VF Evoke impressions

[SilverVKberlina]

Enjoy the Evoke I assume a 3L not the 3.6 lpg engine, 3l is a bit gutless but does the job with those kms make sure the auto has been serviced.

Probably had the steering rack replaced but worth a check

Personally cant my brain to like VF steering feel not the same as the VE.

Hi mate one of my biggest cripes with the VE was the

Wow did I just read that right, you prefer a 186 red to an Alloytec? That's almost laughable, but each to their own. You must've had a diabolically bad, one-off dud of an Alloytec. Not saying the Allys are a great engine but the 186 red is ancient carburettor/points technology, with double digit kW count and 4500rpm redline, after all. I smell nostalgia.

And speaking of engines, the series 1 VN V6, while being less refined (and pretty ornery) compared to the RB30, was a better engine in most areas that count.

if you jump in a ve omega and tell me it doesn't sound like a crappy gravely tractor then your either deaf or have no pulse, as for VNs 6s being better than the silky smooth RB30 , my brother in-law had a VT Ecotec and one day got to drive my VL Berlina turbo and all he could do was rave on about how smooth and quiet the VL was! Real world experience beats anything, you don't see anyone lining up to get their hands on a VN V6 for a very good reason , those things shake the entire car on pressing the go pedal!!!!!

 

[SilverVKberlina]

Enjoy the Evoke I assume a 3L not the 3.6 lpg engine, 3l is a bit gutless but does the job with those kms make sure the auto has been serviced.

Probably had the steering rack replaced but worth a check

Personally cant my brain to like VF steering feel not the same as the VE.

hi mate the steering was a huge Gripe of mine with the VE sometimes it was ok then others it felt really wooden and stiff, i found it very susceptible to differences in tyre pressure to the point it changed the steering feel completely, I guess I was expecting the BMW like steering as praised by Peter Robinson at the time, it just turned out to be a throw away line that was never reality.

 

[SilverVKberlina]

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.

It sure was much smoother than the embarassing 6 in the VE, I'd love to hear how and why that engine in that state was ever allowed into the VE, I honestly feel for many of the thousands of people still driving those early VE omegas .

 

[SilverVKberlina]

I'm not going to argue about any of this as what you say is valid but I did some media work for Holden at the release of the VE and like all companies in this world they do everything possible to ensure positive reviews upon release.

And it's at the release of a new model that the impressions are formed, none of my friends have any interest in cars and none of them would know if the cars they own have inherent fault nor do they care.

Owners like us who take an interest and join forums may argue the point on the worthiness of a car but many more people are more interested in the colour.



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All valid points but then how could someone like Peter Robinson gush over the whole range, surely he drove the omega and thought this is rough as guts, did he seriously drive the Aurion then jump into the omega and say 'yeah this is acceptable for Holden Billion dollar baby????'

 

[Brettly-2008]

Hi mate one of my biggest cripes with the VE was the

if you jump in a ve omega and tell me it doesn't sound like a crappy gravely tractor then your either deaf or have no pulse, as for VNs 6s being better than the silky smooth RB30 , my brother in-law had a VT Ecotec and one day got to drive my VL Berlina turbo and all he could do was rave on about how smooth and quiet the VL was! Real world experience beats anything, you don't see anyone lining up to get their hands on a VN V6 for a very good reason , those things shake the entire car on pressing the go pedal!!!!!

Well I don’t really go in for the “my brother-in-law reckons” stuff (now you’re talking turbos?) but if you look at the common metrics people use to judge an engine: power, torque, economy, durability/reliability, NVH, the BOC V6 only really falls down in one area compared to the RB30E. And I still think you must’ve got some unholy dud of an Alloytec to have such a low opinion of it.

