Holden’s Next Big Thing

It’s been a while coming, but 21st century drivetrain technology has now made it into Australia’s top-selling car.

Holden has introduced new 3.0 and 3.6-litre direct-injection V6s to the Commodore and both now come with a six-speed automatic as standard. The 3.0-litre V6 drivetrain is fitted to the base $39,990 Omega and the Berlina, priced at $43,490.

The SV6 sedan, priced from $42,790, and the Calais, from $48,290, are fitted with the 3.6-litre, a genuine performance engine which produces 210kW of power at 6400rpm and 350Nm of torque at 2900rpm.

The direct-injection engines have been introduced so that they comply with the EuroIV emissions standard that comes into effect on July 1, 2010.

Direct injection, as the name implies, fires shots of fuel directly into the combustion chamber, rather than ports upstream of the cylinders. Controlled by sophisticated digital electronics, it allows the engine to extract maximum energy from the absolute minimum amount of fuel, which also results in lower emissions. Direct injection also sharpens throttle response and improves refinement.

As a consequence, Commodore’s fuel consumption and emissions have been reduced by between seven and thirteen per cent. This doesn’t sound like much, but in automotive engineering, every percentage point efficiency gain is hard won.

Around town, the Australian standard test figure for the 3.0 in the Omega sedan is 12.7L/100km, compared with 14.7L/100km for the superseded Alloytec port-injection 3.6-litre V6/four speed auto. On the highway, consumption has fallen from 7.9L/100km to 7.3L/100km.

However it’s interesting to look back at the numbers for the old 3.8-litre Buick V6 that powered the Commodore from 1988-2004. According to the admittedly more optimistic government test regime at the time, it used 11.5L/100km in town and 7.2L/100km on the open road, in the 1995 VS Commodore.

The VS was more than 300kg lighter than today’s VE, so perhaps we haven’t really come all that far in fuel efficiency after all?

The new 3.0-litre V6 produces 190kW of power at 6700rpm and 290Nm of torque at 2900rpm. That’s 15kW more than the 3.6-litre Alloytec engine, but a 35Nm reduction in torque. At base model (Omega) level, the Commodore engine now produces 101Nm less torque than the 4.0-litre six in the Falcon.

Torque is what you feel when you put your foot down, and on the road it can often give the Falcon a telling advantage.

The Commodore’s official fuel consumption numbers, derived from laboratory testing, are impressive by six-cylinder standards, and lower than the Falcon’s, but real-world driving can produce significant variations.

The fact that the Commodore drivetrain has to work harder than the Falcon’s, especially on cross-country journeys where a few hills are involved, can see the Falcon win the fuel consumption argument on the open road.

The Commodore, however, will return better figures around town. The Ford also delivers its performance with effortless muscle compared with the Commodore, and is more than one second quicker to 100km/h.

The 3.0-litre V6 has a much smoother, free-spinning, responsive character than its predecessor. It’s still not the most tuneful engine in the world, but the emphysemic gasping of the Alloytec 3.6 is thankfully gone.

Swapping the four-speed transmission with a six-speed sees the extra ratios and smaller gaps between them going some way to concealing the 3.0-litre’s torque deficit.

The transmission is busier than some bolted to four-cylinder engines, and its shifts can at times be surprisingly slow and slurred, but the yawning gaps, lunges and lurches of the four-speeder are now history.

The 6.0-litre V8 is no longer offered in the Berlina, only the Calais, which costs $56,790, or $61,990 in V specification.

Dual-fuel (LPG) Omega ($42,390) and Berlina ($45,980) still use the old port-injection 3.6-litre V6 motor.

In 2010, Holden will begin its push to get E85 – 85 per cent ethanol fuel – Commodores into the market, and release new LPG technology as well.

Fast Facts

HOLDEN COMMODORE OMEGA

• Engine: 3.0-litre V6 petrol
• Power: 190kw@6700rpm
• Torque: 290Nm@2900rpm
• Transmission: Six-speed automatic
• Kerb weight: From 1696kg
• Fuel consumption: 7.3L/100km extra urban; 12.7L/100km urban
• Co2 emissions: 221g/km
• Gvg rating: 4 stars
• Crash test results: Five stars (ANCAP)
• pros: Refined, responsive, economical performance, excellent ride/handling compromise for local conditions, five-star safety
• cons: Torque counts and there’s not a lot here, interior’s still a joyless place, restricted forward vision
• PRICE: from $39,990 (plus dealer and on road costs)

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