Upgrade from VZ to VF

[exanVZ]

Hey all, for anyone who has upgraded from an older commodore eg. VZ to a VF how do you find it?

I'm considering upgrading to something newer but not a huge fan of modern car interiors, wasn't too impressed with the VE interior but how does the VF compare? Other than a slightly fancier interior and a new body shape, what are some of the key differences or features of a VF SS? Trying to find some good info on what features they have as standard, or what were optional extras etc. to compare what's out there but haven't had much luck working out what's standard on every VF SS etc or what was an extra upgrade option. there's quite a few models so it's a bit hard to know what's got what on it, but specifically I'm looking at series 2 VF SS (probably not redline).

Trying to decide if it's worth the price to upgrade or just stick with the older VZ. Cheers.

 

[Forg]

We upgraded from a VS.
I find it by looking in the garage, where the VS used to be ...
Sorry.

OK my opinion (remembering that opinions are like arseholes):

• all the major controls are more immediate & just better ... feels more connected with the road, turns better, stops better etc
• the look & feel of the minor controls is better, somewhat early-90's/cheap than the VZ ... buttons have a soft feel to them rather than a hard CLICK which feels like a piece of plastic is jagging & about to snap off
• because the interior has less hard shiny 90's plastic, it DOES mean there's more to get dirty in VF
• quieter (wind & mechanical noise) and smoother
• on seat comfort ... not actually sure on that to be honest, I'd want to try back-to-back. VF is a billionty times better than the VS, but the VZ is considerably newer than the VS
• secondary safety (when the meth-fuelled Hilux operator ploughs into you with zero warning from the side-street) and primary safety (when the meth-fuelled Ranger operator does something stupid unexpectedly on the road in front of you so you need to swerve &/or brake to avoid it) are considerably better for you & your passengers
• the larger tyres mean they will cost a bit more; some say the Ye Olde 1970's Style independant rear from VP to VZ chewed out rear tyres more, but we never had that issue in our IRS VS.
• better acceleration of course, and more stable at high speeds eg. during overtaking
• the head unit & SatNav & HUD (not all VF2 SS's got a HUD) are miles ahead of VZ, but they're also more what I'd have called sorta 2010-spec and in VF it's a PITA to do any upgrading or even get maps newer than about 2015; VZ you just bin the DIN or double-DIN unit & replace with an aftermarket one for reasonable money
• the VF2 will likely use a little more fuel, being larger capacity & tuned for more power & pulling a heavier car around
• VF insurance will cost more (worth more), rego too in some states (dunno about WA rules in terms of weight or cylinder-count etc)
• VF2 has about an extra 15 year's worth of useful life left in it, on average

 

[NJD-1992]

It'd be a night and day difference, interior, quality, drive, handling etc

Is it "Modern", probably not by many peoples standards regarding tech. Frankly I I feel it hits the sweet spot of just enough tech (No map updates is a bummer, and no CarPlay is also a bummer, but frankly I try to use my phone less anyway) without going to all this heavily computerised BS in todays cars.

Doubt you'll find anything that drive as nice for the money on country roads, given it was designed for them here.

My pick if youre looking VF2, is to find a Black Edition. They were MY16, and are the same as the final MY17 SS so you get all the goodies such as GPS and Heads Up Display (HUD). You also got though, Red stitching in interior, and black external trim, which IMO looks better on most colours

In VF2 you had

MY16
Base SS = Standard model, same as SV6, but V8 and Hood vents, no GPS/HUD as standard, 18 inch silver wheels, FE2 Suspension
SS Black Edition = 18inch Black Accented Wheels, Black Out external trim, red stitching, HUD/GPS, FE2 Suspension
SSV = Same as SS mechanically (Brakes/Suspension) but gets 19inch rims, Leather interior, Colour instrument cluster, GPS, No HUD, Footwell lamps, FE2 Suspension
Redline = Everything, FE3 suspension, Brembo's. HUD/GPS/Lane Departure, Forward Collision, Leather Interior, Paddle shift on automatics, Sunroof

MY17
SSV Deleted

Base SS = 19inch wheels SSV Wheels, HUD/GPS. Standard Interior, White stitching with chrome external trim
Redline = As above, but Blackout external trim, and different colours (Spitfire Green, Son of a Gun grey, Light My Fire Orange

• secondary safety (when the meth-fuelled Hilux operator ploughs into you with zero warning from the side-street) and primary safety (when the meth-fuelled Ranger operator does something stupid unexpectedly on the road in front of you so you need to swerve &/or brake to avoid it) are considerably better for you & your passengers

Part of me wonders why bother with worrying about crash ratings anymore. With the arms race for people to buy bigger cars "for safety" rather than just oh I dont know learning how to drive (Or to stop compensating for what they lack elsewhere), physics is just gonna take over

Was sitting next to a RAM, in which the bonnet was above my VF's roofline

Side impact at speed by one of those? Your done
Side impact at speed by some idiot in his Ranger/Hilux with ARB bullbat? Your done

 

[chrisp]

Trying to find some good info on what features they have as standard, or what were optional extras etc. to compare what's out there but haven't had much luck working out what's standard on every VF SS etc or what was an extra upgrade option. there's quite a few models so it's a bit hard to know what's got what on it, but specifically I'm looking at series 2 VF SS (probably not redline).

There wasn’t all that many options really. Each model had a pretty much standard set of features, and very little scope for adding options. Most of the extras were accessories rather than options. As usual, the later models tended to pick up a few extras that weren’t on the older variants.

The biggest change was with the Series 1 to Series 2 in the V8s, notably the drivetrain. The V6 drivetrain was pretty similar in S1 and S2.

Have a look at the brochures and become familiar with the different models and the standard features on each. Two brochures in the links below (but there will be some other variants over the life of each model).

Series 1
http://australiancar.reviews/_pdfs/Holden_Commodore-Sportwagon-Calais_VF_Brochure_201410.pdf

Series 2
https://media.gm.com/content/dam/Media/documents/AU/pdf/vehicles/VFII Commodore Brochure.PDF

 

[exanVZ]

Thanks guys, some good info here, appreciate it. Sounds like VF2 black edition or maybe even redline might be the way to go to get the most out of an upgrade. I'm considering spending more money on my current ute but recently started thinking that it may be better spent on a newer car instead. I've already got a bit of work done on my VZ so not expecting more power or anything out of a VF, probably less if it's stock but some of the other benefits would outweigh that until I can mod it.

I'm sure I could probably google it or search but is it possible to replace the touch screen in these with something else or are you stuck with it because so many other features of the car rely on it?

 

[chrisp]

if you are tossing up between a S1 and S2, have a look at this review

 

[kleanphil]

Thanks guys, some good info here, appreciate it. Sounds like VF2 black edition or maybe even redline might be the way to go to get the most out of an upgrade. I'm considering spending more money on my current ute but recently started thinking that it may be better spent on a newer car instead. I've already got a bit of work done on my VZ so not expecting more power or anything out of a VF, probably less if it's stock but some of the other benefits would outweigh that until I can mod it.

I'm sure I could probably google it or search but is it possible to replace the touch screen in these with something else or are you stuck with it because so many other features of the car rely on it?

The head units are easily upgraded with many options from upgrading existing head unit to OEM style Android units to floating screen types

 

[Redline457]

if you are tossing up between a S1 and S2, have a look at this review

Don’t forget these 2 utes have different diff ratios, not really an apple for apples comparison

 

[chrisp]

Don’t forget these 2 utes have different diff ratios, not really an apple for apples comparison

They do, but they both came from the factory that way. It is an apples with apples comparison as they are both stock standard, just different series,

 

[Redline457]

That’s true good point