ZB In the Real World

[LMF 17]

I'm interested to hear what you think about the Liberty if you get the chance to drive it. The V6 is supposed to be a pretty decent car.

Happy to post up, as being a fleet administrator means I get to play with all the new cars when they come in and I’ll definitely be taking it out. Unfortunately we only buy 4 cylinder vehicles though, however I did have a 6 cylinder Liberty a few years ago and loved it.

 

[LMF 17]

Well we finally got an LT wagon today, haven’t driven it yet, but will be taking it to Horsham next week so that will give it a good run. I’ll also be able to compare it to two similar vehicles as I’ve also driven the new Subaru Liberty and imported Camry over the last couple of weeks, also work vehicles.

 

[Forg]

^ A mate owns a current H6 Outback because (a) they don't sell a Liberty wagon in this country any more (better to charge the $5k extra for EXACTLY THE SAME THING except with lamer/more-dangerous handling & an Outback badge) and (b) he's at least 6'8" and (unlike older versions) the Liberty/Outback is something he fits comfortably in.

He also used to fit in Commodores (and used to curse when he ordered a rental Commodore & got a Falcon instead due to being pretzel'd) ... which makes me wonder if he'd still fit in a ZB?

 

[holomatrix]

THe ZB seat goes well back... and my Calais-V has height adjustment - you can change the height of the front or back of the seat AND the angle. My brother is over 6'4" and he can drive the ZB Calais fine. AFAIK the lower spec models probably don't get the height adjustment on the drivers seat tho... someone with a lower spec model would need to answer that. I have only played in the Calais-V (Oz spec), Elite (UK's Calais equivalent) and GSi (CA Buick's VX-R equivalent).

 

[Smashfist]

I've been driving an LT the last couple of weeks and it still gets 6-way electric seats.

Plenty of gear in the base models, they are a pretty good buy to be honest. They'll chew front tyres though with almost 200kw running exclusively up front.

 

[dah_man_ben]

I got an LT lift back yesterday when my VF was in for a service. A few points I noticed first time driving this thing, and tried to base my comparisons on Evokes I have driven.

- Plenty of power with the 4cyl. Actually goes really well.
- Cruising is quiet and still plenty of power to go faster than 100 km/h. Overtaking is a breeze.
- No blind spot alert which was standard throughout all VFs?
- Random collision alerts in the sun or elsewhere still not fixed.
- Handbrake button being on the side for LHD really annoyed me, which wasn't right next to your hand as usual.
- Cup holders are in a stupid spot which makes it hard to keep a coffee or anything else within easy reach.
- The MyLink system was actually more confusing to use than the VF one which is a joke in itself, except for CarPlay which is finally included.
- Standard stereo quality is rubbish compared with non-bose model VF, with distortion and 'anti-distortion' software which cannot be disabled.
- Driving through the hills and windy roads is not very confident, with bouncing and understeer all over the place (yes I do own an SS but have driven standard suspension VFs).
- Buttons, stalks and levers feel very cheap - on the other hand the steering wheel, soft touch plastics and other parts of the interior feel great.
- Constant rattle coming from the lift back rear (only mentioning this as I have seen it on reviews aswell).
- Paint quality questionable with defects, and clear coat peel, and some laminate peeling off of the glossy black surrounds at the front.
- I took it for a quick squirt for about 10-15 minutes last night - not a thrash, but giving it a good go - when I got back to my house, I heard bubbling. Upon opening the bonnet, I could see the red coolant in the plastic tank boiling. This was on a 9 degree night, I'd hate to see how it goes on a 40 degree day.

Overall it reminded me very much of a simple 4-cylinder FWD car I have rented when travelling (eg. Cruze, Malibu, Camry), and all the understeer and super light steering that goes with it. Definitely didn't give me the WOW factor that the VF first gave me back in 2013... upon picking my car back up this morning for the dealer, it made me appreciate her much more - in my opinion, VF is a much better car. Also no comparison to the Mrs Mazda 6, also much better.

I can't speak for the upper-models yet or the V6 but first impressions are very poor on the LT... except the engine which surprised me. Back in the day, I used to be excited getting a VF when my VE was in for service - the ZB I couldn't wait to give back.

Cheers

 

[LMF 17]

I started this thread back in February and finally I get to take our new LT wagon to Geelong tomorrow. Due to a few delays we got this one late last week and the other two are arriving on Friday. I won’t be comparing it to my SSVR as really no comparison but I have driven our Evoke wagons a lot, so it will be interesting how it stacks up against them.

 

[Pablito]

Finally saw a ZB on the road for the first time this morning on my way to work! Only took 4 months.
But.........
It was being driven by a Holden employee so i assume it's a demo model he's driving to and from work.
So, still zero sightings of an actually purchased one.

 

[vs-lover]

I'll have the spitfire GTSR thanks.........

Herman Goering ................Give me a Squadron of Spitfires.

 

[gossie]

Finally saw a ZB on the road for the first time this morning on my way to work! Only took 4 months.
But.........
It was being driven by a Holden employee so i assume it's a demo model he's driving to and from work.
So, still zero sightings of an actually purchased one.

Funny you say that.
it's the 15th of June '18 and I'm yet to see one of these new so called Holden's.
Also I should mention I've only seen one of the last Ford Falcon's on the road.
Saw a Stinger at a local shopping center a few weeks ago in yellow. Did it look good?...NO, it looked tremendous.