HSV Grange 2007 Review

Road Test

If there were any doubt remaining that HSV is just a builder of hot-rod Holdens, let us dispel that with the HSV Grange.

Almost everything about this car is beyond reproach. Priced at $82,900, it's all your dreams come true if you're in the market for such a car.

Let's start with first impressions. It's an understated looking car; very purposeful in its stance and presence, but not the sort of car fit for extroverts only.

The Grange exudes a quiet refinement right from the word go. Doors open and close with a gentle pull/push and a drum-like clunk.

Once settled in the seat, it's apparent that build quality is very good. There are no disproportionate gaps and the interior styling features subtle and attractive use of carbonfibre, two-tone plastics and suede/leather combination for the seats.

Like most Australian cars, the Grange is a vehicle you can just get in and drive. All the controls are where they should be in a right-hand drive car and both the wipers and headlights offer automatic settings which operate very well, although the auto headlight setting is confounded by fog.

As a consequence, you're driving a high-powered blunt instrument under a cloak of invisibility -- exacerbated by the car being finished in a dark metallic blue/grey.

On the credit side of the ledger, the headlights feature a 'follow-me home' function which is very handy when floundering for your house keys.

In respect of ergonomics, we would fault the handbrake, which can snag thumb and index finger if the driver's not familiar with the operation.

The low roof over the windscreen takes some adjustment too, and the car feels a little old fashioned in this respect.

As regards the field of vision generally, all four roof pillars are very thick. We could foresee 'A' pillars being a problem when you're making a right turn. It would be easy to lose sight of a cyclist or motorbike, lane splitting in traffic.

The 'C' pillars are worse still, but the Grange is not a hard car to reverse and park. You quickly adjust to backing with the mirrors and relying heavily on the acoustic parking sensors, which are fitted front and rear.

The audible chimes work directionally through the stereo system, so a chime sounding in the left rear corner of the cabin indicates the closest obstacle is to the left rear of the car.

There's also a graphic display in the centre console that shows where obstacles are located, relative to the car's corners, and this is quite handy too.

Two-stage indicators are worth a mention as well, for the commonsense way in which they work. Unlike some systems which almost require a degree of supernatural instinct to operate, the Grange's indicators are very straight-forward.

Hold the wand in position briefly and the indicators will flash three times -- as in lane changing, but without the need to hold the stalk for the duration.

Pushing the stalk beyond the spring loading will hold the stalk in place and the indicators will flash until cancelled by the driver or automatically, after completing the turn. They're nicely stress-free, compared with the two-stage indicators of an E60 BMW, for example.

Another feature that can reduce stress for drivers -- who happen to be parents as well -- is the DVD loader in the roof console over the rear seat.

A screen is located in the rear of each front-seat headrest and if the front seat occupants don't want to hear the latest celluloid marvel from Pixar or Dreamworks, the rear-seat occupants can wear the IR headphones provided.

But what's it like to drive? Two conflicting thoughts spring to mind; 'thought control' style reaction to driver input and cruising at freeway speeds that's so serene, it's like being sedated.

The 6.0-litre 'LS2' engine, when being used as it was designed to be used, sounds fabulous and certainly has the 'bite' to back up the 'bark'.

We were blessed with traditional Melbourne winter weather during the week with the Grange and heavy throttle use in the wet (as in crossing an intersection in traffic) caught out the traction control on occasions.

It does feel like HSV has set up the traction control to allow some degree of wheelspin if the driver wants it, even with the traction and ESP enabled.

Wheelspin is accompanied by axle tramp, which is surprising for a car with a fairly sophisticated IRS system.

Buyers of the Grange are probably going to spend all the money they saved on an S-Class keeping the Grange fueled.

Fuel economy is not great, but at a constant 100km/h it was achieving as low as 8.0-8.5lt/100km, which is what you might expect of a car with half the engine displacement. An average figure around 16.3lt/100km was 'achieved' during a combination of open road and city driving.

The transmission makes a decent fist of channeling torque to the drive wheels. Second gear (of the six forward speeds) seems a little low, compared with third. The transmission proved occasionally clunky and was caught out by sudden stomping on the accelerator while the car was rolling to a halt.

We wish the car companies would reach an accord concerning sequential shift automatics. To change down sequentially in the Grange, the driver must push the lever forward in the sequential shift quadrant. That's not necessarily intuitive for drivers in the Grange for the first time.

Steering is brilliant. You can hold a line at speed easily, either in a straight line or when cornering. You turn the wheel and feel the car changing direction, but there's no need to re-adjust the steering wheel position in your hands, because the car tracks true right through the corner or bend.

For such a large car, it will happily steer on the throttle, if you turn off the ESP -- and even uphill on dry bitumen. It's easy to keep it balanced on the throttle if you so desire.

Ride is good and even better if the magnetic ride control is disabled; impact harshness is reduced noticeably, although there's not a whole lot of it with the MRC enabled anyway.

Brakes are fantastic. Even with Melbourne's sudden deluge in the first fortnight of July, the ABS didn't stir once -- and that was despite some pretty provocative stops.

So that's the Grange for you. Not necessarily very innovative, but the technology is ergonomically more accessible and easier to use. That takes nothing away from the fact the car can cosset you and get you from point A to point B in a hell of a hurry.

For our launch review, click here.

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