IMPORT V LOCAL
It’s currently the toughest gig in the local car business: make the new German-built ZB Commodore drive as well on Aussie roads as the outgoing car. We road test two pre-production ZBS against a VFII to see how well Holden is rising to the challenge
VFII Commodore meets its forthcoming ZB replacement
AS FAR as new-model build-ups go, the ZB Commodore’s 18-month journey from barely there prototype to full-production glamour model could be the most lengthy in Australian automotive history. Holden’s forthcoming all-new, size-reduced range-topper might be conceptually conceived and built in Germany, but the Aussies are determined to make it known that our next Commodore’s engineering character is very much Australian. Unique suspension tunes, steering calibrations, and even drivetrain configurations can do that to a car. Six months out from the ZB range’s debut, and barely two months before the demise of the rear-drive VFII Commodore line – and Australian automotive manufacturing as a whole – the next significant milestone towards complete range rejuvenation stands before us. Cue an undisguised ZB Calais and a still-camouflaged ZB V6 AWD – the very same prototype we drove in 2016, but with a year’s worth of engineering improvements – on public roads, accompanied by Holden’s mainstay for the past 11 years, a Zeta-platform rear-driver in the form of a VFII Calais V V6. And we have lead vehicle dynamics engineer Rob Trubiani and vehicle development manager Jeremy Tassone along for the drive. The plan is to head east from Melbourne airport via a challenging route through Healesville and the Yarra Ranges, to lunch in the West Gippsland town of Warragul, and overnight in Inverloch. But there’s an elephant in the room, and it’s hiding under the long bonnet of the fully naked ZB Calais. It’s GM’S newgeneration 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four, uniquely mated to a brand new nine-speed automatic in Aussie guise (one ratio up on the Euro version), that’s powering… the front wheels. According to GM, it’s the Commodore we had to have, yet there’s something deeply intriguing about a 191kw/350nm engine providing the thrust for this former company fleet stalwart. The turbo-petrol 2.0 is not only the most powerful base Commodore engine of all time but, arguably more importantly, its 350Nm (spread across a broad plateau) puts the torque outputs of its predecessors decidedly on notice. Even the VFII’S big-capacity 3.6-litre V6 churns out the same 350Nm (at 2800rpm), while the existing 3.0-litre makes do with a far less generous 290Nm.
Thing is, with all that additional muscle, significantly less weight to pull, and another three gear ratios to play with, the front-drive Calais has the potential to be a tyre-frying fizzer. Yet there’s a smooth sweetness to its keen step-off and decisive progress through its abundant ratio set that reeks of refinement. Almost instantly, there’s the sense that this ZB starter pack offers a world-class drivetrain.
Strong and seamless in operation, the four-potarmed Calais feels at least a decade ahead of today’s six-speed V6, possibly more. And it’s quick – almost hot-hatch quick if you take into account a 0-100km/h time somewhere in the low sevens – with a top whack of 250km/h on the European model. Holden’s Nurburgring-qualified chassis bloke, Rob Trubiani, was similarly surprised when he first fanged the 2.0-litre in Germany: “We headed out onto the autobahn and we were blasting along comfortably at 230-240km/h; the car was doing it effortlessly and I thought, shivers, this is an absolutely potent car.”
There’s almost no lag off the line, and with impossibly tight gearing between second, third and fourth, the 2.0-litre feels remarkably strong in everyday driving situations. It’s only when I really start hammering this front-drive Calais (wearing one-up-from-base-spec 245/45R18 Continental Cont is port contact 5 tyres) that mild torque-steer makes itself known, countered by an impressively subtle ESC modulation that owes much to Holden’s engineering input.
“We’ve been heavily involved in the ESC tuning of the car” says Trubiani, “making sure that any
interaction you have with the traction or stability system is quite smooth in its transition, so it’s not really clamping the car and shutting you down. It has this nice feel where it’s still delivering the power, but it is controlled power.” For anyone lamenting the loss of rear-drive purity, it’s heartening news.
At the Yarra Valley Type 2 diabetes clinic, I mean chocolaterie, which thankfully also serves caffeine, I switch from the almost nondescript white Calais into the heavily camouflaged V6 AWD. A year on from our proving ground drive, the prototype V6 still looks just as outlandish, covered in all manner of plastic bumps and confetti-like body wrap, but its pre-production interior has had its modesty garment removed.
Ironically, it’s the camo ZB that punters are drawn to, completely oblivious to the fact that an undisguised example is parked right next to it. Someone jokes that maybe the best way to hide an unreleased model is to leave it undisguised, though that’s not such a good omen for the Calais. In appliance white with plain halogen headlights and non-event wheels, it looks understated in the extreme.
In fact, driving tandem with the admittedly highergrade VFII Calais V, the ZB Calais appears borderline insipid, lacking the muscular stance, imposing wheelarches and classically beautiful form of the larger VE-VF body. There’s no doubt the ZB’S flush flanks help contribute to its slick 0.26 drag coefficient, but viewed from behind, it lacks the VFII’S undoubted presence. And the liftback-sedan’s tapering tail makes it look considerably smaller than it actually is.
There’s a different feel inside too. The base ZB Calais’ relatively standard interior conveys the impression you’re in a XXL Astra trimmed with leather, whereas the more upmarket V6 AWD with its jazzier instruments, more heavily bolstered seats, and perforated-leather wheel rim is clearly on another level. And same goes for its drivetrain.
Lusty and refined as the 2.0-litre is, it’s the V6 version – an engine uniquely specified by the Aussies – that provides the most tangible DNA link with the current Commodore. Turned sideways and now featuring cylinder deactivation, our ‘LGX’ 3.6-litre direct-injection V6 features a unique exhaust system for a few extra herbs and a bit more acoustic meat than the US version that’s set to appear in the Buick Regal GS. And while the V6’s 235kw and 370Nm outputs are unlikely to get pulses racing on paper, the reality is an eager, purposeful unit that clearly delivers a higher calibre of performance.
It also revs harder than the four-cylinder. Both engines will soar to 7000rpm, but the floored V6 upshifts at seven grand even in Drive (6500rpm in the 2.0-litre) and sounds like it wants to be caned. It’s still not the sweetest V6 in the world, but it produces a keener, less thrashy note than the 210kw/350nm ‘LFX’ version in the rear-drive VFII and remains impressively vibration-free at all engine speeds.
“One thing I’ve absolutely loved working on is the V6 AWD,” says Trubiani. “I think once people live with
Ironically, it’s the camo ZB that punters are drawn to, completely oblivious to the fact that an undisguised example is parked next to it