VF in most other key dimensions. Out back, there's still plenty of leg and knee room (2mm more than in the VF, in fact) thanks to the essentially front-drive architecture (and despite a wheelbase that's 89mm shorter than the Aussie-built car at 2829mm).

The switch to right-hand drive for the German-built Commodore puts the steering column stalks and PRNDL on the correct side, but the convex wing mirror and electric park brake switch haven't been swapped and the driver's foot rest is far too close.

While we're nit-picking, the touch-screen looks monotone until you start digging into the menus. That it requires two touches to adjust the air-vents is significantly less convenient than good old-fashioned push-buttons.

There are no rear side airbags (just curtains), the warranty is an average three years or 100,000km, and service intervals are 12 months/12,000km -- up from nine months but down from 15,000km.

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Sweet spot?

The VXR is far from perfect and it faces a serious challenge from Kia's canny rear-drive turbo Stinger V6 and, soon, the front-drive 2.5-litre turbo Mazda6. But it does offer better value than sporty mid-size rivals like Volkswagen's pricier Passat and Arteon 206TSI AWD sedans.

It almost goes without saying the Holden Commodore VXR is not a tyre-shredding V8 muscle car. Instead, in the new VXR, GM has delivered a sophisticated high-tech European sports hatch that makes up for its lack of RWD and V8 firepower with technology, efficiency and just enough performance.

2018 Holden Commodore VXR pricing and specifications:
Price: $55,990 plus on-road costs
Engine: 3.6-litre petrol V6
Output: 235kW/381Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 215g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP)