Holden SV6 Sportwagon Sandman 2015 Review

OK, so I’m old enough to remember when the original Holden Sandman was launched. Admittedly, I was in school at the time but I still remember it.

To some, the Sandman looked like a very clever way to cash in on the popular surfing sub-culture and sell a bunch of commercial vehicles to the lifestyle set.

To the derisive, the Sandman looked like a cynical marketing exercise designed by a shiny-bum executive who had probably never been to the beach since his grandma took him 20 years previously and had no idea what real surfers drove.

I was a keen surfer in the mid 70s and unfortunately I fell into the latter category when it came to the Sandman.

Don’t get me wrong, we liked our cars. We liked the concept of cars like the Sandman. We liked being able to err... sleep in the back. We liked to be able to lock our surfboards away safely in our cars so they wouldn’t get stolen. We even liked a bit of performance. But we didn’t like the Sandman.

The Sandman was for try-hard, wannabe out-of-town surfers (well, they weren’t surfers, really) and they were the kind of guys we didn’t like. But aside from that, we couldn’t afford a car like a Sandman.

My first car was a Mini that I bought for 60 bucks off my elder brother. When I sold that I was stoked to get a 1969 Volkswagen Type 3 which had enough room in the back for nocturnal activities and the safe storage of surfing equipment.

But a bloke I went to school with, Anthony, he had a Sandman. He didn’t surf but he had a wealthy dad so he got a Sandman when he left school. We were silently envious... it had a lovely growling V8 engine, it was shiny yellow, had a GTS dash and Anthony had deleted the limited-slip diff so he could smoke it up easier.

And so it was that with these experiences and reminiscences, I was thrown the keys to the latest incarnation of the Sandman.

When Holden first mooted the relaunch of the name, I didn’t know how to take it. Was it a tongue-in-cheek retro exercise? Or were the marketing dudes really trying to cash in on the surf-culture scene again as they did so many years ago?

Either way, I was interested to see how they accomplished their genetic throwback to a bygone era.

Already there have been hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of words written about the latest-and-last Commodore so let’s not get into minutiae of the car. Suffice to say that I am a fan, and in the brief times that I have been in VF-series Commodores, I have enjoyed the experience. But now I had one for a week. Time enough to get to know it and see how all the features work, as well as assess the Sandman package.

The package you get on the 2015 Sandman is not quite as garish and radical as the Sandman of the mid-70s. You get the Sandman stripes and decals which are pretty wild by our more conservative and staid tastes, these are accompanied by 20-inch black alloy wheels (a hint back to the faux mags of the original), there are black vents and grille and a set of black roof racks on which to bolt your wax-free surf board.

Inside, you get Sandman floor mats to keep the sand off the carpet, an embroidered dash pad, a pair of really groovy optional orange sheepskin seat covers so your sweat doesn’t get all over the seats on those hot summer’s days when you have your shirt off.

And then the piece de resistance, is an optional orange shaggy-pile blanket in the rear compartment for you and your young beach baby to cavort upon! Oh, and there are a set of Holden’s ‘Smart Shades’... no doubt to keep the sun out.

It’s a good little package which, once you get used to the bright-orange stripes (and your neighbours stop locking up their wives) is easy to live with. The Sandman package adds just under three grand to the price of the vehicles and if you want to stand out from the crowd, I guess it’s a good way to do it for not much money.

Our test car was a V6-powered auto wagon, which really would be my pick of the bunch. All fun aside, it’s a thoroughly practical and world-class vehicle. The engine is smooth and refined, the gearbox is great and the infotainment system is sensational.

It didn’t take me long to get the hang of the on-board systems and I had my phone paired in no time and my favourite (easy-listening) stations lined up on the touch screen.

The seats in the Sandman are great, there’s sufficient padding to let you sit easily for a couple of hours yet firm enough so you don’t feel like you’re in Nanna’s armchair. There’s good lateral support too, but coming from my car that has electric adjustment, it did feel a little antiquated with the manual slide and rake.

In the back seat, there is room for three of your mates or a brood of kids and the load area offers 895 litres of load space with the seat up, or 2000 with the seat folded.

Make no mistake, the Sandman wagon is a big car. I found out just how big when I was backing it down my driveway with all the proximity sensors going off, but the turning circle isn’t too bad at 11.4m.

The steering is direct. Almost too direct with the little sports steering wheel, I initially thought, and the suspension is a tad too tight for my liking, especially when combined with the lower-profile 20-inch tyres.

Performance from the V6 had me wondering why you’d bother with the V8 unless you were going to fit an aftermarket exhaust and go for the growl of the original Sandman. Overtaking is a breeze, and if you want to get enthusiastic on a twisty road, you’ll be rewarded with excellent handling, tremendous grip and a responsive and eager engine/transmission package.

Fuel economy for a 3.6-litre engine is quite acceptable with our Sandman showing 10.1L/100km for the duration of our test.

It really is a package that's practical and very easy to live with from just about every angle.

So a mate and I decided to take the Sandman down to the beach to see what sort of reaction we got.

Winding down the hill towards the car park, we spied two lovely ladies strolling near the sand. The bright Sandman caught their attention and as they checked it out and noticed us inside, I could almost read their lips, “Nah, it’s just a couple of old dudes trying to look young again...”

So maybe the Sandman is not for me. Even though I liked the car, I still don’t think I’d buy one. But delete the Sandman package and I’d certainly consider an SV6...

2015 Holden Commodore Sandman wagon:
Price: $48,950 (as tested, excluding on-road costs)
Engine: 3.6-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 210kW / 350Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 222g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)

Also consider:
>> Ford Territory Titanium Series II (RWD petrol) $48,490
>> Subaru Outback 3.6R $47,990

Read our motoring old and new feature on Holden HJ Sandman Ute and VF Sandman Ute