WHO would pay more than $60,000 for a Commodore? Very few, Holden would suggest, so its flagship short-wheelbase sedan will have almost $10,000 lopped off it when it launches next month.

That’s a huge price cut, but that’s before even realising that the range-topping Commodore also comes packed with the sort of driver assistance packages that, up until a few years ago, featured only in high-priced European cars.

Before you scoff at that $52,990 price tag for the Calais V V8 tested here, remember that high-end Commodores are still big sellers.

In fact, part of the reason the Commodore fell out of the top 10 best sellers on the Australian market for the first time in history earlier this year is due to Holden misreading the lie of the land and culling production of high-end models just as their uptake soared.

If the new Calais is anything to judge by, that rush to the more expensive end of the showroom should not slow down.

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