Tw1sty

This past week, I have been lucky enough to be driving a ute loaned to me by Holden.

I currently drive a 4door dual cab 4wd ute.  It’s a great compromise, it has the storage/load bearing capabilities of a ute, with the seating capacity of a car.  I have aways loved utes, and wanted one from a young age, so my personal goal of this vehicle review, was to assess the ute during a standard week in my life.  I wanted to see whether losing three seats and two doors would be a hinderance, or whether a 2door ute would fit my life perfectly.

I could review this ute like Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear, and use just one word…  POWERRRRRRR!!!!!  Because this ute has it in spades.  Or should I say litres… all 6 of them.  That’s right, this ute has a giant 6litre V8 engine, married to your choice of 6 speed manual or 6 speed automatic transmission.  Either of these combinations gives you more than just a ute, it’s a workhorse, a sports car, or just an everyday daily driver.  All wrapped in one of Australia’s greatest icons…  the ute.

At first I was a little disappointed that the ute I was reviewing had the automatic transmission in it.  That was, until I learned about the three modes this 6 speed auto had.  Stick your gear lever into drive, and the transmission will work it’s way through the gears itself like a standard automatic.  This mode is perfect for day to day driving in and around town, in traffic, or out on the highway.  Push your gear lever to the left and you’re in “Sports Mode” which is still auto shifting, but the shift points have been moved to hold gears longer allowing faster acceleration.  Now, from sports mode, if you click the gear lever up or down you have now entered “Active Select” mode.  This, is where the fun starts.  Active Select transforms you into a V8 Supercar driver with a 6speed sequential gearbox… well, kind of.  Active Select allows the driver to select & shift gears as they wish with a tap of the gear stick either up or down.  When shifting down, the car will even rev-match allowing for quick and smooth down shifts.  I have gone from being disappointed at the prospect of driving an auto, to definitely selecting automatic transmission as an option when I buy myself a Holden ute.

If you’re going to have this much power at your disposal, it’s fairly important to have a few safety features.  The SS has the lot, including a 5 star ANCAP safety rating. Inside the cabin you’ve got dual stage front airbags for driver & passenger, side impact airbags, and curtain airbags both sides.  On top of that you’ve got more acronyms than you can poke a stick at, with ESC, ABS, EBD & TCS, or as they’re otherwise known, Electronic Stability Control, Anti-lock Braking System, Electronic Brake-force Distribution, & Traction Control System.  All features to help keep you in control, no matter the situation.

Now the engine itself, you may assume to be a fuel guzzler, but Holden now use what they call Active Fuel Management on their V8s with auto transmissions.  What this is, essentially, is a cylinder shutdown technology, where the engine automatically shuts down 4 of the 8 cylinders when they’re not required, and will fire them up again when needed.  All of this happens without you noticing, or feeling a difference in the car itself.  It was amazing to be able to drive along the freeway, cruise control sitting on 100km/h using approximately 5 litres per 100km.  That’s less than my sister’s tiny Toyota Yaris…  hahaha.  Don’t get me wrong though, if you want to drive this thing hard, it can drink the fuel like no tomorrow, but with a little bit of common sense and a more relaxed driving style, the powerhouse under the bonnet can be surprisingly economical.

One of my main concerns in switching from a dual-cab to a ute, is the available cabin space.  In the SS, and the rest of the Holden range of utes, this is not an issue.  The cabin is so spacious, it’s like your passenger is in another post code, and with dual-zone climate control, they can be experiencing a different season.  Heaps of legroom means that even us taller folk can find a nice comfortable driving position, in fact, for the first time that I can remember, my seating position wasn’t with the seat all the way back, meaning I could have had even more leg room if I needed it.  There’s plenty of room behind the seats, to throw the shopping, or your back pack, and with a couple of safety nets, and pigeon holes back there, you can keep anything safe and secure while driving.  At no stage during the week was I left wanting more space in the cabin.

While we’re in the cabin, lets talk about its other features.  Holden call it “Holden iQ” what that means is, AM/FM radio, CD player with the ability to rip up to 15cds, iPod connectivity & control, bluetooth streaming, bluetooth phone handsfree, Satnav and reverse sensors.  All controlled by a huge colour touch screen in the centre of the dash, and a handy set of steering wheel mounted controls.  I paired my iPhone to the bluetooth which made making & receiving calls, and listening to music easy.  For iPods or mp3 players without bluetooth, there is a handy usb point in the centre console.  The cd player has cd ripping capabilities, making it possible to rip up to 15 cds onto the built-in storage of the unit, which means you’ve got your favourite cds with you whenever you want.  The satnav was simple to use, with address entering handled by the touch screen in the dash, then the map would be displayed, and turn by turn directions were given verbally and on the display between the dials on the dash.  The ute I was driving did not have reverse sensors fitted, but I have seen the system in acton on another VE Commodore and it works great.

Let’s step outside the ute for a minute and check this baby out.  With aggressive, race inspired body stylings, this thing looks tough.  From the HUGE flared guards on the front, the low slung front bar with fog lights, all the way to the quad exhaust tip at the back, this ute is a beast.  Now we get to the tub.  It’s awesome!  Heaps of room for carrying whatever you want, furniture, dirt bikes, camping gear, tools, anything at all.  With six well positioned tie down points, securing your load is a safe and easy.  With a soft tonneau cover or three hardtop options, you can have quick, easy, versatile access with the soft top, or lockable options with the hardtops.  My loan ute had the soft cover, which was great for quick easy access, my current ute has a lockable hard lid, which is nice and secure, restrictive on the size of you cargo.

So, based on all the features, the VE Ute sounds amazing, but how did I find it during my week long test drive?  Exactly as it reads… amazing!  The spacious cabin made the daily commute comfortable and relaxing, while providing plenty of room to throw some shopping or anything else behind the seats.  Bluetooth connectivity and iPod support meant staying in touch on the phone was easy and legal, and I could listen to MY music whenever I wanted.  The huge tub on the back meant that doing deliveries for work was a breeze, boxes, cable drums, tools, all easily went in the back and were easy to secure.  While going about normal every day life, not once did I feel as though the lack of rear seats or doors had hindered me at all.  In fact, it has made my decision a lot easier… when it’s time to trade my truck in, then it’s got to be for a Holden Ute.

During the week I jotted down a couple of likes & dislikes.  They didn’t really fit in with the full review, so I thought I’d just tack the on the end:

Likes:

• • Power
  • Cabin space
  • the first song to play from the stored cds was “Thunderstruck” the theme from the new Thunder utes ads.

Dislikes:

• • for a 6l V8 it was too quiet… I want ROAR!!!
  • I couldn’t keep it.