Holden Commodore Ute VE 2007 Review

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In fact, the VE Ute therefore qualifies as the best passenger-car derived pick-up in the world... Ever.

As noted in our 'reveal' of Holden's new ute last month (more here) the VE inherits all the best of it sedan counterpart's chassis hardware, including its advanced multi-link independent rear suspension, then adds an even longer wheelbase.

In doing so it marks a return to the authentic Aussie 'coupe ute' concept. Significantly, Holden includes pictures of its Holden EJ and HD utes -- the last Holden utes with rear styling to match that of the sedan -- in its press kit.

The Aussie ute later hit a high point with Ford's 1972 XA Falcon ute, the first with a full 116-inch/2946mm wheelbase and extended doors shared with a Falcon coupe. Although Ford has since stretched the Falcon ute wheelbase out to 3095mm, it is now a cab-chassis design no longer based on the long-wheelbase Fairlane passenger car platform.

Although Holden has also exceeded that 1972 figure with a cab-chassis model, the VE Ute sets a new benchmark for a ute with a full passenger car platform with a wheelbase of 3009mm/118.5 inches.

But, the VE is not the longest ute in history, which means that the rear overhang is short and most of the weight is carried inside the wheelbase -- not behind the rear axle. Coupled with the VE's engine positioning aft of the front axle line, it maintains better weight distribution laden and unladen than any before it.

In combination with its state of the art IRS, it is the only ute in local history capable of fully exploiting a powerful V8 engine. This potentially also makes it a better towing platform.

Unlike any of its Ford rivals and Holden predecessors, it now represents a bargain-priced alternative to its sedan equivalents with the same safety margin of ESP and much improved rear end grip. Indeed, because the VE ute weighs 10kg more than its sedan equivalent, most of which is behind the front seat and inside the wheelbase, it actually feels marginally better balanced. This is a characteristic that could be further enhanced by placing loads ahead of the rear axle line.

Its looks are backed by substance.

After the VE Monaro was shelved, Holden was forced to use the shorter front doors from its four door models but the more sweeping coupe roofline stays with a more radical rear pillar angle. Holden engineers have thereafter used the extra centre pillar required by the shorter door to generate a substantial overhead and side impact crash barrier exactly where the occupants need it the most. It is a compromise that has a big upside.

Holden designers then deliberately abandoned the stacked vertical tail light clusters that have become a generic item on light commercials and wagons (the Falcon ute for example, shares its tail lights with the F-series light truck). Instead, Holden has arranged the rear indicators and reversing lights horizontally in a cluster similar to the sedan.

Along with a new one piece side panel with integrated rear wheelarch flares and a tailgate with concealed hinges (and a sedan-style numberplate recess), the VE has a clean new look from the rear quarters that is neither truck, sedan nor wagon. Gone is the cut down wagon look of virtually all Holden utes since the 1968 HK series.

The VE Ute's features truly revive the original 1934 Ford coupe ute that defined this unique Aussie genre.

Along with these styling cues, Holden has drawn a clear line in the sand by dropping its dual-cab and cab-chassis models. It is no longer trying to compete with an increasingly refined crop of one-tonne light commercials.

The VE Ute instead marks a return to the original brief: a vehicle that you could drive to church on Sundays and cart the pigs to market on Monday. Or in 2007 speak, the VE is slick enough to cruise while still rugged and spacious enough to carry a swag of tools or heavy equipment.

The VE Ute no longer has a direct rival when the Falcon's ute bed is isolated from the cabin and attached to a separate chassis frame that supports a live rear axle and leaf spring suspension that is totally unrelated to the Falcon sedan.

While Ford is left to cover both work and passenger car roles with its Falcon ute, Holden has walked off the light truck field and announced it is now playing coupe utes and sports cars. As the one-tonne light commercials threaten to become even more refined and passenger-car like, it's not as if Holden had much choice.

Despite this shift, Holden claims that the new VE Ute is stronger and more practical than ever and the Omega is a stronger force to be reckoned with in a light commercial role. As for the SS, it pushes out the sports envelope further than ever.

Although the ute goes on sale in October, there is already a three-month wait so unless you are already on it reading about it is about all you can do until February 2008.

