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extent, but on a typical rolling Aussie highway or back
road it’s the perfect setting for soaking up the miles,
the body wallowing from bump to bump. Sadly, HSV
removed Tour from MY2017 models, though it claims
to have recalibrated Sport slightly to accommodate.
The GTSR doesn’t possess the same Al Bundy levels
of relaxation as previous GTSs, but it’s still more than
comfortable enough to operate as everyday family
transport, not something that could be said of the
super-focused W1 (though at least you’d be unlikely
to hear the kids’ complains over the roar of the LS9).
Sport also lightens the steering and muffles the
exhaust, at least until a big prod of the accelerator
opens the bi-modal exhaust valves with a chooff. To
be honest, Performance quickly becomes the default
mode, as the slight ride quality penalty is easily
compensated for by the angrier exhaust note and more
lenient ESP. It also means the mechanicals are primed
for immediate attack should you encounter a decent
bit of road and as the Black Spur’s heavily cambered
twists and turns are consumed, harder brake and
throttle applications quickly bring up “Performance
Shift Activated” on the central instrument display.
The 6L90E six-speed automatic isn’t exactly cutting
edge in this age of ever-decreasing shift times and
ever-increasing ratio counts but it still performs well
in this application. Its Performance shift logic is
impressively intuitive and if you take control with the
paddles requests are usually answered fairly promptly.
Manual or auto? Flip a coin, really, depending on how
you’ll use the car. The manual has longer initial ratios,
but closer overall gearing, so it’s probably the pick if
you’re going to drive hard regularly.
When you do, the experience will be familiar to
Style is subjective,
and not something
always associated
with HSV, but to
these eyes the GTSR
looks great. The more
aggressive front is
balanced by the bigger
rear diffuser and
trapezoidal tail-lights,
and if you don’t order
it in Spitfire Green
you’ve done yourself
a real disservice