Reviews
Gallery 1
Not surprisingly, the installation of GM’s 6.2-litre LS3 V8 has done excellent things for Holden’s VF II Commodore range.
To be honest, we can’t think of many things a 6.2-litre V8 wouldn’t improve, but combining it with a rear-drive ute is certainly going to be a happy marriage.
You know the headline numbers by now, 304kW/570Nm shaving the 0-100km/h time to just 5.0sec when equipped with the six-speed auto, the manual a tenth faster. An extra 34kW/40Nm is bound to have a profound effect on any vehicle, especially one with such little weight over the driven wheels. But what’s impressive is just how unperturbed the VF II ute is by the substantial increase in grunt.
However, it’s generally very easy to control and capable of impressive speed for something with a 2064-litre boot. This was true for the original VF ute, too, but the difference now is the bits of road between corners disappear much more quickly.
The LS3 revs cleanly and has awesome overtaking ability, but as with all VF II SSs the thing that hits you like a hammer to the face is the sheer volume of noise. Thanks to the new bi-modal exhaust and mechanical sound enhancer (to pipe engine sound into the cabin) it makes a glorious racket, sounding like a hot-rodded old Holden 308.
For our money, though, the Redline (which we’ve pictured) remains the standout and is well worth the extra $5500. It’s the lightest and most agile of the Redline range, as well as the cheapest, and the brake, suspension and rolling stock upgrades mean you have a car that can not only haul furniture and tow the boat, but tear up a track as well.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
LIKE: LS3 grunt, hot-rod soundtrack, day-to-day package DISLIKE: Under-braked, small payload
SPECS Engine: 6162cc V8, OHV, 16v Power: 304kW @ 6000rpm Torque: 570Nm @ 4400rpm Weight: 1753kg 0-100km/h: 5.0sec (claimed) Price: $41,490-$50,990
