Series 1 VE SS-V Grille options

[losh1971]

The 2008 SSV was a fair bit nicer than a base SS like I have. I believe they had full leather seats and not just leather surrounds like I think the base SS had. The infotainment system was average in the SSV including the later Redline. One of the first things anyone who is a music buff like me would do is pull the dinosaur from the dash and replace it with something half decent.

 

[Dart77]

Pretty sure there was a few other extras, such as Brembo brakes, beefer looking wheels, badges as you said and I'm pretty sure the centre infotainment was more like a Calais than an SV6... But as mentioned, not too much difference and I probably would've just bought an SS if I was buying a VE V8 brand new...

Yes, just checked that link you told me about (from ReDriven) which details the various upgrades - won't go into them here but the V had quite a few other extras over the SS. Although the Brembo brakes were not one of them. They were on the Redline. But with a hefty price increase of around $8000 in 2008, not cheap - and only a small "V" badge on the back to tell you about it.

 

[losh1971]

Think you'll find Redline wasn't introduced until late 2010 or 2011. There was some high optioned SSVs though in 2008. From what I've seen they were pretty close to Redline spec.

 

[Dart77]

I believe they had full leather seats and not just leather surrounds like I think the base SS had. The infotainment system was average in the SSV including the later Redline. One of the first things anyone who is a music buff like me would do is pull the dinosaur from the dash and replace it with something half decent.

Yep, full leather interior and 11 speaker Blaupunkt sound system with 6 stacker CD Plus the dual zone climate control system - those three out of the eight which probably accounted for most of the extra $8G you had to fork out. I tested out the sound system with some Pink - I certainly have no complaints! Plenty of power, deep bass and separation there. And various modes (Classical, Rock, Jazz, Pop etc) plus nice big fonts on the display. Then again, if you look at my last car (1984 VK), you'll realise why I am impressed with it.