Commodore LT Sportwagon 2.0T Drive

[BlackVXGTS]

Had a drive of a loaner Commodore LT Sportwagon 2.0T, with 700kms on the clock, while a few things were being done to my Gen-F2 GTS yesterday. In summary, I was quite impressed by my (admittedly fairly short) time in the car.

Pros

• Very strong and lively performance from the engine/auto trans combination.
• Had some wheelspin under moderate acceleration when starting off at one point. Not sure how much grip there would be in the wet (weather was fine and 21c).
• Suspension was good and soaked up the bumps very well.
• Handling was very good and didn’t give any indication that the car was a station wagon.
• Standard radio/stereo was reasonably good quality.
• Good quality display.
• Good brakes.
• Good range of standard items – park assist, lane departure warning etc.

Cons

• Trans has no ability to manually shift down a gear requiring continuous brake application in hilly terrain – very frustrating, particularly when there is no active cruise control.
• Trans holds on to top gear for too long on hills/inclines, resulting in engine vibration until it finally decides to change down a gear.
• Really noticed the absence of an HUD. Maintaining speed limits using the speedo required a lot more attention to be diverted from looking at the road/traffic.
• Really missed the blind spot warning in the wing mirrors.
• One problem I missed was that the sun visor on the driver side doesn't extend completely over to the "A" pillar and leaves a gap. I happened to be travelling on a road where the bright sun was shining directly into this gap for a number of minutes. It was very annoying and I don't understand why they wouldn't have made the sun visor a little wider on the RHS.

 

[Smitty]

.. it is the BASE offering from Holden now
it is not prefect but the features for the money are good

I am buying lots at work.. as the reps VF sedans and wagons come up for replacement.
the reps luv them! .. and no-one has complained

why?.. you left off one point (and having driven a number I agree with our reps)
the LT wagon is very very quiet ... (unless of course you go nuts and boot it, it will spin wheels)


ps... I don't agree with your point about the trans holding gears (must of been your example)
one reason I (and our reps) like them is how responsive the trans is

don't forget it has AEB and lane stay assist plus lane departure warnings, passive entry and front/rear park assist

 

[figjam]

My thoughts on the same, new, company provided wagon after a 600km round trip on the New England Hwy yesterday. The return trip was in the dark and wet.

Pros.
I agree with all of what BlackVXGTS wrote, acceleration in the 90 > 120kmh region for overtaking is bloody quick, up there with or better than a V8.
Had the traction control on and did not experience any wheelspin away from traffic stops, but I did not give it a real hard poke due to the conditions.
The info screen seemed easy to navigate, but I would not like to be using it while driving.

Cons. (personal view)
Being unfamiliar with the car, the controls were a dog’s breakfast, not ‘falling easily to hand’, some hidden from view, others not self-explanatory with marking. My passenger spent some time reading the manual to work out what was what.

I thought the driver’s seat uncomfortable, (hard base, no lumbar support), and the general interior feel of the car was claustrophobic, smaller than expected, fussy.

The aircon, set on ‘22’ auto, did not cope well with the early morning -3 degree conditions in places, I thought a Euro designed car would handle that no worries.

Lane keeping, stop/start …. turned them off, bloody annoying.

Cruise control was fiddly to activate and reset. Whether it was a car problem, or a thumb problem, I don’t know.

Headlights are totally inadequate for night country driving, even with the height was adjusted up.

The ‘high beam indicator’ was not in the normal line of sight, whereas the ‘lights on’ indicator was. Also the other warning light telling me a car was in front is unnecessary, (I can see the car.) The digital speedo readout could be larger, and placed where the minor gauges are.
I found the nanny lights and beeps distracting, but then, I am older, and all new cars seem to have this stuff fitted, so maybe it is not a relevant criticism.

Fuel consumption, not my money buying the fuel, so no idea apart from we used 3/4 tank.

