Holden Evoke wagon

The Omega has long been the staple of the Commodore line-up, but now it’s gone, replaced by the slightly more upmarket Evoke. It’s aiming where the Omega was before – but does it have the same value appeal. John Oxley reviews the Evoke V6 Sportwagon.

The new VF Commodore has a lot going for it, and the Evoke more than most, because it now has enhanced features AND it comes in at the same price as the outgoing Omega, at $ 52,390, including the extras.

According to Holden, the new Evoke is designed to “kick start” and redefine the VF range, and we must admit it’s got a lot going for it, and comes standard with many features the VE Omega – and indeed, the rest of the Commodore range – could only dream of, including Auto Park Assist for parallel and right angle parking, plus enhanced voice recognition, an eight-inch, high-resolution colour touch screen with Holden’s MyLink app- embedded technology including voice recognition, full ( and easy to set up) Bluetooth and iPod integration, and built-in apps such as Pandora and Stitcher SmartRadio (though you have to provide the Internet data link via your smartphone).

Powered by the three-litre V6 SIDI engine (185kW/ 290Nm, 8.3L/100km) – the same as in the VE – the Evoke provides a couple of solutions to criticisms of the VE, too. For instance, the ugly and awkward centre console handbrake has now gone, replaced by an electric park brake with automatic release, and there’s also front and rear parking sensors and a rear view camera as standard, along with hill hold control and hill start assist, plus, to make for safer towing, trailer sway control.

An absolute gimmick, which will give you toasty feet when you get into your car on a cold morning, but will increase your fuel bill, is the ability to remotely start the engine from about 10m away – for instance, from your bedroom window if your car is parked in the driveway.

But features aside, it’s going to take more than gimmicks to sell the Evoke into a market that is steadily rejecting large cars, and that’s why Holden has ploughed a reputed $ A500-million, despite retaining the car’s basic architecture ( although engineers say about 90 percent of the car is new). So what’s the big appeal? Without doubt, the new interior is superb. Finally, a truly European feel to the inside of the car, instead of the “cheap and nasty American” interior we’ve been used to getting from Holden. There are lots of soft-touch surfaces, the layout is clean and intuitive, the seats are comfortable, and the driving position is good.

However, it’s when you get the car out onto the road that you realise just how much work Holden has put into the changes – and just what a great pity, therefore, that this will probably be the last of the great Australian rear-wheel drive cars.

The engine is as you know it – powerful, willing, albeit a little rough around the edges. And thanks to weight cuts in the car, a bit more economical than before, which will always be a selling point. So, too, is the smooth and slick-shifting six-speed auto gearbox, with sequential manual selection if you want to drive sportily.

Pull into the traffic, and you’ll be pleased there’s a device built into the mirrors which alerts you if there’s a vehicle in your blind spot. You’ll also be pleased when you have to park the car and find it will parallel or right angle park for you ( although you DO have to change gear from drive to reverse, and stop when it tells you).

And you’ll be especially happy, when reversing out of your parking spot, and in that heart-stopping moment when you’ve pushed out about half a metre and can see nothing either side of you because of the other parked cars, it alerts you that a car is roaring down on you and will take out the back of the car if you don’t stop!

You’ll be pleased, too, with the vastly improved ride quality on the new Commodore, the superb handling – finally on a par with, if not slightly better than, the Falcon – as well as the improved sound control that lets you whisper along at the 100 km/ h cruise mark.

Interior space and comfort is as before. There’s nothing quite like being able to stretch out your legs in the back, while the ability to throw stuff into the back – or load it a bit if you need to – will always appeal to those who need more versatility in their daily drive.

A really great car, the new Evoke Sportwagon.

But at the end of the day, in fleet terms, one has to wonder if all that expense to produce this great car has been a case of too much, too late.

No matter what you do to the Commodore, it will never be as economical as a Skoda Superb turbo- diesel wagon. And if it’s excitement you want you’re looking in the wrong segment, but the Subaru Legacy wagon will dish up plenty of that if you really want to have your cake and eat it.

In the end, maybe it will come down to the fact that you’ve always bought rear- drive Commodores, and will as long as you can. And maybe that’s as good a reason as any!