If anyone has any questions to ask I can tell you most details on the G8 as the specs are very similar infact apart from a couple of aspects is almost a RHD clone.

OK....how is the handling? Does it really feel like a 4000 pound car, or is it more nimble than you expected?

What I'm trying to get at is, how good of a sports sedan is it? Breaking, handling, etc etc.

Also, how are the back seats...spacious?

Are the seats as comfortable as the GTO? Frankly, the best seats I've EVER sat in where the GTO seats.

What type of fuel economy are you getting?

That's it for now....well, you asked...lol.

Thanks a lot for giving us any information you can....

Would it be possible to get a good picture of the backseat? I'm trying to get an idea of how much legroom is back there.

Thanks!

Rearview Mirror, Homelink(garage door opener), Pics of your Key....Thanks :)

Picture of trunk please- also, struts or hinges?

Rearview Mirror, Homelink(garage door opener), Pics of your Key....Thanks :)

Don't forget a picture of the trunk. :)

Is bluetooth an option on the VE or does it come standard, or is that button on the wheel for the Australian equivelant of OnStar "Holden Assist"? I'm trying to figure out if it is an option whether or not we would be able to add it on since our cars will already come with OnStar, which in my opinion blows donkey balls.

I hope some of the guys going to the show can get some more up close pics....

I hope some of the guys going to the show can get some more up close pics....

I am not sure if they are letting anyone walk up to it at the show, it appears to be on a raised platform. But I'll use my 10X zoom to get the best pics I can get. ;)

OK....how is the handling? Does it really feel like a 4000 pound car, or is it more nimble than you expected?

What I'm trying to get at is, how good of a sports sedan is it? Breaking, handling, etc etc.

Also, how are the back seats...spacious?

Are the seats as comfortable as the GTO? Frankly, the best seats I've EVER sat in where the GTO seats.

What type of fuel economy are you getting?

That's it for now....well, you asked...lol.

Firstly,the seats are really good, comfortable but supportive. One backseat legroom, I am 6 foot tall and most of me is legs and though I dont often get in the back seat of any car because of this the Commodore has plenty of legroom. Width wise, it is similar to the Monaro/GTO except that the seats are designed for 3 people and as long as you dont have 3x 180 kilo humans in it you wont have a problem with room.
Economy wise I can only give you in metric eg. ltr/km as I am too lazy this weekend to try converting. You can on the V8 alone get it to just under 10ltr/100km but on average around 12ltr/100km or if your really thrash it you can get up to 20ltr/100km. It all depends on how you drive it remembering its a big 6ltr V8. DOD should be good and when I update next hopefully with series 2 SS-V I will have that also. I used to own a V6 and the Economy I am told with the VE is a average of 10ltr/100km, but I have heard of people getting as good as 8'sltr/100km. Will read more postings and if I have missed anything here I will answer in next lot of replies. Cheers big ears John

OK....how is the handling? Does it really feel like a 4000 pound car, or is it more nimble than you expected?

What I'm trying to get at is, how good of a sports sedan is it? Breaking, handling, etc etc.

Also, how are the back seats...spacious?

Are the seats as comfortable as the GTO? Frankly, the best seats I've EVER sat in where the GTO seats.

What type of fuel economy are you getting?

That's it for now....well, you asked...lol.

Handling is really good, well above any past Commodore and even Falcon. Our major car magazine rated it as like BMW handling if not better. Now thats a big claim. Breaking is fine in my opinion, remembering these cars have more safety features when it comes handling than most other cars here. Very hard to lose control of but very balanced when you take it around the race track oh and fast. No it really doesn't feel that heavy, for a large car. Picture a 4 door GTO its very nimble. Even the last series of Commodores which the GTO was based on was very nimble for a large car. Infact if your interested in also seeing a wagon GTO I will send a photo of that as well as soon as I get off me crutches. 2 types of keys available, One like the Opel Astra folding variety and the non folding variety. Will post picture as soon as I can but if you know the Astra's key you will know the key I am talking about. I would say Pontiac will offer both. The folding one as standard in upper models and optional in lower models. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie oi, oi, oi, cheers big ears John

Thanks a lot for giving us any information you can....

Would it be possible to get a good picture of the backseat? I'm trying to get an idea of how much legroom is back there.

Thanks!

