Decent ZB review

[dah_man_ben]

I drove an LT for the day about 2 months ago. Wasn't impressed. Would go close to say that it was amongst the most unfun, boring cars I have driven. Heap of junk. VF Evoke was way better. Fit and finish was lacklustre, rattles, 4 cylinder motor underwhelming, plenty of understeer, sloppy suspension. Seats were rubbish and handling was crap.

Anyway - today I rented a small Hyundai for the day working in Melbourne, and they upgraded me to an RS AWD V6 Commodore. All I can say is, it totally blew my last experience out of the water. Great car - V6 is fantastic. Interior wasn't much different to the LT but had a few things (fake stitching, bolstered seats, LED strip lighting on the dash) which definitely made it feel different. Suspension is awesome, I would say similar to FE2. Handles beautifully through the hills and under power. Quiet, no rattles, solid build. Nice grunty sound coming out of the motor. The contrast between the LT model and the RS (which I would probably say would be Evoke 3.0 vs SV6) is unreal. Lack of HUD annoyed me but probably only because I am used to it.

So in reflection, do I think it is a Commodore? - probably not... I've owned Commodores my whole life and it definitely doesn't hold the same characteristics. It reminds me of a euro pocket rocket, but bigger (thinking V6 Golf or similar). But I would definitely say, the RS at least, is a pretty decent car and has changed my opinion on the ZB as a whole. I had a lot of fun in that car - actually looking forward to getting behind the wheel of another one.

Cheers

 

[426Cuda]

https://www.caradvice.com.au/671950...m=social&utm_campaign=forum_affiliate_program

 

[lowandslow]

unless they developed a more BMW/MB type V8 that delivers the mid-300's of KW while only being something like 4.2 litres?

A 253 is 4.2L

 

[jone5y]

A lot of posts echoing a similar sentiment and its the same as mine. The ZB is a probably a decent car in its own right, especially when compared on value and driving terms against what Holden are trying to attract buyers from. Yes, Holden has hung its hat on hero v8's for a long time but not enough people bought them and they became irrelevant for the masses (not for those on this forum). Buyers of this car will shop it against similar cars on paper with different focus to how commodores have been assessed in the past. Efficiency and tech will be held in much higher regard than sound and 0-100 times.

Is the ZB a good car? probably, can't say for sure - I havent driven one. But it is a totally different style of car to the v8's we know and love. Holden could have done 2 things to save face IMO when introducing the ZB. 1 - Somehow make a TT 6 work. That would have been a deadly combo teamed with AWD and partially addressed a lack of v8 in the lineup. 2 - dropped the commodore name so it had its own identity

I just wish they had made the 'Torana' concept car from years ago. High power in a mid sized car before people stopped buying large family sedans. That could've changed the local landscape. Unfortunately it was a marketing exercise to gauge reaction to VE styling cues and was never intended to be built

 

[VS 5.0]

More people historically purchased more 6 cyl Commodores than V8 Commodores.

Why aren't those people continuing to purchase 6 cyl Commodores ?

 

[ausmac91]

A long time ago Ford produced a car called the AU. It was lambasted for it's looks. But over time, it's looks grew on people, and they're loved today.

Nah, not really, just setting a scene. And probably quite cruel to mention in the same post.

But it disturbs me that the longer the ZB is on the roads, and i swear Adelaide dealers are taking them and parking them on popular roadways, that having seen a couple of VXR, i'm, i'm, warming to them. There it's out. I'd dare say that photos' don't necessarily do it justice. Not really thrilled by the lower models, but the VXR looks reasonably manly. Still say Insignia is a nice name and would better on the tail and better reflect its 'alternative' origin. With a pair of snails well.......man there is an open door right there HSV. Shame no one's opening it.

 

[Pablito]

The ZB Calais V in dark blue or black does look good.
But the Holden badge has no street cred now or appeal to buyers. The Commodore, as an imported car, joins the likes of Astra, Cruze, Malibu Captiva etc as am imported car of unkown build quality that people are only likely to buy if it's cheaper than competitors cars.

 

[commodore665]

More people historically purchased more 6 cyl Commodores than V8 Commodores.

Why aren't those people continuing to purchase 6 cyl Commodores ?

exactly , a number of the people who dislike the ZB do not have V8's , and have probably never driven one .

 

[Zeke Topanaga]

A lot of posts echoing a similar sentiment and its the same as mine. The ZB is a probably a decent car in its own right, especially when compared on value and driving terms against what Holden are trying to attract buyers from. Yes, Holden has hung its hat on hero v8's for a long time but not enough people bought them and they became irrelevant for the masses (not for those on this forum). Buyers of this car will shop it against similar cars on paper with different focus to how commodores have been assessed in the past. Efficiency and tech will be held in much higher regard than sound and 0-100 times.

Is the ZB a good car? probably, can't say for sure - I havent driven one. But it is a totally different style of car to the v8's we know and love. Holden could have done 2 things to save face IMO when introducing the ZB. 1 - Somehow make a TT 6 work. That would have been a deadly combo teamed with AWD and partially addressed a lack of v8 in the lineup. 2 - dropped the commodore name so it had its own identity

I just wish they had made the 'Torana' concept car from years ago. High power in a mid sized car before people stopped buying large family sedans. That could've changed the local landscape. Unfortunately it was a marketing exercise to gauge reaction to VE styling cues and was never intended to be built

I think that they were going to make the Torana size thing but the VE was made to sell to the USA as half of it's sales were going to be exported to the USA, but the Aussie Dollar went up because Obama started just printing money to make himself look good.
Holden would of sold half of it's VE-F Commodores to USA if it was not for Obama printing money like the fool he was.

 

[Calaber]

I think that they were going to make the Torana size thing but the VE was made to sell to the USA as half of it's sales were going to be exported to the USA, but the Aussie Dollar went up because Obama started just printing money to make himself look good.
Holden would of sold half of it's VE-F Commodores to USA if it was not for Obama printing money like the fool he was.

This statement very conveniently overlooks the little obstacle called the US auto unions. GM was forced to restrict the numbers of G8's and SS's that could be imported into the US, on the grounds that importing a foreign-built GM product affected US production line jobs. Holden was probably never going to be able to send enough vehicles to the States to have survived.