Holden VF Commodore: Powertrain details
Facelifted Commodore range to be 24 per cent more efficient than Holden's billion-dollar VEKey powertrain details leaked ahead of their official release on May 30 show Holden’s upgraded VF Commodore line-up will be 24 per cent more efficient than the VE Commodore first launched in 2006.
According to information published by News Limited, including powertrain graphics lifted directly from the embargoed press kit, fuel consumption of the entry-level 3.0-litre V6 Commodore Evoke sedan will be 8.3L/100km.
That makes the most efficient VF Commodore 0.6L/100km less thirsty than the VEII Commodore Omega it replaces (8.9L/100km) and 23 per cent more frugal than the first (3.6-litre) VE Omega released seven years ago (10.9L/100km).
It also means the base VF Evoke will consume just 0.3 L/100km more than the four-cylinder Malibu mid-size sedan Holden will launch only a week or so after the VF in June and, more significantly for Ford, just 0.2L/100km more than the most efficient Falcon – the 2.0-litre turbo petrol EcoBoost (8.1L/100km).
It’s not clear yet how much the VF Commodore’s 3.6-litre V6 will consume, but all models are expected to be more efficient, meaning 3.6-litre versions will increase their slight efficiency lead over the Falcon’s 4.0-litre inline six (9.8 v 9.9L/100km) – at least until the upgraded Falcon arrives next year.
Holden says it has made consistent fuel consumption cuts with the base Commodore since the High Feature V6 became available in the VE in 2009 (10.6L/100km), with the new 3.0-litre V6 combining with a six-speed auto and low rolling resistance tyres to consume 9.3L/100km in 2010, improved aerodynamics dropping that to 9.1L/100km in the VEII in 2011 and a revised six-speed auto eking 8.9L/100km last year.
However, the lion’s share of the VF’s improved efficiency comes not from upgraded engines but weight loss and better aerodynamics.
In fact, the most basic VF Commodore delivers 5kW less peak power at 185kW/290Nm, although it offers more torque at lower revs, which aids the lower-friction oil, recalibrated fuel-injection and new electric power steering system to reduce fuel use in the laboratory-based ADR 81/02 fuel consumption test.
Fitted with carryover transmissions, the performance outputs of all other VF Commodore powertrains remain unchanged, with the 3.6-litre V6 continuing to produce 210kW/350Nm, the LPG version still offering 190kW/290Nm and the 6.0-litre V8 producing the same 270kW/530Nm (manual) and 260kW/517Nm (auto).
The VF is 43kg lighter on average, thanks to an aluminium bonnet, boot and other components, while the slipperier sedan shape returns a drag coefficient of 0.31Cd due to underbody panelling, slimmer front wheel-arch flares and a more tapered rear-end (although wagon and ute bodystyles are unchanged at the rear).
Weight reduction could have been as much as 72.5kg had Holden not added a host of new technologies and fitted extra noise-deadening materials in the firewall and wheel housings.
Holden revealed official VF Commodore pricing overnight ; confirming price cuts of between $5000 and $9800 for the sedan and wagon line-up, which now starts at just $34,990 plus on-road costs and goes on sale on June 1.
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