br14nh
Back in the saddle....
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2007
- Messages
- 38
- Reaction score
- 6
- Points
- 0
- Location
- SW Sydney
- Members Ride
- VX V6 wagon 5sp Manual
I'd be interested in other's opinions of VE Sportwagons, particularly if anyone has had similar experiences.
I know the following sounds like a whingefest, but as a staunch Commodore fan, I never expected I could be so disappointed in a Commodore.
I have a VE Omega sportwagon - Auto 6 sp. SIDI 3.0L which is a work vehicle, I took delivery in Feb 2010.
The power is OK, considering we only get issued the base models, overall it has some nice touches and modernisations - the digital speedo is helpful, generally it's a nice car with potential to be a really good car.
The gearbox while generally being smooth, often hunts through the gears during acceleration in an annoying fashion.
Above all, I find the throttle lag so irritating with a 1 sec. lag under all circumstances, whether in auto or Manual modes. There's no sense of precision at all with the throttle and in some circumstances I expect it could be dangerous - you couldn't rely upon it to provide power when needed in an emergency. Of course you don't drive in a way that puts you at risk , but if it were to happen, you'd be stuffed.
In "Manual" mode the response is almost, but not quite, totally unlike driving a manual. I've had the car for its 3000K service & had the dealer check the throttle response, but no problems found.... "Have you driven a VE before? it's only got low K's, it will change with more K's on it"... yeah right. I think they mean that I will just get used to it & stop complaining. It's such a shame because it could be so much better to drive if there was just a decent connection between the pedal & the engine... I'm talking about that subtle level of control you normally get with the small movements of the throttle here, not just flat-to-the-boards acceleration.
The Air Con is a joke, I had that repaired (thermistor issue)
and it went from unacceptable to barely adequate, thank god the hot weather is pretty much over. Not what I'd expect from a car supposed to be designed for the Aussie climate.
Visibility both front right (that bloody thick pillar) and rear is pretty poor also, not what I'd expect from a modern vehicle.
Steering is OK, I haven't been in a sticky enough situation to test the handling but road feel isn't anything out of the bag.
A minor but perplexing issue is the air vents. Apparently on the pricier models, they allow you to direct the air upwards.... not so the base models, the little plastic "fork" behind the direction tab prevents upward deflection and only allows you to adjust the air between level & down - now that's just cheap.
I am so glad I've kept my VX manual wagon, it is such a joy to drive by comparison. I'll be hanging on to that for sure.
I know the following sounds like a whingefest, but as a staunch Commodore fan, I never expected I could be so disappointed in a Commodore.
I have a VE Omega sportwagon - Auto 6 sp. SIDI 3.0L which is a work vehicle, I took delivery in Feb 2010.
The power is OK, considering we only get issued the base models, overall it has some nice touches and modernisations - the digital speedo is helpful, generally it's a nice car with potential to be a really good car.
The gearbox while generally being smooth, often hunts through the gears during acceleration in an annoying fashion.
Above all, I find the throttle lag so irritating with a 1 sec. lag under all circumstances, whether in auto or Manual modes. There's no sense of precision at all with the throttle and in some circumstances I expect it could be dangerous - you couldn't rely upon it to provide power when needed in an emergency. Of course you don't drive in a way that puts you at risk , but if it were to happen, you'd be stuffed.
In "Manual" mode the response is almost, but not quite, totally unlike driving a manual. I've had the car for its 3000K service & had the dealer check the throttle response, but no problems found.... "Have you driven a VE before? it's only got low K's, it will change with more K's on it"... yeah right. I think they mean that I will just get used to it & stop complaining. It's such a shame because it could be so much better to drive if there was just a decent connection between the pedal & the engine... I'm talking about that subtle level of control you normally get with the small movements of the throttle here, not just flat-to-the-boards acceleration.
The Air Con is a joke, I had that repaired (thermistor issue)
and it went from unacceptable to barely adequate, thank god the hot weather is pretty much over. Not what I'd expect from a car supposed to be designed for the Aussie climate.
Visibility both front right (that bloody thick pillar) and rear is pretty poor also, not what I'd expect from a modern vehicle.
Steering is OK, I haven't been in a sticky enough situation to test the handling but road feel isn't anything out of the bag.
A minor but perplexing issue is the air vents. Apparently on the pricier models, they allow you to direct the air upwards.... not so the base models, the little plastic "fork" behind the direction tab prevents upward deflection and only allows you to adjust the air between level & down - now that's just cheap.
I am so glad I've kept my VX manual wagon, it is such a joy to drive by comparison. I'll be hanging on to that for sure.