Holden Commodore 2003 Review

What to write? What to tell you? Want me to describe the joys of driving the silky new V6 engine? Sorry, that's next year. What about the blistering performance of the brutish Gen IV V8? Year after, maybe two. And then there's the incredible roadholding and sublime chassis improvements of the new car - nope, not a lot changed there either.

So what did Holden spend $250million dollars on with the VY Holden? More features, sharp new styling and refinement. That's what Holden says it spent the Bugs Bunny on.

Talk to the right person and you'll discover Holden sees the VY as a place holder, charged with not frittering away the massive market share built up by the highly acclaimed VT/VX series ahead of the all new car in 2005. Look at the stats, look at the VT/VX and you'll see Holden had nothing to prove, nothing to redress. But look at history and you'll see complacency comes before the fall.

We're not calling Holden complacent. Holden's worked very hard on VY, and everyone involved agrees it was a very hard car to do. Messing with perfection isn't the phrase used by Holden, and anyway it's a tad arrogant, but if you've got a product pretty much right, why mess with it? Because the market demands something new.

And this time, that something new is the VY Commodore, so let's take a closer look.

For those in a hurry, the VY wears new styling front and back, adds a new, cheaper V8 sporty model called SV8, boosts sports V8 models by 10kilowatt, benefits from steering enhancements across the range, refinements to the V6 and a much changed interior on all models - including dual front airbags.

The $40,490 SV8 is new to the Commodore range, it's reason for being is to bring performance V8 motoring within reach of those who can't afford the SS. SV8 mirrors the Executive for features and equipment, adding the sports bodykit, and sports suspension and brake package.

Zero browny points for spotting the new styling, and even less for spotting the front end similarities to Honda/Mazda with the trapezoidal grille. Gone are the front end's curves, replaced with a collection of harder, sharper lines and edges that combine to give the VY a more aggressive look than VX. And, for the record, that 'bullseye' round light on what Holden calls the low series cars (Exec, Acclaim, S, SV8 and SS) is functional - it's a parker.

High series cars (Berlina and Calais) get a different headlight design, which includes a projector headlamp with chrome bezel.

Commodore's bonnet lines are more pronounced, more chiseled than before, and are now accompanied by a subtle crease running down the centre. VY bonnet runs back to a full length black plastic lip intended to smooth airflow over the wipers and onto the windscreen, and combined with a new wing mirror shape, also reduce wind noise.

There's not a whole lot changed on the side view, nothing in fact - unless you count the alloy wheel designs. The Commodore rear is completely different, the combination of chiseled, angled bootlid and triangular taillights combine to make the rear look smaller, tighter than before.

Commodore interior came in for a major facelift, and one that interestingly enough takes a similar tack to that expressed by Ford on the BA Falcon. Satin chrome now frames the centre console on all models, a centre console that is dominated by a large radio/CD interface and topped by three air conditioning dials. Some models enjoy satin chrome on the handbrake grip and steering wheel spokes. Sporty models get drilled alloy pedals also.

All models get a new look instrument cluster that plays on the aggressive, sporting theme started by the exterior revamp. Stronger colours, and an attention grabbing tachometer redline graphic sit amidst a new dial layout and, on sports models, the surround is colour-matched to the exterior.

Commodore's much maligned steering system has been reworked - calibration changes, stiffer torsion bar and valve revisions - to provide more feel and feedback and the Calais' unique and substandard variable power assist steering gone. All Commodores now have the same steering system.

Revisions to the front suspension are claimed to give better compression damping, improvements in rolling comfort and higher levels of roadholding. Wheel and tyre sizes are up on Acclaim to 15 inch, Berlina to 16 inch, SV8 and SS ute gets 17 inch and SS sedan now wears 18 inch rubber.

Engine-wise the Gen III V8 gains 10 kilowatts through a new, freer breathing twin exhaust system, which will be offered on SV8 and SS models. Berlina, Calais and S ute will continue with the 225kW version as an option to the V6.

Holden added what it calls a Dampolator to the supercharged V6 engine which is designed to enhance engine smoothness at high revs. All V6 engines now have a 15,000km service interval thanks to a larger oil capacity and camshaft bearing modifications.

CarPoint managed a short stint in most Commodore models at the September 2002 launch of the VY, and reckon you'd have to be a gun chassis engineer or have the last name Skaife or Brock to pick most of the dynamic enhancements. Without a back-to-back comparison we're hard pushed to feel the extra 10 kilowatts in the V8, or the effects of the Dampolator in the supercharged six.

We did notice a more even weighted, tactile feel in the steering and front end that allows you to point the VY with more aggression and confidence than before. It's still a little light for our liking, but is a lot more communicative than the VT/VX was.

We also noticed that very few Commodores now wear the Commodore badge - in fact only the Executive wore Australia's most popular moniker on its rump.

With very little extra for your money apart from a fresh, aggressive new look inside and out, it's no wonder Holden chose not to up prices on the range - only the SS gets a price rise, just 1.5 percent. It's also clear there wasn't a lot wrong with Commodore before, which makes Holden's VY update - which addressed some areas that needed it, and finessed others subtly - a very smart move.

How the VY will fare against Ford's BA Falcon is anyone's guess, though it now trails the Blue Oval comprehensively in power - a whopping 30kW on the six cylinder model alone. We reckon Holden has done just enough to ensure Commodore makes it to the new model in 2005 without losing too much of it's hard won ground to Falcon, and is worth considering for those hunting a big Aussie family sedan or wagon.