Holden Commodore Omega Ute 2007 Review

Road Test

About our ratings

Widely lauded as Holden's best ute yet, the two-door, two-seater VE Commodore could almost be thought of as a sedan which happens to have a very big, boot [Ed: HSV agrees... sort of. See here] Indeed, much will be comfortingly familiar to four-door drivers stepping into the working class for the first time. From the seat-backs forward, there's little to distinguish it from a regular six-cylinder Commodore -- and why should there be?

There's the short front overhang, slightly flared wheel-arches set high under a low bonnet-line, the gill-slit side vents and steeply raked windscreen of the sedan -- and while the ute's been cited as the first "coupe ute" in a generation, in reality it doesn't have the longer doors you'd expect in a true coupe.

Had the VE Monaro coupe got the go-ahead, maybe the ute would have inherited its doors (more here). No matter -- it works just fine as it is.

From the B-pillars back, it's all-new. There's the obvious liner-clad tray over the stretched 3009mm wheelbase and a recalibrated all-new multi-link rear suspension, with car-like rear lamp-clusters and hidden hinges in the tailgate.

GMH has dropped both the cab-chassis and dual-cab variants, and the VE ute's mechanicals and unitary body are very obviously derived from the sedan. This is in contrast to Ford's hard-working Falcon ute offering, which has a separate bed on a separate chassis and runs on a live rear axle and truck-like leaf-springs.

Strange then, that the Omega ute, at around 1700kg, is marginally heavier than its four-door, five-seater sedan sibling.

The Omega is the entry-level Commodore pick-up. It gets the basic four-speed auto and 3.6-litre multi-valve V6, and while it offers good, useful features like cruise control, trip computer, auto-on headlights, aircon and a midrange sound system, there is evidence that GMH's account-gnomes have been hard at work, ripping non-essential costs out to keep the sticker-price below that psychological $30k mark.

For example, the vanity mirrors in the sun visors aren't illuminated and on the passenger side, the mirror doesn't even get a cover. Who cares? Not us.

That said here are signs that aspects of quality control might have been sacrificed on the altar of cost-cutting too -- for example, the windscreen of our test car contained a couple of visual imperfections that would probably fail a used-car roadworthy inspection.

The absence of an ashtray might seem to be a good idea, but GMH isn't about to start reforming dedicated smokers -- and where will their butts go? Out the window, is our guess.

Ashtray aside, cabin storage is actually pretty good -- there are twin drinks-holders, door pockets, net-fronted cubbies behind each seat -- and a cavernous glovebox -- an exemplary effort that other manufacturers should use as a benchmark. The central armrest bin conceals a 12V power socket and its lid contains pen and card clips.

A neat touch are the visible, wide-spaced increments on the speedo, up to 160 km/h, whereafter they're bunched much closer together. The in-dash trip-computer can be set to give a digital speedo reading too -- a nice touch for those on the road all day dealing with urban (read: slower) speed limits.

There's no eye-level brake light in either the rear edge of the cab or the tailgate, and the stubby roof-mounted aerial will frustrate those that want to load up items like ladders.

The one-piece plastic tray-liner has moulded mounts for a range of extra-cost optional drop-in racks; tie-down points are bolted to the tray's walls (not the floor) and consist of stout-looking stamped-metal brackets -- complete with sharp edges that look very capable of slicing tensioned ropes or damaging coated hooks.

The Omega's cabin interior isn't universally loved and certainly the various shades of black are pretty sombre. Footwell space on both sides is equally generous -- unlike some 'engineered for all continents' one-tonners. Breaking from the norm, electric window and mirror controls aren't in the driver's door, but are located in the centre console -- exportable symmetry again.

While the seats, seating position and control ergonomics are pretty darn good, the choice of cabin fabrics suggests that GMH doesn't really expect the Omega ute to actually do any work. Specifically, the stippled sections of the dash and the sills can be expected to collect dust at a prodigious rate on job sites and for the house-proud, will almost certainly prove hard to keep clean.

That aside, the Omega proved easy to operate and drive -- from its one-touch crank-till-it-starts firing, to its 570km range, and not surprisingly, the transmission is mostly a good match to the engine (it's not like it's a recent marriage).

Even that traditional bane of utes, the fearsome, tail-happy oversteer which has probably sent hundreds of drivers off the road and into the scenery in past decades, is largely tamed by one of the most efficient and unobtrusive stability control systems around.

The electronic "calming hand" driving aid comes in early and gently, tugging the nose of the ute back to where the steering wheel's aimed with almost imperceptible insistence. Indeed, if it weren't for the blinking symbol in the instrument display, some drivers might never know that the vehicle had just saved them.

Hairpin uphill bends on gravel tracks will see the rear end slithering and spitting rocks, with the electronics crying foul and taking almost everything away, but importantly, the Omega ute stays on the road and out of the ditch.

The unladen VE ute got about 70 per cent the way up our favourite steep, rutted and dusty goat-track before the various silicon chips decided that this was an unfair challenge and stopped the wheelspin -- and therefore all forward progress. It's a highly commendable achievement and the Holden went a great deal further than a Falcon sedan managed under almost identical circumstances a few months ago.

Off the dirt and into the real world, the ute acquitted itself equally well -- it's smooth and comfortable; it turns into corners predictably, grips tenaciously, brakes firmly and is adequately quick.

Loading up a pair of dirt-bikes didn't really make much difference to ride and handling, although the four-cog automatic gearbox was eventually revealed as the Omega's Achilles heel -- lazy to shift and occasionally found wanting for the ideal ratio to match engine and road speeds with a load.

For an enthusiastic driver the six-speed manual version would be the prime pick -- particularly if the ute's going to be regularly toting anything over a few dozen kilos in weight.

The manual transmission would also be a happier choice if the 1600kg braked towing limit is to be explored.

Driven fairly conservatively, the onboard computer showed a fuel-burn rate of 12.3lt/100km, offering  a range of 570km from the 73-litre tank.

Yet, despite its many virtues, the Omega ute's not without the odd vice -- and interestingly they mostly centre around visibility. The driver's side A-pillar restricts visibility into right-hand turns, the external mirrors are way too small, the exact placement of the nose during parking is a mystery even when the driver's seat is cranked up high, over-the-shoulder visibility is appalling -- making a mockery of those peculiar little extra side-windows -- and the rear window's high sill severely limits rearward vision.

Essentially, you've got to drive the VE very defensively, because you have no idea where the ends are, there are vast blind-spots on both sides and what's behind you is down to intuition or memory.

It's not a nice vehicle to drive in dense traffic or, in the absence of proximity sensors, park in confined spaces. Of course, you could always shell out the extra money and buy another model from further up the food chain or specify parking proximity senors.

Nonetheless, judging by the amount of interest the late Ute generated out on the road during our test period, it has a successful career all laid out ahead of it.

And here's something that young tradies and about-to-qualify apprentices might like to note: most of the appreciative viewers we encountered were young women!

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