Holden ute aims for five stars

The Holden Commodore ute is likely to become the world's first utility to earn a five-star safety rating by the New Car Assessment Program. The updated Commodore ute range released this week has six airbags and stability control across all models -- from the $33,490 Omega ute to the latest HSV Maloo R8 set for unveiling tomorrow.

By comparison, only the most expensive Ford Falcon utes have only four airbags and stability control as standard. Side impact airbags and stability control are still optional on most of the Ford Falcon ute range. And, as an aside, curtain airbags are still optional on most Falcon sedans even though its two main rivals -- the Holden Commodore and Toyota Aurion -- have them standard on all models.

The updated Commodore ute is yet to be tested by Australasian NCAP but if the recent star rating upgrade for the rest of the locally-made Holdens is a guide, it's a shoe-in to gain top marks.

With the Model Year 2010 (MY10) upgrade all Commodore, Statesman and Caprice models get a new steering column shroud which offers better leg protection in a crash, and a passenger seatbelt warning reminder. Both of these additions were crucial to the Commodore being elevated from a four-star ANCAP rating to a five star ANCAP rating.

The Commodore ute may not have received the extra airbags as soon as it did weren't it not for the now-defunct Pontiac ute export program. Pontiac insisted the ute gain extra airbags before it went on sale in the USA.

Holden expedited the development of the extra airbags only to find out later that Pontiac no longer wanted the car -- and then eventually the entire brand was axed. But with all the engineering work done, Holden decided to go ahead and fit the extra safety equipment in the ute locally.

"We believe this will be a big safety plus for fleets and private customers alike," new chairman and managing director of Holden, Alan Batey, said at the MY10 Commodore range's launch.

"We've already received a lot of good feedback from the dealers and some of our biggest customers. This is another example of Holden putting its best foot forward where it can."

It's not all good news for the Commodore ute, however. The base model misses out on the new super frugal direct-injected 3.0-litre V6 engine and six-speed automatic gearbox.

The Commodore Omega ute will carry on with the old low output 3.6-litre-V6 and four-speed automatic transmission that's been around for several years. The six-speed manual version of the Omega ute, of which fewer than a dozen were sold each month, has been dropped.

Holden says it may introduce the new direct injection 3.0-litre V6 with a choice of six-speed automatic or six-speed manual to the Omega ute range in about 12 months, but this has not yet been confirmed.

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