KEY POINTS:
Holden's VE Commodore is built on what's called "flexible platform architecture" - meaning it's a giant Meccano set that can easily be adapted to different sizes and body styles.
If there's a business case for a new Commodore variant, odds on Holden can build it.
So meet the latest addition to the VE line-up - it's a wagon, but not as we've known it from the Australian maker. The previous VZ-based version was a pretty functional long-wheelbase affair - large on space but short on driving dynamics/style. The new VE Sportwagon is the same size as the sedan, and aims to be swift on the road and sexy to look at.
What's new? The new body style and fifth door add an extra 91kg to the VE sedan's kerb weight. Beyond that, only it's detail changes - the powertrains are identical to the four-door and suspension systems have been slightly toughened to deal with the extra mass. The Sportwagon comes in Omega, SV6, SS and Calais versions, all at a $1500 premium.
All models get rear parking radar. The tailgate is attached deep into the roof line so it can be opened with just 268mm of space behind the car. Other storage features include shopping bag hooks, tie-down points and a multiple-position luggage net.
Despite the sexy looks, it still carries a decent amount of gear - 895 litres with the seats up or 2000l with the 60/40 rear bench folded flat. Impressive, although the old VZ wagon could swallow 2683l all-up.
Still, the Sportwagon's load bay is two metres long - enough to sleep in.
The company line Holden chief designer Richard Ferlazzo says: "We know wagons have long suffered something of an image crisis, second only to people movers in lack of sex appeal. So we focused our energies into balancing the essential factors of style and space. I believe Holden's new Sportwagon hits that sweet spot between form and function."
What we say Sporty wagons are nothing new. The rest of the world has been making desirable estate cars for some time. You could argue the only two companies guilty of building stodgy ones in the past few years have been Holden and Ford. Still, with the Sportwagon, Holden has caught up. That "sweet spot" has well and truly been hit.
On the road If there's any crucial difference in the driving experience between the Sportwagon and sedan, we didn't find it on our preview drive in Australia.
The extra weight has been countered by suspension changes and the wagon is as enjoyable through corners as its sedan sibling. There's more road-noise resonance in the larger cabin area, but it's nothing to be concerned about, and a redesigned exhaust system has eliminated the potential for boomy noises from underneath the car.
So what's stopping you? Very little, if you're tossing up between a VE sedan and Sportwagon. There's everything to gain (style/space) and almost nothing to lose in opting for the latter. But Holden's assertion buyers of big off-roaders will trade some space for the Sportwagon seems spurious.
Most such vehicles are diesels, so they'll be moving from a larger vehicle to a smaller petrol-powered one, and not gaining anything in fuel economy.
What the Sportwagon needs is a diesel-engine option, and it seems a dead-cert that will happen near the end of next year, with a new 2.9-litre turbo diesel V6, which makes similar power to the petrol V6 and similar torque to the petrol V8.