Summing up, driving performance great, ( I don’t know what a AWD V6 could do better), but comfort and ergonomics all wrong. At the end of a long day, for an old bloke, climbing out of the ground level seat was far harder than getting out of my beloved Monaro.

When you consider that it was essentially a HQ Belmont type spec for some of us with very long memories, a very nice, well specced, value for money vehicle that has to compete with Toyota/Mazda/Hyundai on merit, not just the Holden ‘magic’.

 

[Tezza's ZB]

I have a ZB sedan 4 cyl 2 litre petrol turbo. As you say the engine and handling just stunningly brilliant. I don't agree with all yiur ither comments at all. You drove it for a day . I have say it in it for 2 months and the front seat IS comfortable and the ergonomics are good . My only gripe is the sat nav which is not embedded and not easy to read buy hey the Google asst with voice commands you give are perfect in finding addresses, repeat PERFECT. You can send texts by voice too .. again perfect . I set thus up . you don't do this in a day .. I get annoyed wuth people who are so dann uninformed as you are. I do have a temporary problem with condensation on inside if hatch window.

 

[figjam]

.. I get annoyed wuth people who are so dann uninformed as you are. .

I am not going to get involved in word shitfight with you, but I am not uninformed, as I have been driving probably a bit longer than you, by just a tad.
600km in a day gives a better idea of a car than half an hour test drive around a block with a sales rep. Familiarity does make driving easier, but it should not be an easter egg hunt to find the switches and controls.
The base model I drove did not have a sat nav. The driver seat did not have lumbar support, and I found it uncomfortable and hard.
I am not interested in sending texts.
If I need a sat nav, I have an up to date TomTom, which is far easier to use than the outdated setup that was used in the previous 18 month old VF company vehicle.
I was writing about my impressions of driving dynamics, driver comfort, and user friendly controls, and my opinion as to what I considered good and not so good.
Best of luck with your water leak.

 

[Pablito]

I get annoyed wuth people who are so dann uninformed as you are.

He drove 600+ kms in a ZB, in various road and weather conditions before giving us his opinion. That is a pretty 'informed' opinion........

 

[Tezza's ZB]

He drove 600+ kms in a ZB, in various road and weather conditions before giving us his opinion. That is a pretty 'informed' opinion........

 

[Tezza's ZB]

He drove 600+ kms in a ZB, in various road and weather conditions before giving us his opinion. That is a pretty 'informed' opinion........

It's clear you won't find any merit in what I say, but I'll add this. It was a loan car,he said, you simply dont have much interest unless you paid and own your car I spent time in getting the Android Auto functionality just to mention one item .. he didn't and why bother, it's a loan car to him. I was so impressed after I played with it to get voice commands to wirk for addresses, texts etc. because simply so don't want distractions. I did take some time. Similarly with instrumentation... the heating m, the cruise control, there is a gestation period to get things to work. That us a fact and I have owned this great car for just over 2 months. Most criticisms he made were just untrue. As I said the sat nav voicing was perfect and fast as was connecting to a phone. He had no idea.. sorry he didn't.. he shot from the hip

 

[Immortality]

I'm sorry but I don't see how your opinion is more valid than his.

I drive a couple of old Commodores, when I travel around the country I use various rentals, the last one I had was BRAND NEW, never mind what it was but after a day of use I was not impressed, it does not take a long time to figure out if something is comfortable or not, if the power is good or not, if you like the gizmos or not. All of these things are obviously subjective and therefore my opinion of said vehicle isn't really any more valid than another persons.

One question for you though, would you still like your car, water leak and all if you had paid full retail price for it?

 

[Tonner Matt]

I have owned this great car for just over 2 months

Congratulations, you own a ZB
That certainly doesn't make your opinion any more important than someone else's
Or is just over 2 months of ownership all it takes to become an expert on all things ZB ?

I have to ask......You do realise that this is a car forum that you've joined where people have different opinions
I only ask because from your above posts it's obvious you have trouble accepting other peoples opinions
If you are going to get salty every time you don't agree with something, maybe a car forum isn't the place for you to be