Will post one as soon as I can get on my feet which hopefully will be soon. Recovering from a anterior and posterior cruchiate operation (total knee reconstruction). Its a pain not driving at the moment but enjoyed it for 3 months before surgery.

Forgot to say to you that it is roughly the same interior dimensions of the GTO, externally its larger to cope with side crash safety requirements. Cheers big ears.. John

Rearview Mirror, Homelink(garage door opener), Pics of your Key....Thanks :)

Rear View external mirrors are as you see. Do not incorporate Benz style indicators in mirror but some Holden models incorporate what are called paddle lights in the mirror which light up the footpath/sidewalk as you approach the car which personally I think is a great idea. Will post photo of that to as soon as I can. Interior mirror is standard like you would expect but also can come with a emergency type button which you can press if in a accident etc. Its part of a tracking device you can have in cars these days. Key as mentioned in earlier post.

Don't forget a picture of the trunk. :)

Is bluetooth an option on the VE or does it come standard, or is that button on the wheel for the Australian equivelant of OnStar "Holden Assist"? I'm trying to figure out if it is an option whether or not we would be able to add it on since our cars will already come with OnStar, which in my opinion blows donkey balls.

G'day, yes the button on the steering wheel is bluetooth and other buttons are radio controls. Bluetooth came standard on all Commodores except the base fleet special Omega. I would fully expect that it would only be bluetooth that you see as there is very little difference looking at the steering wheel in the photos. If I was to put money on it, I would say its bluetooth as changing it for a car which is generally unchanged except of course mainly the side of the car the steering wheel is on. Thats the biggest part of the change. The front end is only cosmetic. Cheers big ears. John from Victoria, Aus. The headquarters of general motors Holden in Australia.

Homelink?? Also is the interior mirror Auto dimming, also does the car have a external temp. sensor and display?

Thanks , Jimmy

Picture of trunk please- also, struts or hinges?

Again, sorry I will post picture of the boot/trunk as soon as I can get up, spend most time inside because operation and only get in the car when getting driven for doc appointments. The boot is massive and there are no struts taking up space. I wouldnt exactly call them hinges but definately nothing stopping a full load of the boot unless you fit LPG Gas. Cheers Big ears John

One tiny minor question.

Is the fuel filler door plastic or metal? It's plastic on the GTO here.

One tiny minor question.

Is the fuel filler door plastic or metal? It's plastic on the GTO here.

Ummm good question, in all my cars I have never really taken notice of that. To me all have felt like a metal type feel but I maybe wrong. I will check that out for you and will also look at my mums VT which is what the GTO is based on. I will get back to ya on that.

.... You can on the V8 alone get it to just under 10ltr/100km but on average around 12ltr/100km or if your really thrash it you can get up to 20ltr/100km. It all depends on how you drive it remembering its a big 6ltr V8. DOD should be good and when I update next hopefully with series 2 SS-V I will have that also. I used to own a V6 and the Economy I am told with the VE is a average of 10ltr/100km, but I have heard of people getting as good as 8'sltr/100km. ...


try http://www.tdiclub.com/misc/conversions.html for mpg's

10 l/100 km=23.5 mpg
8 l/100 km=29.4 mpg

They dont list EPA type city/hiway mileage down under. I saw another website
http://www.answers.com/topic/holden-ve-commodore
gave one standard number (14.4 l/100 km) which is roughly 16 mpg

Those are some impressive numbers since they don't have DOD on their V8.

The mileage tests are called "ADR81" which is combined city and highway.

The really good thing about the GTO hitting the states the last 3 years gives is Americans a good idea what we like and do not like about the Aussie cars

We love the style
We love the quality

We do not like some of the missing "American" comforts...
NAV
OnStar
Dimming Mirror
Dual Climate
Poor defrost
and it seems the HUD will go away also :(

Not picking on the Aussie just saying we have difference of preferences.. we certainly welcome the style and quality! Just pointing out the differences.

I think that OnStar, SatNav and Dual Climate are available on the G8.

The VE was designed for Export so maybe they have fixed the defrost.

The mileage tests are called "ADR81" which is combined city and highway.

And some of the tests are based on 98 octane petrol which we haven't seen at a Sunoco station since the last oil embargo.

