New Commodore ute and wagon decoded

Holden isn’t letting the grass grow under its VE Commodore’s wheels. With the billion dollar car program barely out of its initial launch-to-market phase, news is now surfacing that the Aussie marque has near-completed its second generation of V-cars – in particular an all-new ute and sports wagon.

CarPoint has secured scoop details on the new variants, piecing together information from official and unofficial sources within Holden's design and engineering arms.

The news is particularly important given the fragile nature of the Australian large car marketplace. In particular it highlights that the new products will move outside the market ‘comfort zones’ traditionally ‘attached’ to their body types.

Therefore the first VE variation to follow the sedan will be the new VE ute.

Like the VE sedan, this will be different from any ute ever launched in Australia. Previously, the Commodore ute and wagon were derived from the same long wheelbase platform that underpinned the Statesman/Caprice. This was a tradition that started with the HQ in 1971 and was closely followed by Ford with the XA Falcon and variants in1972.

The VE ute due later next year, will go it alone as a long wheelbase commercial model not linked to an equivalent wagon.

After the standard VE sedan wheelbase was boosted to almost the same measurement as the previous Statesman, Holden stretched the WM Statesman wheelbase to 3009mm (or over 118 inches in the old money). This will generate all-new proportions for a new Australian ‘super ute.’

The long-wheelbase will generate unprecedented balance for a ute, even when laden, as it will place the bulk of any load inside the wheelbase. It should also free-up extra storage space inside the cabin, generate an incredibly stable platform for towing and a long load bed with a wider platform than usual ahead of the wheelarches.

Those who have seen the new ute claim it looks stunning.

There is also another factor -- Holden’s sophisticated new multi-link rear suspension has been designed to fit under the ute platform.

This will generate the first Australian ute with proper multi-link independent rear suspension compared to Ford’s live rear axle and the crude semi-trailing arm tyre-munching design that sits under the current VZ ute. For the sports models, this will be a huge boost.

SPORTS WAGON -- WITH THE EMPHASIS ON SPORTS
Forget about the current Holden wagon... One thing’s for certain, Holden is no longer going to build a traditional square-backed wagon aimed at sales reps and couriers

One big clue is the fact Holden so conspicuously omitted a split-fold rear seat from the VE Commodore. Indeed, in doing so it has purposefully engineered a niche to be filled with a vehicle that is neither sedan, wagon nor liftback, but all three.

The five-door VE will go under the name Sports Wagon, or at least that is what the concept is called. It will be built on the same wheelbase as the sedan, a trend that lasted in the Holden world from the first FE wagon to the HG series.

Like the 1957 Holden FE wagon which lifted several dramatic rear styling cues from Chevrolet’s 1955 Bel Air Nomad wagon, the new VE Sports Wagon will be something extraordinary. Think of it as a cross between the Chrysler 300C Touring and the latest Audi A6 Avant, then factor in the VE’s long wheelbase with unique short and rear overhangs and you start to get a sense of how radical this new vehicle will be.

Holden has not been building five-door liftback concept cars (think: SSX, pictured) for nothing. It has been priming the market for something different while finalising a new breed of wagon designed to seduce drivers ready to leave their big and clumsy SUVs for something slinkier and sexier but almost as practical.

The arrival of the Captiva and dropping of the Adventra now allows Holden to satisfy the traditional family carry-all market while opening up new possibilities for the Commodore.

Previous Australian wagons have been defined by the big battle each year to win national telecommunications contracts. Ignoring the box-like proportions these commercial requirements dictate frees Holden up to do something very different.

Again, breathtaking is how those who have seen Holden’s new Sports Wagon describe the new look.

When it arrives late in 2007 or early 2008, you can safely assume that it will prompt this market to re-examine how they look at a wagon.