VF Evoke impressions

[mpower]

Resale.

not being crap

 

[figjam]

The 186 had the best bore:stroke ratio of all the old red sixes. It was a smooth and torque engine for its time, with the first fitment, the HR, being the right weight for the 186. Later models heaped on the weight and the ol' 86 had to work harder.

The HR 186 went like **** off a shovel, but in standard form handled like a bag of wet ****. This was easily fixed by wider wheels, radial tyres and a couple of Kmac bars. But that bench seat and driving position was not ……. ahh, good.

My HK 186S (with solid lifters) is still fondly remembered, despite being a rust bucket, with broken piston rings on cyls 5 and 6 after 4 years.

The LJ Torana was the ducks guts at the time, and the LH was going to be better. So, influenced by motoring writers and mags, I bought a 202, without even doing a test drive …..ie, me=fool. What an uncomfortable, cramped, gutless, ill-geared POS. I still look admiringly at them at car shows, before bad memories kick in.

Disregarding the now 'classic' $$$s, I would take a ( 3.0L/186ci )VF Evoke without a second thought to any of the above. The standard seats can always be swapped for something more comfortable.

 

[Calaber]

that is just nonsense.

my original comment was about advertorials and positive reviews of a customers product to someone who had read those advertorials then jumped into the vehicle and found that
that is because the "positive" advertorial was paid for by holden.


if you want to talk about a flat earth concept this is one right here

go tell that to anyone who has purchased a lemon vehicle in the last 5/10 years and see what they tell you about your conspiracy theory

Yeah

reliability

OK so an HR is way cooler than a Craptiva or Cruze, and when choosing to drive (as opposed to commuting for example where you're only driving because you have to) I'd waaaay prefer to be driving the HR ... but can you name one metric where the Captiva & Cruze aren't better?

I certainly can answer the question regarding the HR versus Captiva. I've owned an HD, HR and two Captivas.

The HD and HR suffered the following serious deficiencies.
1. Abominable handling
2. Abominable brakes, if all drum. Discs little better.
3. Non existent rust proofing
4. Poor steering (too light and lacked feel or directional stability)
5. Uncomfortable seating (except Premier)
6. Bugger all equipment levels.
7. Front suspension and steering design that required regular greasing. Actually a good point if done correctly but so often ignored. Also a huge filth trap.
8. Virtually no secondary safery and even less primary with drum brakes.

The Captiva stuffed things up from the start with poor quality and reliability. Over the years, major changes to engine, transmission and electrical remedied the faults but the damage was done. Our current car has travelled over 116k without a mechanical fault of any kind. Tyre wear around 60k front, 100k rear ( I don't rotate them). Still running original pads and discs. The dud reliability of Captivas belongs in the past with the Series 1.
They are an old model that should have been replaced by around 2013/4, the later cars are reliable but unfortunately the mud has stuck and they are all tainted with the same brush.

 

[figjam]

The HD and HR suffered the following serious deficiencies.
1. Abominable handling
2. Abominable brakes, if all drum. Discs little better.
3. Non existent rust proofing
4. Poor steering (too light and lacked feel or directional stability)
5. Uncomfortable seating (except Premier)
6. Bugger all equipment levels.
7. Front suspension and steering design that required regular greasing. Actually a good point if done correctly but so often ignored. Also a huge filth trap.
8. Virtually no secondary safery and even less primary with drum brakes.

Ahhhh, yes ……. the unsuspecting ignorance of our younger days. How did we survive such compromises and dangers ?

 

[Forg]

reliability

If you put as much repair & maintenance into a Craptiva as you need to put into an HR to keep it on the road, I reckon the Craptiva would be more reliable. Just nobody bothers to maintain a Cruze or Captiva, after all you don't have to waste your time taking your Kelvinator down to Harvey Norman and pay a few hundred bucks to get it serviced twice a year!!

Resale.

That's true, used cars were still pretty expensive in the 60's, I reckon resale would've probably been a solid 10% higher on a 5yo HR than a 5yo Cruze!

Ahhhh, yes ……. the unsuspecting ignorance of our younger days. How did we survive such compromises and dangers ?

You can only compare to other stuff that's available &/or at a similar price (that you can afford) ... when you've spent the entirety of the $2k you earned during the last 3 year's worth of newspaper deliveries or Maccas hamburggery or late-night shelf-re-stocking on that shiny-looking (bog carefully covered) HR you're just elated with the freedom & the last thing you're going to be worrying about is whether the base-model hatch that Holden will release in 25 year's time would blow you away at the lights as well as being able to stop within the length of the SCG.

not being crap

That's purely coolness-factor or feelgoods or touchy-feelies or nostalgia. That's exactly measurable.

You might look at what if 18yo mpower got himself a De Lorean, drove it into January 2020, and measured the number of chicks he managed to pick-up in the HR vs the Captiva - now THAT would be an easily repeatable metric. So there, I've thought of one!!

 

[lmoengnr]

If you put as much repair & maintenance into a Craptiva as you need to put into an HR to keep it on the road, I reckon the Craptiva would be more reliable. Just nobody bothers to maintain a Cruze or Captiva, after all you don't have to waste your time taking your Kelvinator down to Harvey Norman and pay a few hundred bucks to get it serviced twice a year!!

Hmmm... If you covered them with fridge magnets, would they look like Camry's?

 

[Forg]

Hmmm... If you covered them with fridge magnets, would they look like Camry's?

Look now you're giving dealers really bad ideas, the son of the old bloke who lives next door to me is gonna be pretty PO'd if his dad pays used Camry money for a Cruze because the dealer covered it in fridge magnets to palm it off as a Camry!!!!

You'd need to use glue to stick 'em to the HR, because magnets won't adhere to bog without other assistance.

 

[figjam]

@Forg … I dunno how old you are, BUT, new HR’s WERE a chick magnet ( as opposed to a fridge magnet) back in the day.

A young, single bloke with a new HR was an affluent (not effluent) man with a discerning taste in motor vehicles, only exceeded in ‘coolness’ by those with MGBs fitted with a Lukey (not Leakey) muffler. Just as beer makes like fat, ugly chicks get slimmer and better looking after you have had a few …... beers, that is.

I state this from personal experience. With my hotted-up Mk2 Zephyr, I could compete on acceleration and speed, but not on sex appeal, probably the reason I switched from blue to red not long after I realised this.

 

[Calaber]

Ahhhh, yes ……. the unsuspecting ignorance of our younger days. How did we survive such compromises and dangers ?

We spent all our money making them safer. That was the beauty of the old cars. So much could be done so easily with real results.

 

[mpower]

this thread just makes me want to put my HR back on the road now. thanks internets.