Road TestCar reviews - Holden - Commodore - Calais sedanHolden modelsCommodore Acclaim sedan Acclaim wagon Berlina 3.0 sedan Berlina sedan Calais sedan Calais V Calais V Sportwagon Calais V V8 sedan Calais V V8 Sportwagon Calais V6 Calais V8 sedan Evoke Executive LPG sedan Executive sedan Executive wagon LPG range LT Liftback diesel Omega MY10 sedan Omega sedan Omega Sportwagon range RS 2.0 turbo S Supercharged sedan Sportwagon Sportwagon SSV Redline SS sedan SS V SS V Redline SS V sedan SS-V Redline sedan SV6 sedan SV8 sedan Vacationer 5-dr wagon VXR Research Holden OverviewHolden slips the top-shelf Alloytec 190 engine into its VZ Commodore flagship29 Apr 2005 FOR the VZ Holden Calais, a new, refined V6, a new five-speed automatic transmission and electronic stability control are all grounds for considerable excitement. This is the sort of sophistication that could finally wash away remnants of the cultural cringe that hovers around our homegrown cars. And it does, although in the metal and on the road, the differences are actually quite subtle. The new V6, as we already know, is less spectacularly different than we expected, while the five-speed auto merely brings the Holden into line with everybody else. And the electronic stability control? Well, like airbags and impact-absorbing body design, it’s in the category of being one of those things you hope you’ll never get to experience. Model release date: 1 August 2004 to 1 August 2006 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelDirect predecessor to the latest VZ Calais is the VYII Calais, launched in August 2003 and offering only cosmetic updates to the more convincingly different looking VY Calais released in October 2002 (pictured). Before that, VXII Calais (launched August 2001) featured a new grille, with the VX Calais of October 2000 delivering the last change to Holden’s 3.8-litre pushrod Ecotec V6, which upped its power and torque from 147kW/304Nm to 152kW/305Nm. All these Calais variants are derivatives of the original VT Commodore model launched in September 1997. |
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