Right on cue, a Holden engineer declared the same for the VE Omega and he was wrong again... The new Omega ute drives better than the VE sedan.

The tightening-up process that had to occur for the extra load capacity has removed the Omega/Berlina suspension float and improved turn-in. Although the ride is firmer, the extra suspension travel and high profile 16-inch rubber of the Omega Ute give it outstanding grip and comfort -- even over choppy surfaces.

The extra tightness in what is now a purpose-built load structure (hence the extra weight), is immediately obvious and the boom and rumble that came from the rear section of earlier models are absent.

There was always a sense that the front half of previous models could go in a different direction to the rear. The Omega Ute feels all of one piece and in this area alone is quite unlike any before it.

Yet this comes at a price. Even in base spec, the Omega weighs in close enough to1700kg unladen compared to the sedan's 1690kg. The entry 180kW engine and its four-speed auto, already a loser in the previous lighter ute and the Omega sedan, works better in this setting thanks to more decisive auto transmission settings. The lack of low-down torque however, highlights the fact that it is two ratios short.

Too often, the Omega ute with the four-speed auto is either screaming in a low ratio or chugging in a ratio that is too high. And that's before you load it.

On the wrong hill, a driver will spend an agonizingly long time sitting in a lower ratio than desirable with the engine screaming and guzzling fuel. Although the raucous engine itself is no more refined, its noise is less out of place in the ute.

For a dual-purpose work application, this is where the Falcon eats it when even in base four-speed auto spec it has the torque characteristics to match a decent load.

Because the Falcon's ute bed is not structural, it can use its plastic liner as part of the cargo floor whereas the Omega's standard plastic liner is in addition to its hefty steel tub and structural tailgate. The Falcon's basic leaf spring rear end would also be lighter than the Omega's hefty IRS structure.

If you spend most of your time on the flat with light loads under variable road conditions, the Omega auto ute would be the workhorse from heaven -- it is smooth, quiet and unbelievably grippy, compliant and refined. Even the bleak dash, basic door pulls and flat seats are tolerable in a $30,000 purchase.

Despite Holden's claim that it is tougher than ever, which it is, the Omega auto won't suit an operator who has to haul a large trailer or cover long distances with big loads.

The big V6 4x2 one-tonners from Toyota and Nissan have already invaded Omega turf with comparable or better drivetrains. Holden also offers no response to the extra clearance and traction of the Falcon RTV.

Until Holden can offer a decent Omega V6 auto, a V8 option would be no bad thing for owners who have to work for a living. Or better still, a torquey turbodiesel!

Switch to the Omega six-speed manual (which you can't do in the sedan BTW) and the story is different again thanks to an extra 15kW and a ratio for just about every application. Although its torque delivery is peakier than the Falcon's, accessing it is huge fun thanks to the shift quality and responsiveness of the engine when it is on the boil.

An Omega manual would be the ideal vehicle to cover huge distances between properties or fetching supplies at high speed as the handling balance and grip are so good even on the basic work tyres. With a canopy or a lockable hard tonneau, it would be a five-star and relatively cheap way of travelling this great country ,especially with so much storage inside the cabin as well.

SV6: This is where the appearance items kick in and skew the Ute's application to light-duty highway use. Even if the long wheelbase and low front spoiler ensure that it will snag on the rough stuff earlier, the SV6 is no tar baby.

Its grip and handling balance on unsealed rural roads is something to be experienced. A fast run in an SV6 soon forces a recalibration of what you can do in a ute. The 18-inch wheels with their 45-series low profile tyres are a good compromise for fast running on bitumen and the occasional dirt road.

Yet the SV6, despite the presence of the high output engine, has no real answer for the Falcon XR6's torquier engine if it has to carry heavier loads or tow. As for the XR6 Turbo, there is no contest.

Yet approach the SV6 as an alternative to the sedan with extra sleeping and luggage capacity, it becomes a winner. The six-speed manual and the extra grip of the 18-inch wheels and sportier suspension can make the SV6 a more involving drive.

