What's the best all round Nineties Commodore?

[NeilsCommodore]

G'day I was wondering what's the best all round Nineties Commodore and why? I want to buy one for my wife but I didn't want to get into too much new technology hence the nineties qualification and I also want to (very occasionally and not very far) pull a caravan (1500Kilos approx). I'm wanting to look at things like power output, fuel consumption, ease of working on the vehicle, reliability, parts availability and potential problems that the vehicle may have (design faults). I actually have atm a Ford Transit with a VN commodore engine in it and apart from the fact that the Transit diff is a miss-match for the VN which means the engine over revs (A long a and tragic story) I like the V6
In the past I've had the much older Holdens like the EJ and HT which I found reliable etc but now the Commodore seems a better option. Thanks Neil

 

[VK SL 3800]

Towing a caravan and fuel economy dont go hand in hand. V6 will tow but its a lot of load and will probably end using as much fuel as the V8 as its working hard to go as well.

A VS 5ltr with a live axle and heavy duty tow kit is probably the best option as the VT IRS will want to scrub tyres with extra weight on the back. Any 90s commodore is easy to work on and cheap parts.

 

[Wozza]

I prefer the VR to the others later models started to get heavy and full of (now) 20+ year old explosive devices
They are cheap to maintain and still pretty easy to source parts for.
The 1.5 ton (occasionally) caravan could be a money pit. For that weight your looking at the table D towing upgrades..New they are going to prob cost 2k and up, add that to a purchase price and your getting close to 5k
i suppose it all depends how occasional the caravan trips are Also factor in your buying a 20+ year old car which where popular with P platers and entry level drivers...there are some good ones out there and because they have a stigma attached to em they are bloody cheap for what you get...prob best bang for buck, but that can be said for most of the 90's era cars out there...

 

[NeilsCommodore]

VK SL e800: I really wanted to keep with the V6's and the caravan pulling would be very occasional but thanks for your posting as all information is useful.

Wozza: I'm not sure what you mean by 'table D towing upgrades'

 

[Immortality]

Check owners manual for "table D" and required upgrades to tow what you want.

Personally, I'd change the diff ratio will make towing much better regardless of model/engine but more so in a V6.

 

[Wozza]

Here is a crappy scan from the VR handbook

 

[Drawnnite]

if you want to go a fraction newer then 90s have a look at the VY's.
the grandparents used to tow their caravan all over Australia with it and its decent car.

 

[greenacc]

Yep a VS because they are awesome or upgrade to a VY II so you get the best suspension and newest ecotec package out there at a bargain price considering you can get VE's for 8grand.

 

[NeilsCommodore]

Wozza: So you're not a fan of ECOTEC then? Do you feel the technology is complicated and prone to malfunctions? I certainly want to keep things simple in the tech area so in principle I'm in your camp but I suppose I'm wondering what advantages would there be in going for a VS onwards compared to the downsides

 

[Hertz Donut]

The Ecotec is just an evolution of the Buick 3800 in the VN-VR, there's nothing complicated about it, even I can wrench on mine. You can fix an alarming number of faults with a selection of hammers and an appropriate level of swearing. if you can deal with a Buick, you can deal with an Ecotec.

If you mean the Alloytec, however, that's a much more complicated beast, and is filled with heretical items like multiple overhead cams and variable timing and the block is made from recycled beer cans instead of recycled boat anchors.

My vote: Whichever is the latest Ecotec model with a live axle, and to reduce the chance of faults, Executive trim. Our VS Equipe still tows like a champ after nearly 300,000km and two oil changes in the past 10 years.