What is it?
We could talk about how powerful HSV's GTS E3 is; but that almost goes without saying for HSVs so, instead, we'll talk about the car's clever tech.
For HSV is no longer a scrambled acronym for old-fashioned muscle. It's charged into the modern world. As well as the 6.2-litre V8 delivering 325kW and 550Nm to the rear wheels, it boasts an electronic driver interface displaying a dizzying array of information: percentage of accelerative or braking potential in use; a stopwatch with split times; exhaust pressure; data logging; G-force and stability control displays that explain what each wheel is doing; you can even watch a graph that shows you whether the valves in the bi-modal exhaust are open or closed, though frankly your ears will tell you that.
Then there's the other stuff, like the reversing camera plus detail improvements including a slightly altered spoiler to improve driver rear-view. No wonder the manual retails at $101,990, plus the $2590 blind spot assist and $4890 brake upgrade of our test car.
We like
This HSV's OTT persona and its throaty action-hero engine.
We also like the cylinder deactivation that keeps thirst in sight of real-world wallets; we returned around 13l/100km, not bad given this engine's 6.2 litres and the largely urban-rural mix we tackled.