On flat, smooth surfaces, an XR6 would un away but as soon as the road surface deteriorated and the bends tightened, the SV6 comes into a class of its own. The 195kW V6 engine seemed sweeter than I remembered it as an auto, where it was inclined to drone. That said it can sound quite angry when you are accessing its extra grunt so it's not always an easy-going drive, especially when loaded.

As for the SV6 cabin -- it reminds me of an irrigation supplies stockyard -- lots of black plastic! Along with the flat Omega bucket seats, cluttered red instruments and base Omega storage area, the SV6 is really not special enough for an SS driver switching to a six to save fuel, or for that matter, an Omega buyer moving up.

SS and SS V: The VE Ute launch route has been used by Tickford, Ford and Holden for some formidable local machinery over the years. But the VE SS Ute we drove this week will ensure our latest drive is the most memorable and a launch highlight. Yep, it's that good!

Where the SS and SS V sedans come across as too industrial inside to qualify as the true grand tourers which they are, the black cabins are less of an issue in the work context of the Ute variants. The seats have extra contouring and there are extra storage nets behind them -- both further arguments to skip the SV6.

Because the time has long gone where black plastic and red instruments can create an upper level feel, it is just as well the SS is such a great drive. When even mass market imports offer a good choice of tasteful cabin highlights in sub-$40,000 models, it's time that Holden at least offered a choice of options for a feel good cabin in its sportier models.

There are only so many buyers who want their cabins to look as though they have opened a vein or had a chunder with the optional red or orange cabins. It is significant again that Holden has not supplied images of a standard all-black SS or SS V interior, when few buyers would want one.

In the SS context, the Ute's new pressed metal cargo hooks can look a little too crude, sharp and cheap compared to the smooth cast items in some imports.

When so many younger ute owners could use their SS utes as an overnight sleeper with its full-sized adult length tray, it might be time for Holden to revive the Hatch Hutch for the hard tonneau cover option. (For the youngsters out there: The Hatch Hutch was a tent-like addition that turned an open Torana liftback into a sleeping compartment. It has been sketched for the VE ute and is under consideration for a range of new ute options.)

Get past the showroom limitations, and the SS is a pearler. Like the SV6, the standard 18-inch wheels ensured that any dirt sections could be taken almost as fast as the bitumen with the ESP's giant hand ready to pull you in line as soon as it turned messy.

The ute's ESP is really good and has obviously been set up for local conditions as it allows you to get a little sideways before taking over. Because it is not intrusive, you are less inclined to switch it off.

The electronics are helped in no small measure by the rear suspension's uncanny ability to keep all this rubber on the road even with corrugations and some pretty nasty mid-corner bumps. Just outstanding.

As for the V8, its noise and giant performance place it in a class of its own. The quad exhausts and the integrated look of the rear section push out the boundaries. It really has a huge presence and a big heart with one proviso -- lazy drivers need not apply, as the 1800kg-plus kerb weight means you need to drive consciously even to keep this engine on the boil.

This is no chore when the six-speed manual linkages and internals are now so much better and there is a proper six-speed auto with a manual shift for the first time in a Holden ute. Because the sequential shift direction operates in the correct direction, (front downshifts, back upshifts) it is a delight to keep this big V8 on its torque peak ready to tighten the cornering line and launch out of the corners.

Yet the SS chassis is so good that the big 6.0-litre V8 has barely enough grunt to challenge it. The HSV version will be worth waiting for...

The SS V provided an interesting contrast for the SS. Unless you needed the extra gadgetry in the dash and dual-zone climate control (in a ute?), I wouldn't bother as the only item that really changes the cabin experience is the sports steering wheel. Order it as an option regardless of level.

While it has all the screens, extra knobs and slotted pedal pads, the SS V does not feel special enough for a top-shelf variation with such towering ability.

What does change the character of the SS V more than anything is the 19-inch alloys. If you lived in the bush, I would think twice about the 40-series tyres that come with them. They generate a sharper ride and can make the handling skittish in gravel where they seem to lack bite.

On the bitumen, the SS V sets new benchmarks for grip while still providing a reasonable ride.

Not surprisingly, the SS is already the big seller in this range. By sharpening the focus of the passenger vehicle-derived coupe utility, as this category is correctly known, Holden has given the genre another life.

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