 

[abuch47]

3.0 LF1 in VE omega: 190kw, 290nm, 9Lp100kph combined

RB30DET in VL turbo: 150kw, 296nm, 10Lp100kph combined

 

[SilverVKberlina]

Okay after doing around 450ks this week here are some more impressions and comparisons to the VE omega I once owned.
The electric steering is a revelation compared to the VE omega, the car feels so nimble and the steering always feels consistent , I found the VE would sometimes feel wooden or cumbersome and changed way too much with different tyre pressures.
The interior - the VE is a dinosaur in comparison gone is the fugly handbreak with its sharp edges and dreary interior the evokes interior is better than the base zb which has the cheapest looking seats I have seen , the VF Evoke is a nice place to be, it has a nice modern airy feel easily the best base model trim of any commodore ever produced it doesn't feel cheap at all.

NVH this is were the VF is a quantum leap over the VE the engine feels so smooth and refined now, gone are all those ugly noises and growls this 3 litre 6 never feels underpowered at all! the gearbox is smooth and always keeps the engine in the sweet spot it never feels as though it's working hard and progress is near silent and effortless it's alot closer to the 3.6 than I would have thought. Before buying the evoke I had previously driven the VF SV6, VF clubsport and the VF GTS last of supercharged version and thought for the price the SV6 was the pick of the bunch, the GTS to my surprise was a pretty uneventful car to drive around in unless you were really mashing the loud pedal and not worth the asking price.
The levels of refinement are great it's a much quieter ride than the VE which had alot of tyre "thunk" which would make it's self heard throughout the entire car of all sorts of road imperfections, finally in the VF most road imperfections sound very distant so the level of sound deadening around the wheels must have been improved dramatically.
And finally fuel consumption is sitting around 10.8 -11 litres per 100ks at an ave speed of 37kms trip computer says around 9.9 so it's a little of as with most trip computers.
Nothing about the VF Evoke bugs me and I'm finding it an effortless peaceful pleasure to drive so much so I rate it as a more effortless and comfotable drive than the 2005 V8 range rover vogue I once owned.

 

[panhead]

Before buying the evoke I had previously driven the VF SV6, VF clubsport and the VF GTS last of supercharged version and thought for the price the SV6 was the pick of the bunch, the GTS to my surprise was a pretty uneventful car to drive around in unless you were really mashing the loud pedal and not worth the asking price.

Maybe I've misunderstood but are you saying you shopped an Evoke against a supercharged GTS?

Wow what a divide.

If I could have afforded either I would have disregarded the value for money criteria and still jumped into the HSV.




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[Big Red VF-SII Go-kart]

The interior - the VE is a dinosaur in comparison gone is the fugly handbreak with its sharp edges and dreary interior the evokes interior is better than the base zb which has the cheapest looking seats I have seen , the VF Evoke is a nice place to be, it has a nice modern airy feel easily the best base model trim of any commodore ever produced it doesn't feel cheap at all.

Dinosaur. Lol! Couldn't agree more about the VE. My bestie jammed his hand in that fugly handbrake in 2009, putting him off work for a week -- horrible drab grey and growly when pushed. The back seats with their horrendous steep 'bucket' buggered my back and thighs on one long trip. Sorry, but I have nothing nice to say about the VE, even though there are people out there who can't wait to bring one home...

My niece grudgingly admitted the modern interior trim of my VF is a cut above the plainness of her twice-as-expensive Tiguan 4-Motion TDI (a 'uge and fugly black thingy). My brother, though, still stubbornly believes his filthy, smelly Golf wagon is better than anything I've seen. Ah, bullsh!t, bro!! It never stops...

 

[Big Red VF-SII Go-kart]

3.0 LF1 in VE omega: 190kw, 290nm, 9Lp100kph combined

RB30DET in VL turbo: 150kw, 296nm, 10Lp100kph combined

Ugh--! Poor fuel consumption figures (and likely far from spot on in real-world driving). I reached 4.6L/100km last week on two trips (freeway/open road)!! I would have to check with bestie, but one of his gripes with the VE was the 17L/100km consumption that only improved marginally on trips like the Hume Freeway to Sydney. Then again, he also is one of those city-slickers given to spending 2 hours stuck in sloth-like conga line of cars on the morning freeway commute...