Australian General Motors arm Holden has launched a facelifted Commodore series called the VY to rival the heavily revised Ford Falcon and all-new Toyota Camry also just going on sale. The latest Commodore reaches showrooms on 1 October.
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The VY range includes a new SV8 sports sedan model and is restyled inside and out with new nose and tail, dashboard and interior trim revisions and detail mechanical and suspension changes.
The styling now features more angular lines and sharper rear end detailing and the interior has a new instrument panel with binnacle-style cluster featuring multi-function digital displays, new centre console and steering wheel.
Revised steering systems provide a more precise feel and better driver feedback and the SS, new SV8 and Ute SS are powered by a high output, 235kW version of Holden’s Generation III V8 engine, teamed with a specially tuned twin exhaust system. Eighteen inch alloy wheels are now standard on Commodore SS sedan and the new SV8 features 17-inch alloys.
Some models now offer a six disc in-dash CD player, and a new rear park assist audible feature is introduced on the top line Calais.
Recalibrations and shift revisions improve the performance of automatic transmission systems and V8 automatic transmissions have been upgraded for greater durability. Service intervals for the 3.8-litre V6 engines have been extended to 15,000km from 10,000km.
Passenger airbags are now standard on all models and the standard fitment of traction control and anti-lock braking has been extended to additional versions.
The instrument cluster now features a large multi-function digital display (single or triple-window, depending on model) which includes radio station display and ‘gear selected’ indicator, trip computer with stopwatch function, service reminders and a help facility.
New Blaupunkt audio systems now include road speed-dependent volume levels which are adjusted through the instrument cluster, a security link which does not require PIN number re-entry after servicing and an auxiliary input to enable phone and Holden Assist audio to be fed through the speaker system.
