58 | AUSTRALIAN NEW CAR & SUV BUYER’S GUIDE
THINGS WE LIKE
A driver’s alternative to the SUV
Looks much better, too
Great handling and a comfortable
ride
A-grade safety specifi cation
Comfortable driver’s seat
Tractable, refi ned front-wheel
drivetrainTHINGS YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE
Pitiful resale values
Can be a bit thirsty in town and
drinks premium
Limited infotainment functionality
Top-end performance is a non event
A few quality niggles and reliability
is yet to be proven
SPEX
Made in Germany
2.0-litre four cylinder turbopetrol/
nine-speed automatic/front-wheel
drive
191kW of power at 5500rpm/350Nm
of torque at 3000-4000rpm
0-100km/h in 6.9 seconds
6.8L/100km highway; 9.9L/100km
city; 95 octane premium; CO2
emissions are 181gkm.
Warranty: Five years/unlimited km
Standard: Six airbags, stability
control, automatic emergency
braking, blind spot monitoring, rear
cross traffi c alert, lane keeping,
camera, Apple CarPlay, Android
Auto, 18-inch alloys, automatic
parking, power tailgate, rain-
sensing wipers
Redbook future values: 3yr: 36%;
5yr: 19%compare with ...
Ford Mondeo, Mazda6, Škoda
Superb, VW PassatZ
B Commodore prices kick off
at $33,690 for the 2.0-litre
turbopetrol LT Liftback and
$35,890 for the LT Sportwagon.
We tested the mid-spec RS
Sportwagon, priced at $39,490.
There’s also a 2.0-litre
turbodiesel, priced at $36,690 for
the LT Liftback and $38,890 for
the Sportwagon.
Calais Liftback 2.0-litre
turbopetrol is $40,990; Calais
2.0-litre turbodiesel is $43,990.
Both four-cylinder engines
drive the front wheels via a nine-
speed automatic.
RS, the pseudo-sporty four-
cylinder variant, features stylish
18-inch alloys and a body kit, plus
supportive, power-adjustable front
seats, a leather-wrapped steering
wheel and power tailgate with
hands-free foot swipe operation,
to the base LT’s spec: My Link
infotainment with a 7-inch screen,
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto,
semi-automatic perpendicular
and parallel parking, remote
starting, keyless entry, cruise,
rain-sensing wipers and
automatic headlights.
You get all the vital safety tech
in a Commodore. LT includes
autonomous emergency braking,
effective lane-keeping assist,
distance indicator to the car in
front plus audible and visual
forward collision alerts. RS adds
blind spot monitoring and rear
cross traffi c alert.
Servicing — for the fi rst three
years at least — is cheap. It gets
more expensive from year four.
So running costs should be
low — apart from the 2.0-litre’s
preference for 95 octane
premium fuel — but according
to industry valuer Redbook, so
will resale values, never a strong
point for Commodore.
Redbook estimates the RS
Sportwagon pulling just 36 per
cent of its new price as a trade
in average condition after three
years/60,000km, and a worst in the
industry rate of 19 per cent after
fi ve years/100,000km.
A Mazda6 Touring wagon pulls
36 per cent.
The RS sports driver’s seat
has a fi rm, extendable cushion,
supportive side bolstering and
is exceptionally comfortable for
tall drivers on a long journey. You
sit low, in quite a sporty position,
with plenty of room to move.The test car was squeak
and rattle free, apart from
excessive wind noise around an
imperfectly sealed driver’s door.
Tyre noise on coarse country
bitumen was also excessive.
MyLink has limited
functionality in RS. Stand-alone
voice control, navigation, digital
radio, traffi c updates and speed
limit information are not fi tted.
Rear seat legroom is vast,
headroom is fi ne and the fi rm,
high bench will suit kids in
restraints. Vents and two USB
charge ports are provided.
A low, long boot fl oor is
easily extended with the 60/40
split-fold rear seat to a fl at two
metres and even in fi ve-seater
mode, you get greater load
capacity than in many SUVs.
The 2.0-litre’s 350Nm torque
peak kicks in at a high (by
turbo standards) 3000rpm.
This lack of bottom-end grunt
is effectively masked by tightly
packed lower transmission
ratios, so tractability and
responsiveness are reasonable.
ZB is not a sporty car. Although
the engine has 191kW of powerSafetyPerformanceHandlingQuality and reliabilityComfort and refi nementValue for money
Overall
STARS
at 5500rpm, the top end is a non-
event. All you get is an anguished
whine and slurred shifts, almost
like a CVT transmission. No
paddles are fi tted.
Despite automatic stop
start, the 2.0-litre can use up
to 14L/100km in city traffi c.
Average consumption in
suburbia is 9-11L/100km.
On the highway, where
tall gearing keeps revs at an
absolute minimum, the RS
returns 6-7L/100km.
Holden’s local engineering
input into ZB’s dynamics and
the relatively light weight
of the four-cylinder models
(RS Sportwagon is a trim
1569kg) shows in its rock-solid
roadholding, confi dent, agile
handling, light, precise steering
and a fi rm, yet compliant and
comfortable ride.
It’s a lot more enjoyable
to drive at speed than any
comparably sized SUV.HOLDEN COMMODORE FROM $33,690 S