HOLDEN has worked steadily at adding an extra dimension to its utes since the Commodore-based VG version was launched in August 1990. The company figured that not all utes were used as pure workhorses and that, in fact, some people used them for recreational purposes as well. So the new ute was given a softer, more comfortable side where the pleasure of driving was also factored in. The most eloquent statement of this new vision came when the HSV Maloo ute was launched a couple of months later. Today, we have the ultimate expression of the sports ute, the 5.7-litre SS that rolls straight off the Holden production line and is actually the fastest Holden out of the factory.

Holden VS Series III ute
Released: May 1998
Ended: November 2000
Family Tree: Commodore uteTHE VU ute is the first all-new Holden ute in ten years. Its immediate predecessor is the VS Series III ute (pictured), which began life as the VN Commodore-based VG ute in August 1990. The VP ute followed in January 1992 before becoming the VR ute in July 1993, the VRII in September 1994, the VS in April 1995, the VSII in June 1996 and, finally, the VSIII in May 1998. After five years without a ute at all, the VG/VP/VR/VS ute took off where the legendary WB ute left off in 1985. The first SS ute appeared with the VSIII facelift in 1998.
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