Ordered my ZB on Friday night....

[lmoengnr]

That's nice, but I think there is a bit of false info here. The VF had less gadgets than the VE if i'm not mistaken and I wholly believe that was purely because Holden/GM just couldn't be bothered because it was the last model. All those fancy gadgets listed above were available in the GM parts bins so the options where there for Holden.

Don't really think that is correct...
The only thing my VF doesn't have is fog lights, I'd rather have an LS3 than fog lights...

 

[commodore665]

Ouch....

Yes , it's I am South African , and Saffa's say what they think ,

 

[Paul Smedley]

Gadgets is probably not the best term, but in terms of overall technology. Holden definitely lost interest in fitting the latest tech in the VF.

I half agree with the second part of the above. My opinion is that at launch in May 2013, VF was pretty much packed with the best technology GM had to offer (eg self parking - where VF was like the 2nd car in GM to have this), however in the 3.5 years following this, pretty much nothing of note was added.

 

[Pablito]

Congrats. Ignore the hate and enjoy it. I hope you took advantage of Holden's suffering and got a sweet deal and 7 years warranty.
If I drove V6's I would probably be looking at a ZB Calais V myself (if I could get it for low 50's drive away)

 

[Paul Smedley]

Congrats. Ignore the hate and enjoy it. I hope you took advantage of Holden's suffering and got a sweet deal and 7 years warranty.
If I drove V6's I would probably be looking at a ZB Calais V myself (if I could get it for low 50's drive away)

I still get employee pricing, and was able to negotiate a decent trade-in on the VF and some included accessories Only the 5 year warranty though, 7 year offer finished at the end of June AFAIK

 

[Holden17]

Having had a 2 VTs, a VX, a VY, a VZ, a VE and now 2 VFs, I can tell you that undoubtedly for me the biggest let down was the interior of the VE compared to even the VX - yet I loved (& still do) the styling of the VE.

The VF was miles ahead of the VE in every other tech eg we couldn’t even option a camera or sensors on a VE2 ute (that was when we bought in 2010)

The best part of the VF2 compared to even VF was that goodies such as SatNav, parking sensors, camera, cross traffic alert, HUD, blindspot etc had all become standard even on an SV6 (without the price going up) where a lot of this was extras on the VF unless you went CalaisV or Redline. I can remember marvelling at the tech in my Dad’s VF (Dec 2013) CalaisV and in less than 3yrs we had all this standard on an SV6 Black Edition except for the forward collision detection (which Dad turned off because it was so inaccurate with respect to roundabouts & roadworks etc)..oh and the DVD player he had in the dash.

I’ve always maintained ‘thumbs up’ to Holden for not letting the Commodore whither on the vine like Ford did to the Falcon. Some grumble about no seat cooling/warming etc that the SS export had but that’s neither here nor there for me.

Yes tech has, and will continue to move on and congrats to those who are going ZB...I would be seriously looking too if I currently owned a V6 sedan. However we chose to future proof ourselves so we couldn’t be tempted (some would say ‘snookered’ ourselves, but I’m a glass half full person) in getting an SV6 ute & an SS wagon...two derivatives that are irreplaceable for the coin we laid down.

 

[uz3r]

The below is from a post to an ex-Holden employees group on facebook last Saturday:
"Putting on my flame proof suit..... I have a confession to make..... I drove a ZB today, and I liked it...

We (HVO) built a terrific car, and for the last 6 or 7 months of manufacturing, were the #1 plant in GM for Right First Time, however, the ZB is a big leap above the VF from a refinement and technology (AEB, lane keep assist, DAB, AWD, Android Auto/Apple Carplay, etc) point of view (as it should be given it's a new model).

Now I agree with many, that the Commodore name should have been retired with VF, and let the ZB be an Insignia (or whatever), however, I'm still seriously considering a ZB - just a matter of whether it's a Calais V or a VXR!

Ready to be flamed now!"

I ended up ordering a ZB Calais V on Friday night, to replace my VF Calais V V6. For me the extra technology makes the upgrade worthwhile. I should be collecting the car on Wednesday all going well!

Good stuff mate. As a VF Calais V driver myself I’d love to hear more about your experience once you have spent some time driving around in the ZB

 

[uz3r]

That's nice, but I think there is a bit of false info here. The VF had less gadgets than the VE if i'm not mistaken and I wholly believe that was purely because Holden/GM just couldn't be bothered because it was the last model. All those fancy gadgets listed above were available in the GM parts bins so the options where there for Holden.

That’s not correct. I’ve owned VE and VF Calais and the VF was decked out wayyy better than the VE. In fact, in 2014 the VF was a standout in terms of the gadgets for its price point.

 

[vc commodore]

I still get employee pricing, and was able to negotiate a decent trade-in on the VF and some included accessories Only the 5 year warranty though, 7 year offer finished at the end of June AFAIK

Did you try Kittle Holden of Port Adelaide? They were advertising a 10 year warranty to all ex-employees a month ago. Not sure if it finished or not

 

[UTE042_NZ]

My ute was in for a service today and the loaner was a ZB Commodore (bottom of the range 2Litre turbo LT) with 2,000 km on the clock. I now feel qualified to possess an opinion.

It was zippy and very quiet. The soft brakes gave me a bit of a scare but I have been spoiled with 4-pot brembos. Does not feel at all like a Commodore. Cabin is skinny (as am I) and the driving position with high centre storage felt like I was sitting in a narrow bathtub. Poor vision out the rounded rear hatch window and weird mirrors.

I'm only 5'9" but the molding at the top of the back seat pressed between my shoulder blades and the lower-neck-rest had to be raised to max height to transform it into a head-rest.

It may be a FWD thing but the brake calipers sitting at the front edge of the disks looked weird to me, especially as they were at different angles (like 9 o'clock on front and 8 o'clock on rear - viewing passenger side)

Altogether quite underwhelming although I imagine the top-of-the-range model would be more impressive but still would feel too small and narrow for a Commo. I am now firmly in the "they should have retired Commodore and named this something else" camp.