VE: The inside story

"NEAR enough is not good enough." This became a byword at Holden as interior and exterior designers worked on the new car.

Work on the colours, trim and textiles started back in 2001, an eternity in the style-conscious fashion world, according to lead colour and trim chief designer Sharon Gauci.

"Researching trends and exploring design is an integral part of our job because we work at least four years before the start of production," she said.

Design manager John Field said quality targets were a major foundation of the interior design program. The result is an almost tailored look that starts with the car’s door openings, which are smooth and feature Euro-style extended kick plates.

Design director Tony Stolfo said an accepted "given" from customers was maintaining the VZ’s good interior packaging. This is comparable to the VZ, except the VE’s coupe-like roofline has reduced headroom by 7mm up front and 1mm in the rear, despite the overall height increasing 20mm. The cabin’s "glasshouse" has also been reduced 27mm because of the higher waistline.

Boot space is up 31 litres to 496 litres while the boot hinges have been changed to a multi-link design that does not intrude into the boot. Holden claims two full-size suitcases can be loaded on top of each other. The VZ’s load-through hatch carries over.

Left: SS V interior.

Three distinct cabin trim levels are offered with three different dashboards and dashboard lighting. Inside, the Omega gains a dark cloth interior with a functional brushed alloy-look centre console, soft green "Verde" instrument lighting and Vectra-style five-inch audio readout between the two centre air vents.

The Berlina lifts the bar with a blonde woodgrain-look centre strip across the dashboard, a 5.5-inch centre console information display, alloy-look steering wheel, more up-market trim combinations and automatic climate control.

In keeping with the sporting SS tone, the interior is awash with colour inserts for the seats and dashboard (optional), piano-black centre waterfall "cockpit" console and bright red instrumentation. The SS V gains a large colour screen on the centre console.

The Calais goes down a low-key, detailed high-end interior route by offering clear white instrumentation, full leather, centre console information display for audio and heating and a rear roof-mounted DVD player.

The Calais V offers a 6.5-inch colour centre console screen, textured real aluminium veneer across the dashboard, hinged front and rear door bins, a two-tone interior colour scheme with dark headlining and light seats and carpets and extensive use of micro-fibre suede.

VE interior: At at glance

• All-new heating and ventilation system
• Roof-mounted DVD system available on all models
• Audio auxiliary plug for MP3 players
• Door bins can hold a wine bottle
• Sliding centre armrest
• Damped air vent controls and grabhandles
• Flat floor for better toe clearance under front seats