Calais Vs Berlina Vs Executive

[krystoyz]

Im a total novice and getting into buying my first commodore. Whats the obvious main difference between the three different models when buying a model VT thro VX....The body of the executive seems more appealing to me but reading thro these threads the executive is the more stock standard commodore and not generally the favortie out of the two...any suggestions would be great. cheers

[krystoyz]

hrmm...ive since looked into a little bit and it seems like the difference is the bells and whistles, executive seems to be the $hittest, then the berlina then the calais and then the S models.....

[krystoyz]

haha just one more question...Im a little confused, the Executive vs the Berlina - the Berlina seems to have much more trimmings than the executive, though the resale price of the 2000 model seems to be the same - why would this be, is the executive a nicer ride then the berlina, are the body shapes different at all?

[Robbo_c]

Yeah it goes executive,berlina,calais executive being the base model and calais being top of the range,with the calais you get things like climate control air con,more airbags,u get the chrome srtips around the windows and down the doors,colour coded mirrors and side skirts and pretty much all the good stuff u would expect.

With the executive it is very basic and it hardly has any special features.With the vx range berlina and calais have different tail lights from the executive which look heaps better.And thats about it if you have the money get a calais for sure.

[don0xer]

as above, but s packs are usually exec models(plus extras) with a sports body kit

[MikesCalais]

is the executive a nicer ride then the berlina, are the body shapes different at all?

The berlina and calais have Independant rear suspension (IRS) which means its a bit more of a comfy ride.

the differences have already been mentioned, the exec is stock bottom of the range while the calais is top of the range (a calais isnt actually a commodore but lets not get into that haha)

the difference betten the berlina and the calais are just the little luxuries that most can live without

berlina - single zone climate control, thinner chrome window surrounds, I dont THINK the seats are fully electric, single CD player, different wheels, different patterns on seats

Calais- Dual zone climate control (two different temps at once), reading lights in the back, 'map lights', lights in the bottom of the doors,
10 stack CD player, Fog lights, and depending on what series (series 1 or 2) the interior will be much different


Heres some pics to compare, youll be able to tell which is which

[Caprice5L]

probably best to first decide a budget, then what features you cant go without.

all body shapes are the same. differences are bumpers and head and tail lights.

generally speaking, if you want clear tail lights go VT series 2, if you want power windows go berlina or calais, if you want colour coded bumpers and skirts go berlina or calais, if you want black interior go VX series 2. you can be fussy, or not.

the IRS is also updated in VX series 2.

just get the best and latest year you can afford.

[Full Spectrum]

Exec - Base cheap. Berlina - Poor mans Calais. Calais - Not a poor mans calais.

[stocky]

The berlina and calais have Independant rear suspension (IRS) which means its a bit more of a comfy ride.

all VTs are IRS, including executives

[Mick1988]

You've also got to consider there is a big difference between a bare stock Executive and a fully optioned Executive. You might be able to get an Executive with all factory options, nice alloys, a few exterior mods and low K's for the same price as a stock standard Calais with higher K's

[FadeToBlack]

I have always owned Calais but I have always seen it as:

Exec - Shit, only worth buying if you are on a tight budget, or don't actually care about the car and just need something to get around.

Berlina - Much much better than the exec, has all of the useful options like power windows etc

Calais - Again better, usually looks a lot better than the berlina and exec but most of the extra features aren't as useful, they mainly just look cool (Fog Lights, dual zone climate control etc)

If I was you, I would look at either berlinas or calais, and if you are looking at calais, you can usually find a supercharged v6 rather than a stock v6.. which imo makes it much more of a buy. I've owned Calais before with stock 6's and it's just not as good.

Try and go for a vx, and just keep looking and checking every day until something good pops up.

[Fletch_QLD]

Just DO NOT buy an executive and be coming on the forum asking how to add Climate Control and a calais front end. When buying second hand cars, approaching 10yrs old, there is very good bang for buck in buying flagship model.

It would cost less to buy a calais than it would to buy an exec. and attempt to upspec it to calais features.

[nick3110]

Just DO NOT buy an executive and be coming on the forum asking how to add Climate Control and a calais front end. When buying second hand cars, approaching 10yrs old, there is very good bang for buck in buying flagship model.

It would cost less to buy a calais than it would to buy an exec. and attempt to upspec it to calais features.

+1 on that lol...