WE’VE been here before – 38 years ago in fact – only this time it’s different. Very different. Not only have we been given unprecedented access to a new-generation Holden Commodore still more than a year away from Holden showrooms, but it’s a totally different proposition.

What was the rear-drive V-car (GM’s global large car of the ‘70s), derived from its Opel Rekord/Omega/Senator cousins across three generations until Australia went it alone with the VE Commodore in 2006, has been brought back into the fold as a transverse-engined front- and all-wheel-drive sedan or wagon. It represents the merging of two size classes – the ever-expanding medium segment and the once-dominant but near-dead large-car class – into a fitter, more efficient, future-proofed form designed to extend the Commodore nameplate well into the 2020s.

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Indeed, Holden and Opel’s aim for the Holden Commodore/Opel Insignia is to deliver best-in-class dynamics and a true ‘driver’s car’ benchmark for the medium and upper-medium segment.

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That said, the next Commodore’s E2XX platform is all-wheel-drive ready and intended to underpin a range of forthcoming GM vehicles globally.

The European Insignia will also offer all-wheel-drive with the turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel fours that will power our entry-level and mid-range Commodore variants, so there’s a chance, too, that a diesel all-wheel drive may add even more European flavour to Holden’s line-up.

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No such forgiveness today. Holden’s next-gen Commodore needs to be a knockout if it’s going to comfortably carry the Aussie-family-car blueprint into the future.