The really good thing about the GTO hitting the states the last 3 years gives is Americans a good idea what we like and do not like about the Aussie cars

We love the style
We love the quality

We do not like some of the missing "American" comforts...
NAV
OnStar
Dimming Mirror
Dual Climate
Poor defrost
and it seems the HUD will go away also :(

Not picking on the Aussie just saying we have difference of preferences.. we certainly welcome the style and quality! Just pointing out the differences.

OnStar will be included. But lack of Dual Climate, Heated seats??, HUD, places it a notch below the current and past GP GTP and GXP and what type of DIC does it have? How much info, if any?

And some of the tests are based on 98 octane petrol which we haven't seen at a Sunoco station since the last oil embargo.

98 Octane is pretty much everywhere in Sydney.

You can get 98 Unleaded or 98 Ethanol/Petrol blend.

THANKS TBAussie for the information, and I hope you get better ASAP!

We do not like some of the missing "American" comforts...
NAV
OnStar
Dimming Mirror
Dual Climate
Poor defrost
and it seems the HUD will go away also

To tell you the truth, that stuff is nice but I honestly don't need that stuff. I have a Garmin GPS (most Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellen are better than the in-car stuff anyway) and as long as I have:

Power windows, cruise control. AC, stickshift, ABS, complete airbags, and the performance options...everything else is just gravy. LOL, it's nice...but I hope they don't make TOO much standard forcing the price up.

Just give me that sweet V8 and 6-speed, with a dash of standard equipment and I'll be ALL SMILES!

Thanks again for the information and I can't wait for the pic's, but getter better first.

OnStar will be included. But lack of Dual Climate, Heated seats??, HUD, places it a notch below the current and past GP GTP and GXP and what type of DIC does it have? How much info, if any?

I thought the G8 was getting dual zone and heated seats- the only thing it will be missing is the HUD?

The really good thing about the GTO hitting the states the last 3 years gives is Americans a good idea what we like and do not like about the Aussie cars

We love the style
We love the quality

We do not like some of the missing "American" comforts...
NAV
OnStar
Dimming Mirror
Dual Climate
Poor defrost
and it seems the HUD will go away also :(

Not picking on the Aussie just saying we have difference of preferences.. we certainly welcome the style and quality! Just pointing out the differences.

That may be a debatable point- the GTO's reception was luke warm because of two things, the lack of options and its bland "Cavalier-like" looks.

I'd heard thru other places (GMI mostly) that SatNav was not likely to be available as it would scavenge OnStar subscriptions.

Methinks that's useless, I shouldn't have to pay a subscription to have someone tell me (because that's what it is without a screen) when to turn right and left. It's almost a moot point tho, because I can find my way from my house to my office, and anytime I don't know where I'm going, I have my Macbook and Google Maps.

Will post one as soon as I can get on my feet which hopefully will be soon. Recovering from a anterior and posterior cruchiate operation (total knee reconstruction). Its a pain not driving at the moment but enjoyed it for 3 months before surgery.

Oh hey, get well soon!

GM is trying to use Onstar to negate the need for bluetooth and nav. Its stupid and won't last long.

They have been offering the On-Star Turn-by-turn on lower trim levels of some cars and real NAV on the upper trims, so I don't see why that wouldn't continue. As for Bluetooth, I don't see that going away either. It may not be offered on the base model, but if it is included on nearly every Commodore as said elsewhere on this site, my guess is that it is built into the radio, with the button and mic being the only thing outside, making it unlikely to be cut. Hopefully, I will not be let down.

Those are some impressive numbers since they don't have DOD on their V8.

But how much does DOD really gain?

I have heard that the gains from DOD are negligible at best.

But how much does DOD really gain?

I have heard that the gains from DOD are negligible at best.

You heard wrong. DOD can increase mileage figures by up to 14% and keep the car out of gas guzzler tax territory. But if you don't mind paying an extra few thousand dollars in taxes, maybe it wouldn't matter to you.

looking foward to pics when you get better mate :)

How about memory seats/mirrors?
I hate having to readjust everything when the wife drives my car.
How about and heated/cooled seats?
Can't wait for the G8 GTP V8 6MT
...but wish we could get the HSV GTS stateside!
Thanks mate...had the ACL done myself...I feel your pain!
Don't ignore rehab!

How comfortable is the ride? 18 inch wheels suggest not very.

Thanks trueblueaussie for all the info.

How comfortable is the ride? 18 inch wheels suggest not very.
It's suspension is also on the hard side so it isn't pleasant on road deformities but the seats do cushion quite well.