Holden Commodore goes International
BY TIM NICHOLSON | 4th Oct 2013
The International adds a number of features on top of the Commodore’s standard equipment list, including leather-appointed seats and trim, leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear shift lever, blind spot warning, reverse traffic alert and a rear cargo blind in the Sportwagon.
Special exterior flourishes include LED daytime running lights, dark bezel headlamps, ‘International’ badging and 18-inch alloy wheels.
This is on top of equipment already standard across the range, such as dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, electric park brake, Holden’s MyLink infotainment system and Bluetooth phone and audio streaming.
Pricing kicks off from $36,990 plus on-road costs for the sedan and $38,990 for the Sportwagon, while opting for LPG costs $2500 extra.
This places it above the entry level Evoke that kicks off from $34,990 plus on-road costs, but below the more generously equipped Calais starts at $39,990.
Holden executive director vehicle sales, service and marketing Phil Brook said the International should be popular in showrooms, thanks to its competitive price.
“We wanted to celebrate the anniversary of an icon by introducing even more great value features on the all-new VF Commodore,” he said.
“The VF range has been very well received and we’ve continued to look at how we can offer maximum value, so we’re delighted to be able to introduce an even more compelling package to large car buyers.”Holden has used the limited edition International moniker on several generations of the Commodore, including VE that was superseded by the VF in May this year.
The very first VB Commodore went on sale in Australia in late 1978, with the Opel-designed family car replacing the larger, aging Kingswood range.
The VB spun off a number of iterations, before a completely new model arrived in 1988, in the shape of the award-winning VN Commodore.
The VN spawned four different versions until the VT launched in 1997, which lasted until the VE arrived in 2006.
Sales of the VF Commodore have been strong, with Holden shifting 2869 units in September and 18,806 examples of the family favourite for the first nine months of the year.
While this marks a 19 per cent drop compared to the same period last year, the Commodore was in run-out mode from January to May this year and experienced slow sales until June.
