HSV Maloo GTS storms UK

Only a few months after the LSA-updated HSV range went on sale in Australia, General Motors' UK arm, Vauxhall, has released a rebadged version of the Maloo GTS ute for the British market.

Replacing the previous-generation Maloo which was also a rebadged version of the model on sale here, the Vauxhall Maloo LSA shares the same 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine, producing a motorway-mauling 400kW and 671Nm.

These figures and the super-ute's 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds see the rebadged Aussie load-lugger claim the title of both the most powerful and fastest commercial vehicle on sale in the UK.

While many Euro manufacturers promote small-capacity turbocharged engines to maximise efficiency, Vauxhall says "while it's possibly not a contender for next year's MPG (miles per gallon) Marathon, the Vauxhall Maloo LSA will haul… well, up to 540kgs from standstill to sixty in an unfeasibly short space of time."

So, despite its commercial classification, the Maloo LSA is being marketed by Vauxhall as a performance machine, fitted as standard with performance car features such as Launch Control (manual only) and a limited-slip differential (LSD).

Design-wise, there are almost no cosmetic differences between the Australian-spec Maloo R8 LSA and the Vauxhall Maloo LSA.

Other than the Vauxhall badges on the bonnet as well as the VXR badge on the tailgate, the pommy Maloo is the same vehicle as the one sold here -- so much so that the UK-spec version still wears the HSV badge on its steering wheel.

Priced from £55, 500 for the six-speed manual and £57, 200 for the six-speed automatic, the Vauxhall Maloo LSA's asking price equates to $A116, 000 and $A119, 000 respectively.

Compared to the Australian price of $76, 990 and $79,490 plus on-road costs, the Australian versions seem like relative bargains.

Vauxhall will sell the updated Maloo LSA alongside the also recently-refreshed VXR8 GTS – essentially a rebadged version of our latest HSV GTS.

With the demise of Australian car manufacturing looming inside two years, the Brits will have to act fast to snatch up a Vauxhall Maloo or GTS before Holden closes its factory doors in 2017.