Holden claims its engineering team has surpassed the 100,000km mark in the continuing development of the new Holden Commodore.
HOLDEN IS PUSHING the line hard that while the new Commodore won’t be built in Australia, it will be tuned for Australia. The company claims that its local engineering team has been working hard to give the new Commodore “the distinctive ride and handling attributes expected of the Commodore nameplate”.
Holden’s most recent test trip saw them trial the new Commodore in the Victorian Alps with the test team surpassing the 100,000km travelled mark. Lead Dynamics Engineer, Rob Trubiani said the cars were feeling even better by the day.
“We’ve been collaborating with our colleagues in GM Europe to make sure we’ve been able to apply all of the lessons we’ve learnt in developing Commodores over the last 30 years”, said Trubiani.
“We’ve worked on a more direct and responsiveness steering feel to give drivers greater confidence and a more engaging experience behind the wheel. That’s in addition to changing the dampers and suspension tune on both 3.6-litre V6 and 2.0-litre turbo variants so the car feels planted and well-balanced.
“The 3.6-litre V6 is a great engine but the surprise package in the range is undoubtedly the 2.0-litre petrol with a nine-speed automatic transmission. Not only is it quicker than our current base model V6, it’s also more frugal.”
While the Australian cars will get a slightly different steering and suspension tune, you can read our reviews of the Commodore’s European siblings HERE.
Bad move on “Commodore” name. But, on the other hand the Insignia never sold well here, so going with something familiar will probably result in more sales.
An Australian car built in South Korea? Hmmm, I don’t think so, how well do the other cars the General makes sell in Australia?….. Didn’t think so.
This is an intriguing car. Same power to weight as a golf gti. Low like a sports car, big enough for a family. A few big fwd cars have bitten the dust (maxima, altima, magna, 380) but camry has done well. This commodore (from germany) is going to be cheaper than Stinger, Passat and Superb and a whole lot slicker than camry. Should do well and will probably hold Commodore’s volume against its competitors for a while at least.